I did fall behind in my Olympic blog posting, but believe me, I was watching every bit of it.  I was fortunate to have my work schedule coincide with the dressage freestyle and the jumping finals so that I was able to watch both online.

In dressage, the Freestyle is usually the most fun and entertaining competition.  It’s always interesting to see how well matched the horse is to the music.  For me, there were no major goosebump moments in the freestyles at the Olympics, although there were some great moments.  Balagur, the pink horse, has a great piaffe.  He has the “sit” that is what the piaffe is all about.  The 18-year-old Orlov Trotter has a piaffe that the rest of the field should aspire to.  I came close to goosebumps watching Steffen Peters and Ravel.  There is no doubt that I am a fan of that horse.  The fact that Ravel just started showing Grand Prix in March, competed at the Olympics in August, and came within less than half of a point of winning a medal is incredible.  It’s unfortunate that the German judge awarded some unconscionable points to some riders, thereby keeping some of the best rides out of the medals.  Of course, this is merely my uneducated, amateur rider opinion.  But my eyes do still work pretty good.

The German judge was the center of many points of contention in the dressage judging.  I really don’t feel good about him at all.  I know it’s standard procedure to be accused of “sour grapes” any time there are complaints about the judging, but in the case of this individual, I feel that calling “foul” is valid.  If you’re keeping up with the dressage news, I’m sure you’ll be reading plenty about Herr Gotthilf Riexinger.

The Swedish horses did well in the Freestyle, although their performances were not stellar.  Kyra and Max earned a score of 74.250% for their freestyle for 6th place.  Their combined score with the GP Special gave them a final placing of 8th.   I’m not a major fan of Max’s music although I know that a lot of folks do like it.  It seems to me like the music should be a bit more masculine.  Jan Brink and Briar put in a solid freestyle for a score of 73.450%, and a final placing of 10th.  I feel that the Swedish horses have shown that they are definitely capable of better, but they did a great job at the Olympics and I am proud of them!

There is a great article by Karen Robinson that discusses each Freestyle, the music selections and how they do (or don’t) complement the horse.  Click here to read the article.

In the Jumping competition, it all came down to Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and the KWPN gelding Ninja la Silla.  They were in the final jump-off for the gold medal, and it was a nail-biter!  I could hardly bear to watch it.  The pair had perfect, clear courses in both jumping finals, even after the water jump flooded just prior to their turn on course which caused a delay, which I thought they handled very well.  For the gold medal, they were jumping against Eric Lamaze of Canada.  Both riders finished with the same time of 38.39, but unfortunately Rolf and Ninja had one rail down.  But that’s not a bad way to take home a silver medal!

From the FEI press release:

Bengtsson was first of the two now going for gold and took the longer route from the oxer to the vertical. Really pressing his brave little chestnut gelding he was seriously piling the pressure on Lamaze going to the last, but, too forward and too close, Ninja hit it hard behind and as Lamaze came into the ring he had a choice. He could go for a steady clear to clinch the golden prize or press for more speed in case he left a fence down - and he opted for the latter. Hickstead set off again with that sense of purpose that is his trademark and Lamaze was right on the button all the way although as it happened he registered exactly the same time as the Swede when crossing the line in 38.39. The gold would go to Canada while silver would be Swedish - and Bengtsson, always the gentleman, was gracious in defeat.

“I had a very good feeling with my horse all week but in the second round today I was a bit worried when I came in because the water at the liverpool was leaking and what came back to me was that night in Athens when the gate fell down and then after it was put up again and I rode down to it again it fell down once more. I thought, “typical - this would happen to me!” he said good humouredly. His last round tonight was a great one but he said, “I knew Eric was coming behind me and he has a very fast horse so I have to try - but my horse got too strong on the last run and couldn’t steady for the jump. I’m super-satisfied with Ninja, he is not so big but he is very brave and he never thinks about not jumping. If I steer him at something he always tries to jump it and clear it. In everything he is a very sweet horse and I really enjoy every minute of riding him - but we had a great winner today,” he said, paying tribute to Lamaze’s effort.

Swedish Olympic Summary:

Dressage:

Kyra Kyrklund and Max (FIN) - 8th

Jan Brink and Briar 899 (SWE) - 10th

Swedish Dressage Team - 5th

Jumping:

Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Ninja la Silla - Silver Medal

Swedish Jumping Team - 8th

Eventing:

Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo (CAN) - 46th

Swedish Eventing Team - 4th

Interestingly, of the two best performances, one is by a Finnish rider on a Swedish horse (Kyra and Max), and the other by a Swedish rider on a Dutch horse (Rolf and Ninja).  Any way you look at it, both the Swedish horses and the Swedish riders put in a respectable showing at the Olympics and I am thankful for their efforts!

