Making her third Olympic appearance for the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team, Adrienne Lyle will arrive in Paris with two new additions: her new mount, Helix, and her 9-month-old daughter, Bailey.

A 2012 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center and cared for by Marina Lemay, Helix was purchased with the Olympics in mind for Lyle in late 2023. The horse and rider team competed together on just a handful of occasions in spring 2024, but quickly made it clear that they make for an impressive duo.

Horse Illustrated had a quick chat with Lyle ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics to discuss this year’s Games.

Horse Illustrated: What qualities do you look for in an Olympic horse?

Adrienne Lyle: When we’re searching for horses for the Olympics and high performance, we obviously need them to have the physical capabilities and the physical talent to do it. But a huge part of the equation is their heart, how hard they try for their rider, how intelligent they are, and how much they enjoy learning new things. Because to get to the Grand Prix level, they have to really be open to constantly learning new things and evolving. So their character is also very, very important.

HI: What has been the biggest challenge for you in your journey to the 2024 Olympics?

Lyle: This year, my journey to the Olympics was unique for two different reasons—one of which is that Helix and I are a new partnership. That’s not something I had done before in my career, so there’s a lot of new challenges and things to figure out with getting a horse in a shorter timeframe.

And the other thing that made it challenging, or at least different, was that I’m a new mother. I had a daughter at the end of September of last year (2023), so there’s been lots of new additions to my life this season.

HI: How does having previous Olympic experiences help you prepare for this year’s Olympics?

Lyle: This will be my third Olympic Games and for sure every time you go, you learn such an incredible amount. Not just about riding and competing, but also what it means to be a good teammate—to be there for other competitors and the honor of representing your country.

HI: What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Olympics?

Lyle: French pastries!

HI: What is your favorite Olympic sport outside of equestrian?

Lyle: Outside of equestrian, I love to watch the track and field and gymnastics. They are just, to me, the pinnacle of amazing things that the human body can do. And it’s pretty cool to get to see them train and compete in person.

HI: How has motherhood changed your preparation for the Olympics?

Well, besides the fact I can’t get anywhere on time ever again for the rest of my life, it’s added just a different element being in Europe here and having my daughter with me. So we’re not only focused on the training, but also obviously the role of being her mom and just figuring out how to delegate our time. It hasn’t taken away anything from the training; I’m still training just as hard and just as focused as before. It’s just kind of added another fun dimension to it.

For more news, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

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In a change to today’s anticipated line up, Adrienne Lyle, of Wellington, Fla., and Salvino have made the decision to withdraw from this evening’s competition for an Individual medal in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. This morning, Salvino did not feel quite like his usual self, and last night’s historic team medal was an extraordinary accomplishment, and the United States is proud of the team’s incredible effort. After Adrienne Lyle had to withdraw, Steffen Peters, of San Diego, Calif., and Sabine Schut-Kery, of Napa, Calif., will continue forward this evening to contest the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, as they look to achieve more personal bests for our program.

Further Reading

◆ U.S. Dressage Team Earns Silver Medal in FEI Grand Prix Special for Team Medals at Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
◆ HI Tokyo Olympics Daily Update: A Night of Olympic Dressage Talent, Teams and Typhoons
◆ HI Tokyo Olympics Daily Update: Day 2 of Grand Prix Dressage
◆ U.S. Dressage Team Qualifies for Team Competition Following Performances from Adrienne Lyle and Steffen Peters on Second Day of FEI Grand Prix at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

The post Adrienne Lyle and Salvino Withdraw from Individual Medal Contention in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The U.S. Dressage Team finished team competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and captured the silver medal under the lights at Equestrian Park in Tokyo, Japan, making it the first time the team has collected a team silver since the London Olympic Games in 1948. The team competition saw eight nations vie for the three coveted podium positions, with Germany taking gold, the U.S. earning the silver, and Great Britain awarded the bronze medal.

Adrienne Lyle and Salvino received a 76.109 percent from the panel, while Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, who rode in the second group, finished the competition with a 77.766, a personal best for the combination. Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo anchored the team and received a career-high 81.596 percent from the judges as one of the final rides of the evening.

