Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg served as the final combination of the three-man team of the US Eventing Team to ride down the centerline for their dressage test at the Equestrian Park in Tokyo, Japan, receiving a 31.1 from the Ground Jury to secure the team’s eighth place standing heading into the cross-country phase tomorrow. The team currently sits on a combined total of 94.6, while Great Britain, Germany, and New Zealand hold the top three team positions.

Cross-country at the Sea Forest Cross-Country Course will begin at 7:45 a.m. JST on Sunday, August 1, which is 6:45 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 31, with the time zone difference.

Martin, of Cochranville, Pa., and Tsetserleg have been tasked as the team’s anchor combination in all three phases and Martin was anticipating delivering a better test with the seasoned 14-year-old Trakehner gelding (owned by Christine, Tommie, and Thomas Turner), but a few uncharacteristic mistakes dropped their score below their average mark. See the full results for all individual riders.

“To be honest, it’s quite disappointing,” said Martin as he described his test. “Thomas has been so good in the dressage for years and years, and we had great work in there and then there was one moment in the rein back where he fell behind me and misunderstood me and cantered out, which screwed up the next movement. It was some great moments and some disastrous moments. You always come here hoping to give a personal best.”

But the eventing team (Boyd Martin, Phillip Dutton, and Doug Payne) has already moved past their dressage rounds in Tokyo and is already focusing on the phase ahead, which is notably a strong phase for all three combinations, with Vandiver, Z, and Tsetserleg all accomplished campaigners at the top level of the sport with tremendous experience. The Derek DiGrazia-designed track is expected to be challenging and will be influential with the standings following the conclusion of tomorrow’s competition, and the team is looking to deliver three fast, efficient rounds to help push them up back up the leaderboard.

“The cross-country is so difficult tomorrow, and it will be hard to get the time,” added Martin. “I believe we’re in with a chance if we can deliver three good rounds of cross-country. We’ve got three good, seasoned horses who are older and experienced, so I think we’ve got nothing to lose by going out there and giving it a crack.

Doug Payne and Vandiver will be the first combination out for the team at 7:51 a.m. JST, followed by Phillip Dutton and Z at 9:03 a.m. JST, and Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg will round out the team’s day at 10:09 a.m. JST.

Complete Tokyo Olympics Coverage

It was another hot, humid Olympic day in Tokyo, and it was time for Boyd Martin to show off his dressage skills for Team USA. But July 31 also happens to be German eventing star Michael Jung’s birthday. Today he celebrated his 39th by topping the leaderboard on the final day of eventing dressage. He also received a spontaneous serenade of “Happy Birthday to You” from the press corps as he stopped in the media interview zone after his ride.

The reigning Olympic champion from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, this time Jung piloted the 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding Chipmunk FRH to a score of 21.1. This moved the overnight leader Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class down to second and runner up China’s Alex Hua Tian riding Don Geniro to third, respectively.

At the conclusion of the dressage phase in Tokyo, the U.S. riders sit in 16th (Phillip Dutton on Z), 20th (Boyd Martin on Tsetserleg) and 30th (Doug Payne on Vandiver) individually, and the U.S. Team sits in eighth out of 15 teams.

Two horses were withdrawn from the eventing competition on the second day of dressage. The first was Austrian rider Katrin Khoddam-Hazrati’s horse DSP Cosma, who did not perform a dressage test due to the loss of a shoe. The second was Belgian rider Lara de Liedekerke-Meier’s Alpaga d’Arville who was withdrawn after their dressage test was completed reportedly due to a “minor injury.”

After completion of the dressage phase, the event horses and their grooms were transported to stabling at the Sea Forest venue, which is about an hour and a half to two hours by van, depending on traffic, from the main equestrian venue at Baji Koen. The horses will overnight there tonight, run cross-country tomorrow morning and then be transported back to Baji Koen tomorrow afternoon for the remainder of their stay in Tokyo.

