U.S. rider Lauren Sammis and Sagacious HF took the lead after the first day of team competition at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 14. She finished in the top spot of the thirteen riders who completed their Prix St. Georges test at the National Equestrian Center this morning.
“When I went into the ring I was staring at the judge at C and trying not to see anything else going on around me,” said Sammis. “I tried to ride just like it was any other horse show. Then after the first half-pass I thought to myself, ‘Well, you need to start to ride now, the trot work’s half over and you need to get it together.’ ”
During that half-pass Sagacious caught sight of workers outside the ring and spooked, but Sammis quickly regained his attention, even as not-so-distant gunfire echoed through the air from the nearby shooting competition throughout the second half of her test.
“He’s a young horse and he needs more confidence in the arena and a little bit of help to get his gaits to be the best they can be,” explained Sammis. “But he’s not a spooky horse at all. When he makes a mistake he goes on to the next thing. That’s something that’s really nice about him.” The pair put in a lovely, fluid test, with expressive 3- and 4-tempi changes. The strong collective marks from the judges bumped up Sammis and Sagacious to a score of 70.20 percent.
Canadian Tom Dvorak and Beaumarchais finished the day in second place. The only bobble in the beautiful performance came during the canter pirouettes, but Dvorak stayed focused and managed to keep Beaumarchais’ mind in the ring. Their strong trot-work helped earn them a score of 69.10 percent.
Finishing in third place was Yvonne Losos de Muñiz of the Dominican Republic aboard Bernstein Las Maris. The judges rewarded their elegant test, especially the Hanoverian stallion’s impressive extended trot, by giving the pair a score of 68.20 percent. Losos de Muñiz is hoping to repeat her success of the last Pan American Games, when she took home the bronze medal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tomorrow, the second half of the dressage competitors will have their turn down centerline, including the other two members of the U.S. Dressage team, Katherine Poulin-Neff with Brilliant Too, and Chris Hickey with Regent.
In light of her strong performance, Sammis remained confident about the United States’ chance to take home the gold. “I would lie to say that I wasn’t a little nervous to go first, but I understood the strategy,” said Sammis. “The USA has a presence, and I wanted to come in and say that we made this trip to win. There are two great riders coming after me, and we definitely have a shot to take home gold.”
The team competition ends tomorrow, and the top twenty-five finishers will be compete in the individual competition beginning Monday, July 16 with the Intermediaire I class.
Standings for the Team Competition
July 14, Day 1
1. USA Sagacious HF, Lauren Sammis 70.20%
2. CAN Beaumarchais, Tom Dvorak 69.10
3. DOM Bernstein Las Maris, Yvonne Losos de Muñoz 68.20
4. MEX Lohengrin, Jose Luis Padilla 65.55
5. BER Medici, Annabelle Collins 65.00
6. BRA Nilo Vo, Rogeiro Clementino, 64.75
7. MEX Ferro, Cristobal Egerstrom, 62.40
8. GUA Perla, Regina Silva Roesch, 61.05
9. PUR Nalanda, Luis Reteguiz Denizard, 61.00
10. CHI Tiziano, Roberto Gomez, 58.35
11. ARG Oceano Do Top, Sandra Smith, 56.60
12. URU Etalon, Ricardo Monge, 55.40
13. ECU Royal Copenhagen Fransisco Saavedra Yépez, 55.10
