TOKYO, Japan--The U.S. team qualified for the Grand Prix Special, which will determine team medals on Tuesday, July 27, and all three American individuals qualified for the Freestyle, which will determine individual medals on Wednesday.

Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper (Photo by Allen Macmillan)The team qualified in fourth place overall with 7389.5. total points.

No scores will count forward from the two qualifying rounds on Saturday and Sunday, so all those qualified for both competitions will start on even terms, although the order of go will be determined by the scores in the qualifiers.

The qualifiers were divided into six groups of 10 each, with the riders with the top two scores from each group automatically qualified, and then the six with the next six top scores also qualified.

Surprisingly, the scores on the second day were fairly consistently lower than on the first day, which is the opposite of the usual. but whether that was because the judges were marking lower or because some of the top riders on the second day didn't push their horses, knowing they would qualify and therefore saving their horses' energy for the finals.

 

FOR THE U.S., Adrienne Lyle of Wellington, Fla., on  Salvino was the first of the two Americans , and she scored 74.876 percent, second best in her group and qualifying her for the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle for Individual Medals.

Adrienne Lyle on Salvino (Photo by Allen Macmillan)Steffen Peters of San Diego, Calif., on Suppenkasper was second-to-last to go in the final group, Group F, and scored 76.196 percent, which was third in his group but plenty high enough to qualify, as the cutoff was 70.

Lyle has ridden the 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion for almost six years and has experience as an individual from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

One commentator during her ride said that Lyle's ride on Salvino "was not what they are capable of," and the other pointed out that the judges had marked an error in the canter zigzags.

“He has some great talent in the piaffe and passage and unfortunately we had some tension and balance issues got in the way of showing off what he’s really capable of today. I know there’s so much more in there,”said Lyle. “This is my second Olympics, but everything is a little bit different with COVID, and the format is completely different, so in a lot of ways it’s all very new. We have a wonderful team and everyone is so supportive. We train so hard for this and to get to be here and to think about everyone who starts on this journey and being one of three selected to represent this country is awesome. This whole experience has been wonderful.”

Starting in his fifth Olympic Games, Peters understood the need to give the team a performance to secure their team start on Tuesday in a competitive field and delivered with a clean and conservative test.

Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper (Photo by Allen Macmillan)“It was a good test. It was a bit conservative because we had some trouble spots with the flying changes in the warm-up, so I rode those really carefully, but the rest I rode very forward. We had a super relaxed walk tour, which for Mopsie in an arena like this, to be that relaxed is a wonderful feeling,” said Peters. “I think today I really wanted to go for a clean test and get a decent score, which we did. With a 76 percent, I think that puts us in a really good place going into the Special.”

As Peters was second to last to go the the qualifier, he may well have been saving Suppenkasper.

As many outdoor competitions as possible have been held at night because of the heat, but it was still very hot and humid for both of the qualifiers.

Chef d’Equipe Debbie McDonald was pleased with the team's qualification for the FEI Grand Prix Special, as well as all three combinations qualifying for the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle for Individual Medals.

“It was really important that we put in two solid tests today in order to qualify us for the Grand Prix Special on Tuesday, and after Sabine’s great ride yesterday, Adrienne and Steffen made sure we got the scores we needed to get there,”said McDonald. “We’ll start with a clean slate in terms of scoring on Tuesday and will begin preparing for what is going to be a very intense competition for team medals.”

Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper (Photo by US Equestrian)The U.S. Dressage Team will return to competition on Tuesday, July 27, as they aim for a medal in the FEI Grand Prix Special for Team Medals, which will begin at 5:00 p.m. JST/4:00 a.m. EDT.

The draw order with ride times will be announced on Monday, July 26.

The following countries qualified for the FEI Grand Prix Special for Team Medals: In order of qualification, Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, United States, The Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, and Spain.

Germany is the strong favorite to win the gold medal.

For the individual competition in the Freestyle on Wednesday, all three riders from the U.S. Germany, Great Britain and Denmark qualified along with two riders each from Sweden and The Netherlands and one each from Portugal and Spain.

Individually, Germany's Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera, 84.379, and Isabel Werth on Bella Rosa 2, 82.500, finished one-two with Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain third on 80.963.

Werth, who already has 10 Olympic gold medals in her resume, is the favorite to win again, although her German teammate may give her a run for her money.