On August 1, the 61 remaining horse-and-rider pairs will tackle Derek di Grazia’s cross-country course. A beautiful and challenging course to say the least, it is situated on a man-made island in the middle of Tokyo Bay. There are 23 numbered obstacles and potentially 43 jumping efforts depending on the routes riders choose through obstacles with multiple options. The optimum time is seven minutes and 45 seconds to complete the 4,420-meter course. Many riders are predicting that the time will be tough to make.

Show Jumping First Horse Inspection

Meanwhile the show jumping competitors have arrived in Tokyo, and their horses had their first horse inspection this evening. Seventy-five horses, including the reserves, were put in front of the ground jury. Two were held for re-inspection tomorrow morning, one from Argentina and one from China.

The Jumping Individual Qualifier will take place on August 3, with the top 30 combinations moving on to the next day’s Jumping Individual Final. And, the Jumping Team Qualifier will be held on August 6. Finally, the Jumping Team Final will close out equestrian competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on August 7.

Complete Tokyo Olympics Coverage

The first day of dressage competition for the US Eventing Team has concluded at Equestrian Park in Tokyo, Japan, with the team currently sitting in ninth heading into the final grouping of combinations. The U.S. Eventing Team drew fourth in the order out of 15 teams and sent out their first combination of Doug Payne and Vandiver on June 30 with the pair earning a 33.0. Olympic veteran Phillip Dutton and Z were also early in the order in the second group and received a 30.0 from the Ground Jury to sit them in the middle of the pack at the conclusion of the competition.

Payne, of Rougemont, N.C., and Vandiver, a 17-year-old Trakehner gelding (owned by Debi Crowley, Doug Payne, and Jessica Payne) rode a solid test as the lead-off combination for the team. This is Payne’s first Olympic Games, and he was keen to put in a good showing in the dressage phase and is already looking ahead to cross-country on Sunday.

“I was very happy with Vandiver [Quinn] in there,” said Payne after this test. “I think out of all three phases this is the toughest for him, but he put forward a great effort and honestly, in the end it’s all you can ask for, and I was pretty excited to get that finished and on to the next, and there’s a lot more left ahead. I think he was about as settled as he’s been going in, and it’s a credit to the facility here. We’ve been here long enough, and he’s been able to see it all, but he stayed settled and rideable. He’s the most genuine creature and really tries his best all the time.”

As the second combination down the centerline in dressage for the US Eventing Team in Tokyo, Dutton, of West Grove, Pa., and Z, a 13-year-old Zangersheide gelding (owned by Evie Dutton, Ann Jones, Suzanne Lacy, Caroline Moran, Simon Roosevelt, and Thomas Tierney) laid down a mistake-free test that earned them a 30.0 from the judges. The typically excitable gelding was very settled and workmanlike in the big arena, and Dutton commented that his focus and willingness was spot on during their test.

“I couldn’t be prouder of him. Traditionally, he’s gotten a bit revved up and excited in the bigger stadiums and arenas, and he was right on the money today. He was listening to me and very obedient. It was a pleasure to be a part of that test with him,” said Dutton.

The team will look for a big mark on July 31 from anchor combination Boyd Martin, of Cochranville, Pa., and Tsetserleg, a 14-year-old Trakehner gelding (owned by Christine, Tommie, and Thomas Turner) who will take the arena at 9:28 a.m. JST/8:28 p.m. EDT. Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander was pleased with the team’s showing on the first day and said that their overall score will give them confidence for Sunday’s test of Derek Di Grazia’s cross-country track at the Sea Forest Cross-Country Course.

“Doug and Vandiver scored within the range of our expectations,” said Duvander. “Phillip Dutton rode a much-improved test on Z from Kentucky, so we are very pleased with his performance. We have walked the cross-country course now several times and have a very clear picture of the course. After Boyd’s test, we will walk as a team one final time to finalize our strategy. The team has no thoughts of holding back.”

Competition continues in Tokyo on July 31 with the final session of dressage for the world and for more rider of the US Eventing Team, beginning at 8:30 a.m. JST and continuing through 10:50 a.m. JST. Cross-country will take place on Sunday, August 1, beginning at 7:45 a.m. JST (6:45 p.m. EDT Saturday).

