Paris Olympics Happy Hour: Dressage Freestyles — Mares for the Win!

Morgane Schmidt, Comments Off on Paris Olympics Happy Hour: Dressage Freestyles — Mares for the Win!
And in a shock to no one, mares top the podium for today’s kür! Ok, *maybe* some of you are surprised, but as a mare fan I think it’s pretty fitting.

Greetings from The Swamp, where I am currently balancing Olympic gloriousness and hurricane preparations as what will become Hurricane Debby lumbers our way. She was originally set to inundate us earlier today, but has apparently slowed down to collect herself. Honestly, a hurricane may be the only thing with worse punctuality than me, but I digress.

Today’s Olympic freestyles showcased an array of musical selections and choreography, earning some pretty impressive scores. Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera claimed gold with a whopping 90.093%. Isabell Werth and Wendy won silver, scoring just a fraction below Jessica at an 89.614%– marking Isabell’s 14th Olympic medal and further solidifying her title as the most decorated equestrian Olympian. Britian’s Lottie Fry and the Dutch stallion, Glamourdale, earned bronze with an 88.971%.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (GER) riding TSF Dalera BB during the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Chateau de Versailles for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo Credit: FEI/Benjamin Clark.

Watching some of the rides, and of course considering the results, I had two stand out thoughts.

1. Wow, the harmony between some of the horse and rider pairs, along with their music, was just lovely.

2. The top two horses were mares. (Whoohoo! My Red Dragon approves.)

In relation to my first point, as someone who announces rated USDF/USEF shows, I am exposed to a significant amount of freestyle music. Some of it is so spot on artistically — not only does it fit the horse and its gaits, but also the music is laid out in a way that tells a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, complete with emotional nuance.

And then, there’s the rest of it.

Let me just say that if I never again hear Abba’s Dancing Queen awkwardly spliced up against an 80’s hairband song, it will be too soon.

Obviously, at the Olympic level, there’s none of that, but I’m always still deeply impressed by how artistic it can be.

Anyhow, as much as I’d love to ramble on and add my own personal commentary regarding the results and Olympic dressage in general, (just kidding, I don’t have time for whatever chaos that may cause), I need to go make sure all my lawn furniture and the dressage court is tied down before Debby gets here.

Here are your final results for the freestyles:

You can view the complete results here.

Cheers!

Morgane Schmidt is, among many things, an equestrian who still hasn’t quite decided what she wants to be when she grows up. Author of Life with Horses Is Never Orderly, she knows all about the madness that comes with the equine territory, having owned and competed horses in eventing and dressage for years. A lifelong fan of the classic equestrian cartoons penned by internationally renowned artist Norman Thelwell, she began her own comic series in 2011, sharing deftly funny reflections on life with horses on Horse Nation as well as her personal website. A native Floridian, she spent a decade in Reno, NV, where she was able to confirm her suspicion that snow is utterly worthless (she has since regained her sense and moved back to the Florida swamp). Though she has run the gamut of equestrian disciplines, her favorite is dressage. She has completed her USDF bronze and silver medals and is currently working on her gold. Generally speaking, her life is largely ruled by Woody, a 14.2 hand beastly quarter horse, Willie, a now beastly 14-year-old Dutch gelding, and Milona DG, a 7 year old KWPN chestnut mare (you can make your own inferences there…). Visit her website at www.theideaoforder.com.

Milona DG and I. Photo (c) Q2 Photography.