Dutch and USA Battle for Grand Prix Special Bronze

Team USA and California athlete Steffen Peters will have to work for a chance at bronze

The Dutch land the lead during Friday morning’s Grand Prix Special; making it so the Americans have to work this afternoon for a chance at bronze. The team’s disadvantage of having three competitors has only driven their performances. Dedrick Van Silfhout impresses the judges with a beautiful “dance”, earning the No.3 spot on the leaderboard with a score of 76.092. The combination of Van Silfhout, Edward Gal, and Hins Minderhound’s performances give the team a competitive average score of 74.991. The team must hope that their score is good enough to land a spot on the podium this afternoon.

Unfortunately, Tinne Silfven- Whielmsson’s top performance isn’t enough to top the Dutch’s dominance. The team earned an average score of 74.370, ending their chances old landing a spot on the podium.  If Silfven-Whielmsson can hold a spot on the list of top 18 riders from the Grand Prix Special, he will have a chance to compete for an individual title in the Grand Prix Freestyle.

The Danish end their Olympic journey towards a team dressage title with a final average of 74.311. Catherine Dufour carried the team with a beautiful Grand Prix Special performance, earning a score of 76.050. Ana Kasprazak didn’t fall far behind Dufour with a score of 74.524, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to surpass the Dutch.

Germany, Great Britain and the United States will battle it out in the afternoon session to claim a top spot on the podium. Germany has proved to be unstoppable thus far in the competition, but Great Britain refuses to give up the glory of first place. The teams will go neck and neck to earn the golden title, while the U.S. and Dutch go knocking on the door of the bronze.

The top 18 riders from Friday’s Grand Prix special will continue to the Freestyle Final on Monday where they will perform dressage to music. Only three riders from each nation will qualify to compete in the Freestyle Finals.

The final round of the Grand Prix Special begins and 12:30 pm PT and will decide who will take home a team dressage title. 

Copyright Rio2016
Contact Us