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Oliver Townend the one to beat after day one of Tokyo 2020 eventing dressage

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Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class lead on 23.60 after dressage © BEF / Jon Stroud Media

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class lead on 23.60 after dressage © BEF / Jon Stroud Media

Laura Collett and Oliver Townend in the top five after first day of dressage, sending Great Britain to the top of team rankings so far

After withdrawal from a popular Canadian combination, plus early substitutions for Poland, Australia and Ireland, day one of eventing’s dressage (Friday 30 July) got underway without incident for British riders Oliver Townend and Laura Collett. Making their presence known they sit in provisional first and fourth respectively, as focus turns to the final dressage session (Saturday 31 July) ahead of the cross-country (Sunday 1 August). With just 6 penalty points separating the top 10 – and with the range likely to narrow with another dressage session to come – competition promises to be fierce.

Today’s competition

World number one and Team GB athlete Oliver Townend was second to go on his ride, Ballaghmor Class. He certainly didn’t disappoint and performed a flawless test – not necessarily a flashy performance but very correct from start to finish and proving he’s well and truly in it to win it. The pair set the standard from the get-go, putting an untouchable score of 23.60 on the board, and setting alight Team GB’s gold medal dreams.

The second of two British combinations to take to the stage on day one of the dressage was Laura Collett riding London 52. While battling the rain, Laura’s test started off well and went from strength to strength, producing a score of 25.80 that slotted them into fourth place – keeping the dream alive for Laura to become the first-ever female individual gold medallist in eventing. While ‘Dan’, as he’s known at home, is renowned for pulling out phenomenally low dressage scores, today’s 25.8 is in fact the 12-year-old gelding’s highest of the year. While Laura may be a little disappointed with their post-dressage tally – after all, on his 20.3 personal best, Dan would’ve been a comfortable overnight leader – with the cross-country and showjumping sure to prove influential, nobody’s expecting the final placings to mirror the dressage standings.

In overnight second, British-based Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian rode Don Geniro to a cracking score of 23.90, which put them just 0.3 penalties behind the leaders. Sure to be hoping for a medal, Alex made history in Beijing 2008 as the first Olympic eventer to represent China and the youngest competitor, and the pair are certainly ones to watch in this week’s competition. Plus, completing the top three was first German rider to go, Julia Krajewski riding Amande de b’Neville who finished on a brilliant 25.20 – who has big shoes to fill as Julia retired her top horse earlier this year after losing an eye in an accident and her former superstar Chipmunk FRH was given to teammate Michael Jung.

The home nation, Japan, have had a great start to their eventing competition with Kazuma Tomoto riding Vinci De La Vigne on a score of 25.90, in fifth position, and Toshiyuki Tanaka, riding Talma D’Allou, producing a respectable score of 32.70 – pushing their team up into the top three.

Pre-competition drama

Canadian rider, Jessie Pheonix, had to withdraw her ride, Pavarotti, before the trot-up due to an injury he sustained during his last gallop. The Olympic dream also ended early for the top Polish combo, Pawel Spisak and Banderas, who wasn’t accepted in the first horse inspection. Jan Kaminski and Jard are set to step up and take their place.

The Australian team also made a huge decision to make a substitution – team stalwart Kevin McNab and Don Quidam take the place of Leporis and Stuart Tinney. Plus, the Irish team swapped Cathal Daniels and Rioghan Rua for Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue.

As it stands…

With two-thirds of the dressage tests complete, Oliver Townend couldn’t be beaten and still leads the way as the third and final dressage session kicks off in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Among those most likely to order a reshuffle for the top rankings are Britain’s Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser, reigning Olympic champion Germany’s Michael Jung riding Chipmunk FRH, Australia’s Andrew Hoy riding Vassily de Lassons, USA’s Boyd Martin riding Tsetserleg TSF, and New Zealand’s Tim Price riding Vitali.

The top 10 individual combinations as they stand ahead of the final dressage session…

  1. Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class – 23.60
  2. China’s Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro – 23.90
  3. Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Amade de b’Neville – 25.20
  4. Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 – 25.80
  5. Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto and Vinci de la Vigne – 25.90
  6. Switzerland’s Feliz Vogg and Colero – 26.70
  7. India’s Fouaad Mirza and Seigneur – 28.00 and Sweden’s Louise Remeike and Cato 60 – 28.00
  1. Sweden’s Therese Viklund and Viscera – 28.10
  2. France’s Christopher Six and Totem de Brecey – 29.60

The team rankings as they stand ahead of the final dressage session…

  1. Great Britain – 49.40
  2. Sweden – 56.10
  3. Japan – 58.60
  4. China – 59.10
  5. Germany – 59.30
  6. New Zealand – 61.00
  7. France – 62.70
  8. Switzerland – 62.80
  9. United States – 63.50
  10. Australia – 63.80
  11. Brazil – 67.50
  12. Poland – 71.50
  13. Ireland – 72.30
  14. Italy – 72.50
  15. Thailand – 80.60

 

 

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