Kennedy announces his presence at first weekend of Olympic dressage trials

"When I came out of the ring I thought, if I never ride again, I can be happy," said an ebullient Dover after his winning Grand Prix ride, which scored a remarkable 76.292%.

Dover and Kennedy's domination continued in the Grand Prix Special with a score of 78.64%. Dover did have a slight scare aboard his other mount, the always-mercurial Rainier. After a strong performance in the Grand Prix that left them standing 5th, Rainier reverted in the Special to an old behavior of kicking out at Dover's leg and objecting to some of the collected movements. His score in the Special dropped him to 8th.

Nikolaus' powerful extensions helped propel he and Guenter Seidel into second place after the first weekend of Olympic selection trials. Photo by Heather Bailey©

The 15-year-old chestnut Danish-bred gelding gets his greatest points on his consistency and flow. Nothing looks strained or difficult, he just blends one movement into the next. His two scores put him firmly in command of first place going in to the second weekend of trials.

"I've never had a horse that seems to love to go as much as this one," said Dover. "I've had wonderful horses in my life before, but never had one that if you go down the centerline and stay out of his way, gives you 100%. And I credit that to his former rider and owner [Danish rider] Lone Jorgensen. Because of her, he knows who he is. He has been so well loved and cared for all these years-it sounds corny, but knows he's cared for and loved, and I believe that's why he goes as well as he goes."

Over the course of two weekends of trials, the horses and riders will compete in four classes. This first weekend, they did a Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special. In the second weekend, they will do the Grand Prix and the Musical Freestyle. The Grand Prix's will each count for 30% of the total, the special for 25%, and the Freestyle for 15%. Team staple Debbie McDonald and Brentina, the current World Cup champions were given a bye (an automatic spot on the team) for the trials, so competitors here are really competing for three spots, plus one alternate spot. However, also lurking in the background is Lisa Wilcox and Relevant, who live and compete in Europe, and were part of the silver medal team at the World Equestrian Games in 2002. If their average scores from the spring season in Germany are two percentage points higher than the fourth placed finisher in the trials, then she will make the team, and the fourth-placed finisher will be dropped to fifth and become the traveling alternate.

So the only way to guarantee a spot on the team is to finish first or second place in the trials. Currently in firm command of the second place spot is Guenter Seidel, who currently stands second and third with his veteran Nikolaus 7, and a young superstar in the making, the flashy gray Aragon. In the Grand Prix, Nikolaus looked tense and short in the neck, and finished behind Aragon, who demonstrates unbelievable natural paces and elasticity. In the Special, Aragon showed some of his greenness, and a few mistakes placed him behind Nikolaus.

Aragon is a Bavarian horse, who washed out as a jumper in Europe due to some rank behavior. A local dressage rider in Bavaria started his dressage training, but still found him a very difficult horse. US team coach Klaus Balkenhol heard about the horse, and thought he might suit Seidel.

"Klaus heard of a horse that was a little difficult and thought of me," he joked

The pair has been together about 3 years.

Nikolaus has always had a reputation as a hot horse with difficult tendencies, but his power and talent carry him through. His Special test was highlighted by the horse's extreme elasticity, and the sections of extended trot to the very collected passage seemed to energize and enthuse him. "The Special is a good test for him," said Seidel. "Today he flowed and was comfortable and everything was easy to ride."

Seidel will only be able to ride one horse in Athens, so which ever one finishes the trials with the highest average will be the one to go.

Standing just behind Seidel is another Southern California rider Steffen Peters. He is an experienced Team member, but is surprised to find himself in contention with Floriano. He is also contesting the trials with his veteran mount Grandeur, who is currently standing 7th overall. However, it is his new mount, the chestnut Westphalian Floriano who is within reach of a team berth.

"It is very exciting," said Peters. "He is such a willing horse, sometimes too willing. He has incredible elasticity, and three fantastic gaits, but it is a little unexpected for him to move that far ahead of Grandeur.

"I hadn't planned on him being a serious contender, but he has proven himself over many shows, and it's exciting to have him come around and perform this steadily. Now, with [team coach] Klaus [Balkenhol], we have some exciting decisions to make," he finished with a smile.

Peters only started riding the horse last fall, after sitting on him in a clinic in Texas for owner Melanie Pai. Pai had imported the horse, and someone had taught him most of the Grand Prix movements, but the horse was extremely hot and difficult, and very green in the ring. Not much is known about his life prior to importation. Peters had a good spring with him, and the horse improved every time he competed, but this weekend he blossomed into a true contender. In the Grand Prix he had a few mistakes caused by his over-eagerness, but in the Special though he was nearly perfect, with only one small mistake in his one-tempi changes to mar the test. He currently stands fourth with a 71.33% in the Grand Prix, and a 72.320% in the Special.

Lurking just behind the leaders are Leslie Morse on the powerful stallion Kingston, and Tina Konyot on the green but impressive mare Anna Karenina. However, mathematically the they are not endangering the leaders, barring disaster in the final two tests.