Complete Tokyo Olympics Coverage

Today in competition at the the Baji Koen Equestrian Park during the Tokyo Olympics, the host country of Japan hosted the first two sections of the dressage phase of eventing competition. One session was in the morning and another in the evening today. And then, a third and final session will be tomorrow morning. One horse/rider combination from each country fielding a team of three will compete per session, with riders competing as individuals interspersed into the three sections.

Here in Tokyo, the equestrian sports planners decided to avoid the heat of the day to help avoid heat stress in both horses and humans. No competition, training or even hand walking, grazing or longeing can take place outside between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., which is generally when temperatures peak during the day. The venue staff actually make a sweep of the grounds to herd everyone inside with their equine charges as 11 a.m. approaches each day. There are also misting fans around the facility, and the horses are housed in air-conditioned stables to keep them cool.

The number of starters in eventing was to be 65, but with the withdrawal of Jessica Phoenix’ horse Pavarotti before the horse inspection, and the Polish horse Banderas not passing the first inspection, that number has dropped by two. Fifteen nations are fielding teams for eventing with an additional 18 countries sending one or two individual riders.

At the end of today’s competition, 10 horse-and-rider pairs have scores below 30 in the dressage phase of eventing. The number one horse-and-rider combination was Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and the grey Irish Sport Horse gelding Ballaghmor Class, who are sitting on a score of 23.60. Townend and Ballaghmor Class won the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event this spring.

Following closely behind Townend is the Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian, who laid down a beautiful test with the British Sport Horse gelding Don Geniro to earn a score of 23.90. Tian’s mother is British and his father Chinese, and he grew up in China, Hong Kong and England and attended college in Great Britain. He competed as an individual in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he placed eighth with the same horse. This time round he is a member of the first-ever eventing team for China.

In the third spot at the end of today was Germany’s Julia Krajewski and the Selle Francais mare Amande de B’neville, who earned a 25.20. The U.S.A.’s Phillip Dutton sits in 12th place with the Zangersheide gelding Z, and Doug Payne is in 20th place with the Trakehner gelding Vandiver. Their third pair from the U.S.A., Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg, will compete tomorrow morning.

See the complete preliminary eventing dressage results from the Tokyo Olympics for individual riders and the eventing teams.

Complete Tokyo Olympics Coverage

As the dressage contingent packs to leave for home, the eventing competition got under way today at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with the first horse inspection. Seventy-six horses were presented to the eventing ground jury, including four from the U.S.A. and one from Canada. The reserve horses are also inspected and are included in that number.

Two horses were held for re-inspection, Pawel Spisak’s Banderas from Poland who unfortunately did not pass on re-inspection, and Lauren Billy’s Castle Larchfield Purdy from Puerto Rico, who was accepted upon re-inspection.

Canada’s Jessica Phoenix regrettably had to pull her veteran equine partner Pavarotti due to “a minor training injury sustained in a gallop on Tuesday,” and she therefore did not present him for inspection.

On Friday, July 30, the first section of eventing dressage starts at 8:30 a.m. Japanese Standard Time, or JST (7:30 p.m. EDT Thursday) and runs until 11 a.m JST (10 p.m. EDT Thursday). Then, there is a second session of eventing dressage tomorrow evening from 5:30 to 9 p.m JST (4:30 to 8 a.m. EDT Friday). The third and final section of eventing dressage begins on Saturday, July 31, from 8:30-11 a.m. JST (7:30-10 p.m. EDT on Friday) Then, cross-country runs Sunday, August 1, beginning at 7:45 a.m. (6:45 p.m. Saturday), and finally, show jumping takes place on Monday, August 2. There will be two rounds of show jumping since there is an Olympic rule that no athlete is able to earn both an individual and team medal for the same athletic effort.

A quick perusal of the cross-country course in the media tour on Wednesday showed a technically challenging course with many options for those who don’t want to try the direct routes through an obstacle. The cross-country course designer is Derek di Grazia from the U.S.A., and the course builder is David Evans from Great Britain. Now that the first horse inspection has happened, we’ll have more about the eventing course at the Tokyo Olympics before the start of cross-country. Check the orders of go here.

Complete Tokyo Olympics Coverage