On the second dressage day of the Paris Olympics, Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale placed fourth. The black stallion, owned by Gertjan and Anne van Olst, was the first to enter the arena this morning, scoring 78.91%, with Fry there is still more potential to be tapped. Emmelie Scholtens and Indian Rock secured a spot in the freestyle. Individually, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is in the lead.

Fry is satisfied with Glamourdale's performance (Lord Leatherdale out of Thuja stb pref prest by Negro, breeder J.W. Rodenburg from Ouderkerk aan den IJssel) and believes there is more potential. “Medals are always on my mind, but my main goal is to do what we can and perform a good test. I want to ride the Special with more expression and energy, but above all with a happy athlete. We are at the Olympics, I want to enjoy my tests,” she says resolutely. 

Indian Rock Directly to Freestyle
With 74.58%, Indian Rock and Emmelie Scholtens placed twelfth. The impressive Apache son (out of Crisjena keur pref prest IBOP-dres by Vivaldi, breeder J. de Bruijn from Schelluinen) was a bit overwhelmed by the stadium. “He thought he was at the Stallion Show,” Emmelie said afterward. 

Survival Mode
Hans Peter Minderhoud was not entirely satisfied after his test. The Totilas son (out of Desperado by Desperados, breeders Judith and Sönke Schmidt from Naumburg) was not fully focused during the warm-up. “I’ve ridden well all week and felt good about it beforehand. In the ring, I felt it slipping a bit. It wasn’t bad, and I made no mistakes, but it felt like survival mode.” With 72.57%, the TeamNL rider did not qualify for the final.

20 Dollars for Jewel’s Goldstrike
Aachen winner Jewel’s Goldstrike (Bretton Woods out of Zilia stb pref prest PROK by Scandic) scored 70.83%. The friendly and cheerful Ecuadorian found it emotional to represent his home country at his first Olympics. “This whole season is full of firsts: first time to Europe, first time in Aachen, and now the Olympics. It was a dream to ride here. It’s amazing to compete with a horse I bought for 20 dollars.”

Proud Breeder
His breeder, Sjefri van Esch from Heeswijk-Dinther, couldn’t follow the performance well due to poor reception in the Czech Republic. "I expected him to score higher. I started the line with Gilia, a daughter of Widor. Goldstrike’s dam is the full sister of the Olympic horse Aramis and closely related to the KWPN stallion Zambuka. I bought him back at the foal auction and again at the KWPN Select Sale. Tristan Tucker prepared him here in the Netherlands for the performance test, and later we sold him to America. It’s fantastic that Jewel’s Goldstrike is doing so well with this rider. We have quite a bit of contact. Recently, Julio bought another foal from me. It’s an Obsession Taonga from the same dam line.”

Feels Like a Medal
For Yessin Rahmouni and the KWPN stallion All At Once (Ampère out of Wynona RB elite pref prest IBOP-dres sport-dres D-OC by Gribaldi, breeder Stal 104 BV from Wijdewormer), it wasn’t certain they would compete in Paris. The rider broke his neck less than six months ago, and his recovery came just in time. With 68.69%, the Olympic journey ends after the Grand Prix, but for Rahmouni, it feels like he won a medal. Read his full reaction here.

Suppenkasper No Longer in Peak Form
The sixteen-year-old Suppenkasper (Spielberg out of Upanoeska keur prest IBOP-dres by Krack C, breeder F. van de Poel from Haps) scored 66.49%, no longer in the form of his career peak. This still placed Steffen Peters ahead of Finnish Joanne Robinson, who made her Olympic debut with Glamouraline (Johnson out of Anoraline elite IBOP-dres sport-dres PROK by Samba Hit, breeders M.C. Eveleens from Wognum and P. Bleeker from Zuidoostbeemster). “It’s my first championship, and I had some panicky thoughts about what could go wrong. It wasn’t the test I wanted to ride, but it wasn’t a disaster either.”

Final Competition for Aquamarijn
The now nineteen-year-old Aquamarijn (United out of Toermalijn ster pref prest by Gribaldi, breeder P.A.M. van Kessel from Vorstenbosch) competed in her second Olympics in Paris. With 61.21%, it wasn’t the score her rider Yvonne Losos de Muniz had hoped for. “This is my last competition, it’s been enough. She’s had a long career.”

Individual Results
Team Results

Mediaguide Olympic Games

Source: KWPN
Photo Glamourdale: Dirk Caremans