Equestrian finally kicked off at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after weeks of build. We saw athletes withdraw, horses get injured and rules change significantly, all to prepare for the ultimate showdown. Dressage opened the equestrian festival at the Tokyo Olympics, and it did not disappoint.

Who qualified for the dressage freestyle after Day 1?

The individual dressage riders split into six groups, performed in front of the grand jury and received a score. In the first group, Charlotte Fry destroyed her competition with her horse Everdale. She and Everdale registered a brilliant 77.096, a score that would get trounced later on.

Along with her, Sweden’s Therese Nilshagen qualified for the dressage freestyle. Australia’s Mary Hanna scored just 67.981, putting the hopes of an Olympic medal on the team event.

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Group B featured a more competitive field with big names missing. The biggest name in the field was Edward Gal, who qualified with an exceptional 78.640. While this was the highest score of the day, Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour would demolish him with 81.056.

Group B also accounted for the first withdrawal from the Games, with Austria’s Victoria Max-Theurer bowing out after a dental injury to her horse. As a result, the Austrian dressage team is also out of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Group C had the most competitive field with star athletes like Hans Peter Mindhoud, Carl Hester, Sabine Schut-Kery and Jessica Von Brendow-Werndl. With the world #2 in your group, you have to step up your game. However, the German crushed the entire field with a phenomenal 84.379. Sabine Schut-Kery became the first member of Team USA to qualify for the freestyle.

What can we expect from Day 2 of dressage at the Tokyo Olympics 2020?

Tomorrow, the big guns take the stage as Great Britain’s, Germany’s and the United States’ top dressage performers grace the stage. Hearts will break, records might tumble and the world rankings might shift a bit after tomorrow’s individual qualifier.

USA’s Adrienne Lyle competes with a relatively mild field in Group D, making a loss quite surprising. Group E is also quite an uninviting group with Aussie rider Kelly Layne and Germany’s Dorothee Schneider emerging as the favorites.

The real fun unfolds in Group F, when world #1 Isabell Werth, two-time dressage gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin and the USA’s chief dressage rider Steffen Peters step out onto the field. Only from this exceptional field will qualify, and if two of the three names do not, one can call it an upset of monumental proportions.

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