TEAM LEADERS: Laura Graves and Verdades (shown in the GP Special) were the top-scoring US pair, winning team and individual silver medals
22 November 2018 • USDF CONNECTION
onto the bronze-medal podium at the Rio Olympics. In 2017 and 2018, the now-famous US dressage pair Laura Graves and Verdades added to their medal collection with back-to-back silvers at the FEI World Cup Dressage Finals. The next logical step was for Team USA to ascend one rung on the podium ladder, and in Tryon Graves, Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper, Adrienne Lyle on Salvino, and Kasey Perry-Glass on Goerklintgaards Dublet found their silver lining. The team silver medal was by no means a shoo-in. Peters/Suppenkasper and Lyle/Salvino are fairly new combinations, and the horses are young and less experienced. What’s more, “Mopsie” was actually Peters’ reserve mount but got the nod for the WEG after first-stringer Rosamunde suffered some dehydration after arrival in Tryon and Mopsie stepped up to the plate during training sessions. Besides, the German dressage juggernaut has been dominating the world order again recently; and after Great Britain got serious about equestrian sport in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, that nation has been a player, even following the retirement of the wonder horse Valegro. The other usual suspects, including the Netherlands, Denmark, and Spain, couldn’t be discounted, either. It took two full days to accommodate the 77 entries in the Grand Prix competition. Thirty-eight horses and riders competed on September 12, with the remaining 39 riding on September 13. There were 15 teams of 4 horse/rider combinations, plus 17 pairs that competed as individuals in the hopes of being among the top 30 individual finishers in order to qualify for the Grand Prix Special. At a CDI (FEI-recognized dressage competition), a random draw determines the starting order. In Tryon, the team chefs drew for their nations’ starting positions, with each team receiving two start times on day 1 and two start times
JENNIFER BRYANT
THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED: The WEG dressage venue, the U.S. Trust Arena at the Tryon International Equestrian Center