Lyle, of Wellington, Fla., and Salvino, a 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Betsy Juliano LLC, were the trailblazers for the U.S. Dressage Team, riding early in the first group order. The pair executed a mistake-free test, giving momentum to the team for their second ride with Peters and Suppenkasper.

It’s a #silver medal for #USA in the #equestrian team grand prix special.#StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @FEI_Global pic.twitter.com/XMtjdpB9Vi

— Olympics (@Olympics) July 27, 2021

“I’m super thrilled,” said Lyle. “I was really hoping we could pull off a score like that for the team today. We were a little conservative in the Grand Prix, and it wasn’t our greatest display, so I wanted to come out here and push for a little bit more. Despite the heat and humidity, he was really a good boy and he delivered with no mistakes, and that’s what you want for the team test.”

In the second grouping of combinations, Peters, of San Diego, Calif., and Suppenkasper, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm, rode one of their best tests to date and earned a superb score, improving from their test on Sunday in the team qualifier competition.

“This is exactly what I wanted for my team,” said Peters. “It’s one thing to ride individually, but when you pull a good score for your team it’s an incredible feeling. When we came out of the arena, I gave Mopsie a big hug and thanked him from the bottom of my heart. We were seriously in the zone. When we were out there about to go in the ring, I said, ‘Mopsie, please just do what we just did out here in warm-up,’ and we had a good schooling this morning. He did that for me when it counted, and it’s an incredible feeling when a horse will fight for you like that in the arena.”

As the anchor combination for the team, Schut-Kery, of Napa, Calif., and Sanceo, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Alice Womble, rounded out the team’s effort with another stellar performance and personal best. The duo, who made their presence known in their first outing on Saturday, returned with another strong performance for the U.S. Dressage Team, helping them to clinch their second-place finish.

“For me, this was my first time here at the Olympics, and it was quite intense to wait that long for the end of the class, but I am so proud of my horse, my team, my owners, and the coaches,” said Schut-Kery. “It’s been a really, really great experience, and I am still a bit speechless. I was filled with joy and pride. It’s such a team effort. It’s a big relief to deliver for the whole team, not just my teammates, but everyone involved, and it just meant everything. It was just pure happiness.”

 

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With team competition concluded, Chef d’Equipe Debbie McDonald discussed her team’s performance throughout the team competition, as she was overcome with emotion.

“I am just so proud of this team,” said McDonald. “This is truly the dream team. They each persevered and delivered when their team needed them most. I am so elated by their accomplishment tonight, and wow, what a moment to be remembered for this program. We’ll be back tomorrow and ready for our last competition of this journey, which I am so proud to be a part of, and I have to thank all of the amazing coaches, support staff, and owners, as this wouldn’t have been possible without their dedication and unwavering commitment to our athletes and their horses.”

The Second Horse Inspection will take place at 10:30 a.m. JST/9:30 p.m. EDT and the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle for individual medals will begin at 5:30 p.m. JST/4:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 28. The order-of-go will be announced tomorrow morning. Official results can be found here.

Complete Tokyo Olympics Coverage

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U.S. Equestrian has announced the four athlete-and-horse combinations selected to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the United States Dressage Olympic Team. The team will be led by Chef d’Equipe Debbie McDonald and Team Leader Hallye Griffin. The first horse inspection will take place on July 23, and competition is set to begin on July 24 and continue through July 28, 2021, at the Equestrian Park in Tokyo, Japan. Three combinations will compete as a team with one traveling reserve.

“The team selected to represent us in Tokyo is incredibly strong, and I’m looking forward to working with these combinations in the coming weeks to ensure we deliver performances our country will be proud of this summer,” said Chef d’Equipe Debbie McDonald. “We’ve worked tremendously hard over the past year to adjust and prepare for these Games, and it’s exciting to see all of the hard work begin to pay off. These combinations are up for the challenge that will be presented to us in Tokyo, and we are incredibly grateful for the continued support of our family, friends, and fans around the country.”

