‘Dressage queen’ Isabell Werth sets medal record as Germany team win gold

VERSAILLES – Germany’s dressage queen Isabell Werth became her country’s most decorated Olympian on Aug 3, as she led her team to victory over Denmark and Britain in a closely fought battle.

Werth, 55, put in a strong performance and scored 79.89 per cent in the dressage team final, held in the Grand Prix Special format, with Wendy, a black mare she has trained for only six months.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl sealed the razor-thin win for Germany, who had a total score of 235.79 points, ahead of Denmark with 235.67 and Britain on 232.49.

On Aug 4, she successfully defended her individual dressage title ahead of Werth in a stunning repeat of the result in Tokyo in 2021, underlining the country’s dominance in the discipline. Briton Charlotte Fry won bronze.

“No one can say that dressage is boring. It was really exciting to the very last point,” Werth told a press conference.

Asked about her own achievements, she said: “I am really happy and proud about it... Now we will take, hopefully soon, a little glass of wine or champagne, because we haven’t got any yet.”

Werth has become the most successful German in Olympic history with eight golds and six silvers. She is also the most decorated rider and the first athlete to win medals at seven Olympic Games.

“Hats off to her. I never try and match Isabell. She is the undisputed queen of dressage”, said Britain’s Carl Hester, 57, one of the last dressage greats of Werth’s generation still competing.

The victories brought some relief to Germany, who so far have failed to deliver on expectations in most sports and were 10th in the medal tally, as the Olympics head into their final week. Riders have won three of Germany’s five golds.

Britain’s chances took a hit when star rider Charlotte Dujardin was barred from the competition a few days before the Games over a video that showed her hitting a horse, reviving a debate over the sport’s ethics and Olympic future.

Speaking after his ride, veteran Hester said he was “excited and proud” of the good performance from his pupil Becky Moody, the young rider who stepped in to replace Dujardin.

Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour had the best individual performance with a score of 81.2 per cent with MSJ Freestyle, a mare she took over from Dujardin a few years ago.

The Danish riders said the tight result, setting their team just 0.12 percentage point behind Germany after three rounds of jury votes, was a testament to how exciting their sport could be rather than a cause of frustration.

“It was mega fun sport today,” said Laudrup-Dufour. Her teammate Daniel Bachmann Andersen added: “If you flip the medal the right way, you can see there’s some gold in it.”

Germany have won 14 gold medals, or two-thirds of all those awarded in the dressage team competitions in the modern Olympics, including every gold since 1984, apart from 2012, when Britain snatched it on home turf. REUTERS