Updated competition results for the Swedish horses is available here.

 _{Kyra Kyrklund and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson Photo Credit: DAVID HECKER/AFP/Getty Images}

The Swedish jumping team is looking strong in third place.  Of their four competing horses, they had one clear round with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson riding Ninja la Silla.  Lotta Schultz and Calibra II put in a good performance, accumulating only 4 jumping faults, even though she seemed to have her hands full with the horse.  Peter Eriksson and Jaguar Mail finished the course with 8 jumping faults.  Helena Lundbäck and Erbblume completed the course with 12 jumping faults.  Erbblume is the only horse on the team with Swedish pedigree, but I am happy to see the team in a top spot!  Best wishes in the team final on Monday!

The Swedish Jumping team horses are:

• Ninja la Silla - 1995 KWPN gelding by Guidam  (pictured)
• Calibra II - 1995 ISH gelding by Cavalier Royale
• Jaguar Mail - 1997 TB stallion by Hand in Glove xx, approved Swedish
• Erbblume - 1997 SWB mare by Castor

Click here for Round 1 team results.

Click here for Round 1 individual results.

Click here to watch videos.

_{Photo Credit:  MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images.  Click here for larger image.}

The Swedish horses are still in the game!  With the Grand Prix Special now in the books, the Swedish horses are standing steady in the 10th and 13th slots.  The top 15 placing horses from the Special will continue on to the Freestyle on Tuesday where the Individual medals will be determined.

I managed to watch many of the rides live on the internet.  Kyra Kyrklund and Max performed another solid test, but with a couple of costly mistakes.  Kyra and Max are in 10th place with a score of 69.720%.  Max was a bit more tired than in the GP according to sources:

Quote from the ABPSL Olympic website:

“A professional through and through, Finland’s Kyra Kyrklund who has been part of the dressage scenery for so many years admitted that Max had been tired tonight, and this was reflected in their 69.72% score. “It was hard work, but the Grand Prix was so light, it was almost unusual and I just had to steer him around. Now I have to do a little bit more, but there were a lot of good things, so I’m pleased with what I did, although there were a few mistakes. The first extended trot was entirely my mistake – he was a bit crooked and I wanted to get him straight with my right leg and he said, ‘okay, it’s time to canter’. You an never ride more than what your horse is offering you so I tried to do a clean test with as much expression as possible, and he did a good job, but the mistakes were too expensive. The heat was getting to him.””

Congratulations to Kyra and Max for getting the job done despite the heat and the hard work!

Jan Brink and Briar finished in 13th place with a score of 68.960%.  Although the pair’s score for both the GP and the Special were nearly the same, I personally enjoyed the Special much more.  Briar seemed much less tense, more cooperative, more “there”.

I enjoyed watching the rides of Steffen Peters and Ravel as well as that of Courtney King and Mythilus.  Ravel does not appear to have an ounce of Swedish blood in him, but I am really becoming a fan.  I didn’t understand the scoring for Courtney’s ride.  The judges seemed to be all over the map with her.  I liked her ride better than her score.

Click here to view complete results of the Grand Prix Special.

Click here to view the individual judging marks for each rider in the GP Special.

Click here to view the video of the GP Special.

_{Photo Credit: MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images.  Click here to view larger photo.}

Both segments of the Grand Prix dressage event are complete, as well as the first jumping qualifier.  In dressage, we saw the big name riders put in good rides, although it was interesting to note that some errors were ignored in the light of the “star factor” of some riders, but I guess that’s the way it will always be.  There were some interesting rides to see as well as some disappointments.  Debbie and Brentina did not perform as everyone was expecting, and it was quite sad to see the Japanese rider on Whisper have trouble with the horse.  I imagine that many of the horses do not have experience at a venue that is comparable to the Olympics.  I thoroughly enjoyed the ride of Steffen Peters and Ravel.  That is one very nice horse.  I understand that this is the horse’s first year at Grand Prix, which makes his performance that much more impressive.  The final halt was beautiful.

Kyra Kyrklund and Max put in a very nice performance which landed them in the #6 position with a score of 70.583%.  Beijing is the 8th Olympics for Kyra so she has the experience to handle the high-pressure environment.  There was some worry about Max as he had been running a temperature for a few days, but by the time of his performance he was eager to enter the ring.  Congratulations to Kyra and Max on a job well done!  Kyra and her team are making regulars posts on her website about their Olympic experience along with some photos.  You can check it out here.