The following athlete-and-horse combinations will represent the United States at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and are listed in alphabetical order:

◆ Adrienne Lyle, of Wellington, Fla., and Salvino, a 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Betsy Juliano, LLC
◆ Steffen Peters, of San Diego, Calif., and Suppenkasper, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Four Winds Farm and Akiko Yamazaki
◆ Sabine Schut-Kery, of Napa, Calif., and Sanceo, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Alice Womble

The following combination has been named as the traveling reserve:

◆ Nick Wagman, of San Diego, Calif., and Don John, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Beverly Gepfer

The following combinations have been named as team alternates to the United States Dressage Olympic Team and are listed in selected order:

◆ Olivia LaGoy-Weltz, of Haymarket, Va., and Rassing’s Lonoir, a 17-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Mary Anne McPhail and Olivia LaGoy-Weltz
◆ Ben Ebeling, of Moorpark, Calif., and Illuster van de Kampert, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Sasha Cutter for Nuvolari Holdings and Amy Roberts Ebeling

All team nominations are subject to United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee approval. The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the United States Equestrian Team Foundation, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and United States Equestrian Federation sponsors and members.

Stay up to date on USA Dressage on Facebook and Instagram and U.S. Equestrian on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Use #USADressage.

Further Reading

◆ U.S. Dressage Mandatory Observation Event Showcases Talent of Top U.S. Combinations

The post U.S. Equestrian Announces U.S. Dressage Olympic Team Ahead of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The 14 athlete-and-horse pairs on the U.S. Dressage Olympic Short List took their final trip down the centerline on June 12 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, Fla., contesting the FEI Grand Prix Special Test at the U.S. Dressage Mandatory Observation Event.

The U.S. Dressage Mandatory Observation Event served as the final opportunity for the combinations named to the U.S. Dressage Olympic Short List to compete in an atmosphere comparable to what the team’s experience will be in Tokyo, Japan later this summer. The combinations named to the final roster of three competitors and one traveling reserve, will be announced no later than June 21, 2021.

“I’m super excited. I think we have three extremely strong combinations who are capable of scoring above 80 percent, and I don’t think we’ve ever had this type of depth before. There were many great rides tonight, and it’s exciting for U.S. Dressage,” said Debbie McDonald, chef d’equipe of the U.S. Dressage Team. “This event was the smartest thing we could have done in this year with all the various challenges and logistics. Hopefully when we get to Tokyo it will pay off, but either way, it was a good for these riders to feel what the horses were like in this environment.”

Adrienne Lyle, of Wellington, Fla., and Betsy Juliano LLC’s 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion, Salvino, turned in the top test of the evening, posting a new personal best score of 81.830%. Lyle selected a soundtrack of music that included a mix of classical and oldies for her FEI Grand Prix Special to Music, matching the stallion’s energy and elegant movement.

“I wanted to be able to put in another solid test with him, and I have to say he feels really good. I had one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in the warm-up,” said Lyle. “The piaffe and passage felt really secure and confident. The final centerline felt super, and he came out of the ring feeling fresh and fit. I think that was a huge test in this heat and humidity.

He is the horse you want with you down in the trenches. He totally gets it. If I start to slip up, he is always right there to catch me, and those kinds of horses are special, and there are not many like that which you get to sit on in your lifetime,” added Lyle, as she talked about her relationship with Salvino.

Steffen Peters, of San Diego, Calif., continued his long streak of exceptional results with Suppenkasper, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Four Winds Farm, just narrowly missing the 80% mark with an average score of 79.532%. Peters rode the impressive gelding to a mix of music that included pop hits by Coldplay and Snow Patrol.

After earning a personal best in Wednesday night’s FEI Grand Prix, Sabine Schut-Kery, of Napa, Calif., and Sanceo, Alice Womble’s 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion, had another banner performance, earning a 78.298% to round out the top three. Nick Wagman, of San Diego, Calif., and Don John, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Beverly Gepfer, finished in fourth place with a score of 76.043%. Olivia LaGoy Weltz, of Haymarket, Va., and Rassing’s Lonoir, a 17-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding owned by LaGoy Weltz and Mary McPhail, received a 75.170% from the judging panel for the fifth best score of the night.

Results

Watch the U.S. Dressage Mandatory Observation Event on-demand at USEF Network.

Stay up to date on USA Dressage on Facebook and Instagram and U.S. Equestrian on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Use #USADressage.

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