The Geography of Success

Traditionally, countries such as Germany (with riders such as Isabel Werth and Heike Kemmer) and the Netherlands (e.g. Any van Grunsven) dominated in international dressage rankings, with their riders creating unbeatable teams.

This is clear in the 2008 Beijing Olympics medal table for dressage:

Team Dressage:

• Gold - Germany
• Silver - Netherlands
• Bronze - Denmark

Individual Dressage:

• Gold - Netherlands (Anky van Grunsven)
• Siver - Germany (Isabel Werth)
• Bronze - Germany (Heike Kemmer)

However in the four years between Beijing and London (continuing to use the Olympics as an example), other countries began to catch up, most noticeably Great Britain.

2012 London Olympics dressage results:



Team Dressage:

• Gold - Britain
• Silver - Germany
• Bronze - Netherlands

GB 2012: Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer, Charlotte Dujardin

Individual Dressage:

• Gold - Britain (Charlotte Dujardin)
• Siver - Netherlands (Adelinde Cornelissen)
• Bronze - Britain (Laura Bechtolsheimer)

This radical change in international success has completely changed the sport of dressage forever - In just four years the British team had gone from winning no medals in dressage, to two gold.