After an amazing opening ceremonies last night (more on that later), competition officially kicked off today with Day 1 of Eventing Dressage.
Calm Before the Storm
Canadian FEI Steward Jan Stephens caught this incredible sunrise shot at the venue.
Unfortunately the spectator stands were quite empty, and while not unusual for Eventing Dressage it’s still disappointing. Having said that, less people typically means less noise & distraction…and when you’re sitting on top of a finely tuned cross-country machine that is not necessarily a bad thing!
Jessica Phoenix and Donald Leschied’s A Little Romance had the honour of making the very first hoof prints in the Olympic competition arena.
They laid down a very steady test, and were rewarded with one of their best dressage scores to date: 52.0. This is a terrific start for Canada given the toughness of this Olympic’s cross-country course.
Maple Leaf Proud!
photo Sandra Andresen
Heading down to the main competition arena
photo Sandra Andresen
That’s an OLYMPIC smile after achieving your personal best!
Next Canadian in the ring today was Kathryn Robinson and Let it Bee.
Kathryn put in an extremely flowing and harmonious test – and they looked both very focused AND relaxed at the same time, a hard thing to achieve!
Game Face On – Check!
It’s Go Time!
Dancing with the Olympic Stars
Hugging the stuffing out of your horse after having the ride of your life in the biggest sandbox in the world 🙂
…and those in the Kiss & Cry Box look pretty happy too!
Off to see the Stewards after a very successful ride
It’s worth noting it’s a super hot day today at the Deodoro venue with temperatures hitting 33 Celsius and 28% humidity – ouch!
It was interesting to see a lot of families in the audience today. It was apparent that for most, this was their first introduction to equestrian events as they would cheer and clap while horses were in the ring. Great to see the enthusiasm, but definitely a challenge for some horses and riders.
Hats off to the first Brazilian rider down the centreline, Marcio Appel. As soon as he set foot into the main stadium the crowd erupted! And when he rode up to do his first salute down centreline, they erupted again with cheers and applause. Thankfully his horse didn’t bat an eye but instead seemed to soak it all in.
It was also great to see Canada’s Governor General David Johnston and his wife Sharon come out to cheer on Jessica and Kathryn today.
And folks from the Canadian Olympic Committee also came out to meet the athletes and the grooms. Thanks for the love COC!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIxX1qADyppASnuofw1Xsd97jy_ihi4KG4TWlI0/
Multiple Olympic medal-winning short track speedskater Tania Vicent with Lynsey Rowan and Anton
Full Results
Check them out at
https://www.rio2016.com/en/equestrian-eventing-individual-dressage-day-1
Day 2 – Eventing Dressage & How to Watch Online
On deck tomorrow are Colleen Loach (10:16am) and Rebecca Howard (1:54pm) local times.
If you’re in Canada, CBC.ca is live streaming ALL of the equestrian events.
Go to: http://olympics.cbc.ca/online-listing/
The Olympic Organizers are also doing a fantabulous job of getting scores up immediately following the riders.
https://www.rio2016.com/en/equestrian-schedule-and-results
Following Canada's Equestrian Team 
Comments on: "Event Dressage Day 1 at Rio 2016" (1)
Thanks Kerri for these entertaining updates! I am reposting to my Horse Addict FB page and people are enjoying them there too. Keep them coming and continue to enjoy your time in Rio!