Werth and Wendy wow Olympic dressage judges to bolster Germany’s gold medal hopes

Isabell Werth, the most decorated Olympic dressage rider of all time, put in a beautiful performance with Wendy in the Paris 2024 Olympic dressage grand prix special. They scored 79.89% – a personal best for this ever-improving 10-year-old mare – which has promoted the German team into gold medal position after the second rotation of riders.

“I have to say Wendy is really outstanding and she doesn’t make mistakes, so it was up to me,” said Isabell, who only took over the ride on this mare at the beginning of this year. “I was a little bit too careful and too much backwards today because in Aachen [their most recent competition] we were a little bit too forward, so those are the little details we have to figure out. But she was so fantastic with the passage and the last centre line and the pirouettes today and everything is really improving.”

Isabell said that she clicked immediately with Wendy when she first rode her.

“It is really a perfect match between us and I think we both feel really confident, which makes it so easy. She’s so uncomplicated.”

Reigning individual European silver medallists Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Zepter put in a solid test to earn 78.48% from the judges, which means the Danish team has now climbed a position into silver at this stage of the Olympic dressage grand prix special.

Nanna’s performance with the 16-year-old, who has only recently returned from injury, wasn’t completely without fault, with mistakes coming in the two-time tempi-changes and a transition between passage and piaffe.

“I think I had a really really nice test. I managed to improve in the piaffe and passage also a little bit in the pirouettes,” said Nanna after her Olympic dressage performance. “But then I had also a few mistakes, which kept me under 80% – that’s how it is and I’m really happy with him and the type of performance we provided.”

Nanna said that she thinks the electric atmosphere in the main arena was the cause of her mistakes.

“I think it was the pressure, maybe he could feel something on me as well. I didn’t feel as nervous as I did on the first day, but he definitely feels everything.

“He always tries to do his best, so when the mistakes happen it’s more like a communication misunderstanding between him and me. Maybe I wanted a little bit too much in the two-tempis and then he got a little bit confused in the end.”

The British team is in bronze medal position after Carl Hester’s test with Fame.

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