Naturally today’s story is that the Germans won the Dressage Team Gold Medal, the Dutch won the Silver and the good ole USA won the Bronze. Our dressage team consisted of Leslie Morse on Tip Top 962 (64.250), Guenter Seidel riding Aragon (69.792), Steffen Peters with Floriano (72.708), and Debbie McDonald aboard Brentina (71.417).

Debbie, as the last rider to go, secured the Bronze Medal for the team after doing a good final ride. Debbie later admitted it was “definitely not one of her best,” but it was good enough to secure the Team Bronze Medal and for that she was glad.

The details of who won and how are on this site in another release, so I won’t repeat that story. Instead, I want to focus on my observations about winners, losers and more.

Before Debbie entered the arena she took a deep breath as if to say, here we go and then she was off on her way to the entrance of the arena to do her test which she performed with style and grace.

Later at the press conference when I asked her about this deep breath she said, “I just was trying to tell myself to relax and focus on what I needed to do.”

Guenter had ridden his test on the first day but was there to cheer his teammates on the second day of the competition. After the team secured the Bronze Medal he said that he was very pleased “with Aachen, with my teammates and with my horse.” No matter when you talk to Guenter he always looks so cool calm and collected and so I asked him if it was so.

“Well,” he responded, “my knees were shaking when Debbie was riding but when I was riding I was very relaxed and usually am. When you are riding you are very focused on your ride.”

Steffen was simply brilliant and he showed that enthusiasm after his ride which was so nice to see. So my question to Steffen was did you expect to do as well as you did. First we have to step back to the selection trials in Gladstone where Steffen scored 74 in the Grand Prix, 77 in the Special and 83 in the Freestyle.

Steffen commented, “I had the feeling we were at the same level as Gladstone.” When he went in he felt that his horse had maintained that level but the real thrill was that “it was wonderful that it was rewarded,” he remarked. As the highest scored rider on the U.S. team he certainly was pleased.