‘Hey boy, you’re good, you can do this’: Denmark and Germany’s first riders navigate mistakes in dressage team medal decider

Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Vayron, who acted as pathfinders for the Danish team in the Paris 2024 Olympic dressage grand prix special, scored 75.97% to slot the Danes into second after the first rotation of competitors.

“I’m so happy, I’m over the moon,” said Daniel, who was trending at around 81% throughout the trot work. “Obviously the whole trot and passage was brilliant today and I felt I was owning that arena.”

However tension started to creep in with the 13-year-old stallion during the canter work.

“I thought oh god, I have to calm him down and we have to change strategy now, which I did. I went from going full owning everything to now we have to just calm down, get no mistakes and get a good feeling, which I managed. I’m super proud that I have that mental toolbox and even though I wasn’t feeling confident, I had to give him confidence to be able to perform.

“And then, of course, my technical toolbox also had to come in because the canter work was not so easy, and that’s the charm and what I love about riding – you never know what’s going to happen and that’s so amazing and what we do it for. We train horses, we build a connection – sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not so easy, but when it’s not so easy that’s when we learn the most.”

Daniel explained that despite Vayron’s age, he’s still relatively inexperienced at this level.

“He’s only been doing grand prix for two years and has never in a stadium like this. So overall I’m happy with his development the way he is. He’s a big boy and he has a lot of charisma but he’s also a bit shy inside, so when he gets tense I take up leadership in a fair and good way, with my body language, with my breathing, with my voice. I talk to him and say, ‘hey boy, you’re good, you can do this’ and he was like, ‘okay, I can’”.

Olympics team dressage – Germany in bronze after first group of riders

Germany’s Frederic Wandres was first up for the Germans this morning. His score of 75.94% with Bluetooth OLD means that his team sit in bronze medal position at the end of the first group.

“I was happy that I could show myself and the people around me such as trainers and selectors that I am able to perform a consistent test,” explained Frederic, who dropped marks in the second canter pirouette. “Of course, I always think there could be a little bit more here and there, but in a team situation, it’s very important that you show your solid rounds and I was more than happy that I could prove it both days now.”

Great Britain’s Becky Moody and Jagerbomb scored a new grand prix special personal best of 76.49% to place Britain on top after the first group of riders.

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