As 2003 as a qualifying year for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the 2003 European Dressage Championships received the status of "open" championships.
That means that participants from all over the world are able to compete in Hickstead, if they attained the necessary qualifying scores for the Championships.
German based Lisa Wilcox, who rides for the United States, finished second individually in the Grand Prix. Aboard her Oldenburg stallion Relevant (by Rubinstein), Wilcox scored a phenomenal 77.042% and is vying for an individual medal. George Williams, the other American in Hickstead, finished 10th on Rocher with a score of 70.083%. Best Canadian rider was Christilot Boylen on Lucky Lemon. They placed 18th with 67.667%.
Australia Misses Qualification for Olympic Games
The Australian Equestrian Federation sent an entire team to Hickstead hoping to qualify as a team for the Olympic Games. Best Australian was Mary Hanna on Limbo. With 63.875%, they finished 40th. Emma Youngman and Rasputin were the second Australians to go. Youngman had to struggle to keep her black mount motivated. The test was without flair and 63.38% was the score.
Heath Ryan, who started off his test superbly scoring nice 7's and 8's, encountered some major problems on the centerline for his finale piaffe passage. His sensitive Stirling Stilton panicked and made a 180° turn which made the scores drop to an absolute minimum.
Australian team star, Kristy Oatley Nist had some serious problems keeping her massive Hanoverian focussed on the job. Scoring 8's and 9's in the piaffe and passage, Oatley Nist had a bad walk reprise and had to struggle for the rest of the test to keep Don Bolero collected. Nist scored a low 61.29% and with that Australia placed 11th in the team championship and missed its Olympic Qualification.
Teams that have qualified for the Olympic Games are Austria, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Spain, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Canada and Sweden.
Photos © David Charles
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