U.S. Dressage Team Pushes Through Tough First Day of Competition in the Grand Prix at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

By U.S. Equestrian Communications Dept.

Versailles, France – The U.S. Dressage Team did not have the day they wanted or expected to start off competition in the FEI Grand Prix at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. The team will be unable to compete in Saturday’s FEI Grand Prix Special, which will determine team medals after an unfortunate elimination of the first combination of Marcus Orlob and Jane. Adrienne Lyle and Helix, as well as Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, will now compete as individuals and look to qualify for the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday.

“Adrienne did a fantastic job riding Helix. Again, he was on when he entered the arena, and we were thinking, ‘Whoa, definitely plenty of energy there,’ and she handled it masterfully. They had a very good score considering this combination is only together for a very short time and did not start the CDIs until earlier this year. It shows you what potential the horse has and what potential Adrienne has as a rider,” said Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig.

Lyle is another alum of Pony Club, with her H-B HM and B EV certifications from South Whidbey Pony Club in the Northwest Region.

Of the elimination of Orlob and Jane in the Dressage FEI Grand Prix at the Paris Olympic Games, Traurig continued, “This was very unfortunate because in fact the beginning of the test was beautiful for a horse that is just 10 years old and has done this at this level for [a] very short time, only since February. [Jane] is amazing. That was very unfortunate, because up until that point, they were running around a 73%, and it would’ve gone up higher with the canter work and the last centerline.”

In their Olympic debut, Orlob and Jane looked to be settling fantastically into their test after cantering down the centerline, trending at around a 74% before the bell was rung by the judge at C. Unfortunately, as Jane, a 2014 Dutch Warmblood mare (Desperado x Zandra) owned by Alice Tarjan, who is an alum of Somerset Hills Pony Club in the New Jersey Region, and cared for by Allison Nemeth (another Pony Club alum), entered the arena, she spooked at the crowd, stepping on herself in the process, and nicking her right hind fetlock. The judges saw the trace amount of blood and were forced to eliminate the combination due to the FEI Blood Rules for Dressage.

The official statement from U.S. Equestrian is included below.

Unfortunately, Marcus Orlob and Jane were eliminated today during the FEI Grand Prix when a small nick on Jane’s hind fetlock started to bleed during the test. Due to the FEI Blood Rules for Dressage, the pair were eliminated. We believe Jane accidentally stepped on herself going into the arena, which caused the minor cut. She is currently back in stabling, relaxing in her stall, and the cut is no longer bleeding.

“I was happy, excited to go down centerline; clearly Jane [was] too,” Orlob said. “It was a little bit of a, I would say, explosive entry. I believe she may have nicked herself in the entry, because I never have had this issue. She felt in the ring amazing. I was super happy with her. Once she went down centerline, she settled nicely. Once I got going, she felt more and more relaxed. I was really happy. I said, ‘OK, I got this now.’ And then I was, like, really, really sad to hear the bell, because I knew something’s not right.”

Lyle, of Wellington, Fla., and Helix were the remaining U.S. combination drawn to compete on day one of the FEI Grand Prix and produced a lovely test, which earned them a 72.593%.The duo produced excellent canter work and showed their highlight of collected work with the several movements of piaffe and passage required in the test. Lyle was thrilled with the performance, as Helix, a 2012 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Apache x Zeester T) owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center and cared for by Marina Lemay, has never experienced an atmosphere as large and loud as the main arena at the venue Versailles.

“I am thrilled with my horse out there. He was really excited at first and the fact that he settled down and trusted me means everything. I think our Grand Prix score is right about dead on with what our average was in qualifying, and that was really my goal,” Lyle said. “You know, of course, I know there’s a lot more in there. He’s a very talented horse, but when you add the element of this environment and the excitement and stuff, I thought that if we could just reproduce what we’ve been doing in the qualifying competition, that would be great, and he went out there and he put an error-free test in. I was really, really happy with him.

Steffen Peters, of San Diego, Calif., and Suppenkasper will be the final combination in the Dressage Grand Prix at the Olympic Games for the Team USA, heading down the centerline at 3:01 p.m. GMT+2/9:01 a.m. ET tomorrow, going later in the final group of combinations. Peters is contesting his sixth Olympic Games and second with Suppenkasper, a 2008 KWPN gelding (Spielberg x Upanoeska) owned by Akiko Yamazaki & Four Winds Farm and cared for by Eddie Garcia, with the duo looking to showcase their popular and entertaining freestyle on Sunday through qualification as an individual combination.

Peters and Suppenkasper and Lyle and Helix will wait to see if their scores will qualify them for the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, which will begin on Sunday, August 4, at 10:00 a.m. GMT+2/4:00 a.m. E.T.

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