Dressage Team Gold for Germany

Germany came from an unaccustomed second-place to win its 11th gold medal in Team Dressage. Spain was in the lead before the fourth rider. It was left to Ulla SALZGEBER, with 17-year-old RUSTY, to secure the win for Germany with a score of 78.208 per cent. Spain won its first Olympic medal with a team score of 72.917, pushing the United States back to bronze.  
 
All four Spanish riders had the ride of their lives, said trainer Jean BEMELMANS who has worked with Spain since its Olympic debut with Spanish horses in 1996.
 
Top-scoring rider for the United States was Debbie McDONALD with her mare BRENTINA, who worked together better than ever.
 
SALZGEBER leads the individual ranking ahead of Beatriz FERRER-SALAT (ESP) and Anky VAN GRUNSVEN (NED) heading into the second qualifier.

Beatriz FERRER-SALAT (ESP) - Team member
 
On her performance
"We had a fantastic ride. He was forward and generally he had no problem".
 
On her horse
"He was super. I think this was his best Grand Prix. Especially after the problem with the shoeing he had for the past 9 months. Since we fixed that he has been much better, lighter. Today he was surprisingly calm".
 
On the Games
"This is my third time in the Olympic Games. The stress was much higher because it is the first time we are going for the medal and this adds a lot of pressure".
 
On the Spanish team
"I am very proud of our team and I am sure we are getting a medal".
 
 
Ulla SALZGEBER (GER) - Team member
On her performance
"I had a super feeling from the moment I got in. We were really forward. After Sydney I had four years to prepare. Four years more experience for myself and Rusty. This is the second consecutive Gold medal for the team and myself. The feeling of winning a Gold medal is always the very good".
 
On her horse
"Rusty knows when the ride counts".
 
On the Individual competition on Monday
"Tomorrow I will try to relax, to calm down and to get away from all of this. On Monday I will be here to win what I have not won before".
 
On the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
"The difference between the two is that at Sydney I was in fourth place. Today I was sent here as number 1 in the world. This is a huge pressure".
 
 
Nicola McGIVERN (GBR) -Team member
On her performance
"I don't think the score reflecs the performance. I have no idea what happened at the end. There was a misunderstanding in the last center-line".
 
On her horse
"He is a super horse and I am proud of him. These are his first Olympic Games and we have to keep this performance in  mind so that next year or on the next Games it will be better. Back home we call him The Gentleman. He is polite when you are polite to him but he can be rude if you do something he is not pleased with. I believe he can become one of the top horses in the world".
 
On her team
"We are not pleased. We wanted Gold but there were here a lot of good riders".
 
Andreas HELGSTRAND (DEN)- Team member
On his performance
"It was not a good day for me, I could do a lot better. I don't know what the problem was, sometimes things come up. I made big mistakes, especially in the two changes and the pirouette".
 
On his Team
"We wanted to get a medal, but we didn't make it and I am a bit disappointed".
 
On the Individual
"From now on I will try to focus on my riding and not to think about any medals. You know this can drive you crazy".
 
 
Jan BRINK (SWE)-Team member
On his performance
"I am very happy with our performance. He is a steady horse and this is the fourth Olympic Games I am competing with him and so I got to know him very well. I made small mistakes but these things happen. When you compete at the Olympic Games you have to take risks".
 
On his expectations
"Everything is still open. Of course Ulla SALZGEBER is first but for the others we are very close and everything can happen.It is quite difficult for us to have a good place now, because the other horses didn't do as well as they could".
 
On the Individual
"From now on I will try to focus on my riding and not to think about any medals. You know this can drive you crazy".
 
 
Cynthia ISHOY (CAN)-Team member
 
On her performance
"It was lovely today. It was a clean round. We were very good in the serpentine, the piaffe and the extended walk".
 
On her horse
"She was nervous outside and so I thought I had to listen to her because it was out of my range. There are not many horses that can do the extended walk as good as she does. This was her ninth Grand Prix. In contrast with most of the other horses who have aorund fifty Grand Prix to their credit".
 
On her score
"To get the results I want I have to come to Europe to campaign, but for many reasons as you can imagine I can't. In Canada if you're offered 1 million dollars for a Grand Prix horse you sell it".  
 
On her Team
"I think in this competition we had brilliant riders. We can be as good as anybody else as good as the others, but our main weakness is the lack of money".
 
Mary HANNA (AUS)- Team member
On her performance
"I was the last rider to enter the arena and this is the worst feeling. I was really nervous. Apart from that it felt reallly good although I made a quite serious mistake. I anticipated the last piaffe".
 
On her horse
"She has coped very well with the heat, because we are both used to it".
 
On her score
"It would have been great if I continued in the Individual competition, but we tried our best and I am pleased with what we have done here. Two weeks ago, we were still in Australia, because we formed the Team at the very last minute and so we didn't have time to come to Europe earlier and prepare".