The Olympic dressage team medals came down to the wire, with Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB securing a third successive Olympic dressage team gold medal for Germany in a tense finale, that will be talked about and debated for months to come.
It was billed as a clash of the titans that would be decided by the smallest margins – and in that sense it delivered.
Going into the final round, Germany was on 155.836 and Denmark on 154.453.
Despite a mistake in the one-time changes, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Freestyle scored 81.22% – the highest score of the day – in an otherwise impressive test, leaving the Danes on a team total of 235.669.
That meant Jessica and Dalera had to score 79.83% to retain the gold – which under normal circumstances you’d think shouldn’t be a problem for this combination.
But this was an uncharacteristic test, with an expensive mistake in the piaffe, which Dalera normally excels in, and contact issues throughout.
The combination did produce a remarkable final centre line, but there was a dramatic wait until the final collective marks came in to see who would take the gold – with most thinking Denmark would still clinch it.
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But then came a German roar from the crowd as 79.95% came up on the big screen in Versailles. Jessica burst into a massive smile and punched her hand in the air, delighted.
“It was pretty good until the transition to piaffe,” said Jessica, who admitted she didn’t know what score she needed to hit before going in. “We had a huge misunderstanding which cost a lot of points but after and before that, she felt amazing and I’m super grateful to have her as my dancing partner.
“It was too exciting, to be honest – I don’t need that, but in the end we did it!”
In many ways, this gold medal was won earlier in the day by Isabell Werth and Wendy, who produced a show-stopping test to score yet another personal best of 79.89%.
Few would’ve expected a few months ago they’d be hitting these scores at an Olympic Games, but they’ve just kept on improving and could get even better still.
“That was a real thriller today,” said Isabell, for whom this was a remarkable eighth Olympic gold medal. “I didn’t believe what I was seeing. I didn’t think we’d get it, but each point was important in the end and it all worked out.
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Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