Jan Brink and Briar put in a solid test, receiving a score of 68.875% and landing them in 13th place.  Briar did not look as relaxed as he usually does, but what do I know?

In team standings, the Swedes finished in 5th place.

There’s still more to come in dressage with the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle in the next few days.  We are sure to see more great rides and some surprises.  I will be keeping a good thought for Kyra/Max and Jan/Briar!

Click here for Individual results of Grand Prix.

In the first jumping qualifier I had my eye towards two horses:  Columbus H and Erbblume.  Columbus H, ridden by Linda Heed for Sweden, was a reserve horse and therefore did not compete.  Erbblume finished in 49th place with 8 jumping penalties.  I was surprised at the placing.  I watched the jumping video and the rider appeared poised and the horse seemed to be jumping well.  The final result was a heartbreaker with two rails down near the end of the course.  Watch the jumping videos by clicking here. 

The Swedish team is in 10th place in jumping, with no one having a clear round.

Click here for Individual results of the 1st Jumping qualifier.

I imagine that Max and Briar are the two Swedish horses that we will get to continue to watch in the Olympics.  Best wishes to both!

Click here to view all of the equestrian videos that are currently available.

The first segment of Olympic Grand Prix dressage has begun and results are posted.  Videos of the tests are available at the NBC Olympics website.  There was one Swedish Warmblood in the first segment, Yuko Kitai of Japan riding Rambo.

I watched the video and was impressed with Rambo.  He appears to be very kind and talented.  He obviously knows the movements.  I wish his rider was stronger.  It didn’t seem as if Rambo was getting much focused direction.  The rider appeared to be quite terrified and was looking around more than the horse was.  I can only imagine how overwhelming it must be to perform at an Olympic venue.  Congratulations to the pair for making it to the Olympics!  They finished with a score of 58.750%.

Click here to view a nice photo of Kitai and Rambo performing their Grand Prix test at the Olympics.

Click here to view the videos from the first dressage segment.  If you click on the “Navigation” button you can select the rider you would like to watch.  Have fun!

The final phase of Eventing was completed with the showjumping competition.  Linda Algotsson of Sweden put in another solid performance with Stand By Me, finishing in 13 place.  They had one rail down in the showjumping final, costing them 4 penalties.  This pair performed consistently through all three phases of Eventing.

Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo had their troubles in showjumping and did not seem to be able to get into a rhythm.  The pair clearly have the ability and the talent, but it was not their day.  They finished showjumping in 46th place, with three rails down, costing them 12 penalty points.

The Swedish eventing team finished just out of the medals in 4th place.  Unfortunately, two of the team horses where unable to compete in the showjumping phase due to injuries detected after the cross country event.  Bally’s Geronimo suffered a tendon injury and Keymaster was found to have a hairline fracture of the pastern.  Both horses were treated at the Hong Kong Jockey’s club vet clinic and are expected to recover.

Detailed results for Individual Eventing can be found here.

Detailed results for Team Eventing can be found here.

I have to start this post by saying how thrilled I am with NBC for the great coverage of the Olympics.  I have spent considerable time both in front of the tv and the computer enjoying coverage of the equestrian events.  I have gotten to see horses in action that I otherwise never would have been able to.  It has really been exciting.

The two main horses I have been watching in Eventing has been Selena O’Hanlon/Colombo and Linda Algotsson/Stand By Me.  Neither pair received much coverage in the cross country, but I was very glad to see the small bits that were available.  While both pairs did fairly well in dressage, Selena and Colombo had some troubles in the cross country phase.  Apparently, Colombo lost a shoe while on course which I’m sure affected his ride, although I don’t know if it contributed to the refusals.  The pair finished in a time of 9:32 with 40 jumping penalties.  Linda and Stand By Me seem to have a good ride on the course with no jumping penalties, and a time of 8:57.  A very good ride indeed.

The Swedish team finds themselves in good position going into the showjumping.  They are currently in 5th place after cross country.  I found it very interesting to see the Sweden team and the Australia team (#2) were the only ones to have all riders complete the cross country course with NO jumping penalties.  I find that to be impressive.

Click here to view detailed results from the cross country event.

I will be going to the barn tomorrow to see my own SWB, but I will certainly be back in front of the tv in time to watch the Showjumping!  Best wishes to the Swedish team and all the Swedish horses!