History of Equestrian - Horse ballet for officers

Dressage was born out of military training, and in the early years of Olympic competition, only officers were allowed to compete in the event

Gimpel and Hermann von Oppein-Bronikowski won a gold medal in team dressage at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Despite its formal, ballet-like appearance and emphasis on proper form and aesthetics, dressage actually has its roots in military training. The lives of soldiers dating back as far as ancient Greece depended on how quickly and nimbly their horses reacted in battle, and it was vital that the animals be impeccably trained.

For officers and gentlemen

The first known dressage or equitation manual was compiled by the Greek writer Xenophon in around 400 BC. Many of the movements developed then and refined through the ages are still part of modern-day dressage.

At the 1952 Helsinki Games, Denmark’s Lis Hartel became the first woman to win a medal in equestrian dressage. (Getty Images)

Dressage first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1912 and for many years only commissioned military officers were eligible to compete. In fact, in 1948 the Swedish team was disqualified and stripped of its gold medal because officials discovered that team member Gehnall Persson was a non-commissioned officer. The rules were changed soon after this, and Persson returned to claim the gold in 1952 and 1956.

In 1952, women won the right to compete in Olympic dressage. That year, Denmark’s Lis Hartel became the first female medallist, capturing the silver at Helsinki. Hartel’s win was doubly remarkable, as she had been paralyzed by polio in 1944 at the age of 23. After three years of rehabilitation, she regained most of her power of movement. Although Hartel remained paralyzed below the knees, by 1947 she was able to compete again.

At the medal ceremonies at the 1952 Games, the gold medallist, French rider Henri Saint Cyr, graciously helped Hartel onto the podium. In 1956, she won silver again at Stockholm – again behind Saint Cyr .

Noteworthy medallists

Anky von Grunsven (NED)- 2 gold (2004, 2000), 1 silver (1996)

Nicole Uphoff (FRG)- 2 gold (1988, 1992)

Henri Saint Cyr (FRA)- 2 gold (1952, 1956)

Isabell Werth (GER)- 1 gold (1996), 2 silver (1992, 2000)

Liselot Linsenhoff (FRG)- 1 gold (1972), 1 bronze (1956)

Sergey Filatov (USSR)- 1 gold (1960), 1 bronze (1964)

Christine Stuckelberger (SUI)- 1 gold (1976), 1 bronze (1988)

Reiner Klimke (FRG)- 1 gold (1984), 1 bronze (1976)

Harry Boldt (FRG)- 2 silver (1964, 1976)

Lis Hartel (DEN)- 2 silver (1952, 1956)

Bertil Sandstrom (SWE)- 2 silver (1920, 1924)

Charles Marion (FRA)- 2 silver (1928, 1932)

Josef Neckermann (FRG)- 1 silver (1968), 2 bronze (1960, 1972)

New look on the podium

In 1972 in Munich, Germany’s Liselott Linsenhoff became the first female gold medallist. Since 1972, a woman has won a medal in individual dressage at every Olympic Games, and in 1988 and 2000, women swept all the individual dressage medals.

Initially, Sweden was the leading nation overall in Olympic dressage, capturing all three medals in 1912 and 1920 as well as the gold and silver in 1924. Between 1960 and 1980, Switzerland, Germany and the USSR took turns in the top spot for both the individual and team events.

Since then, both the individual and team events have been dominated by Germany. The Germans have a winning streak of six straight gold medals in the team competition, and had their streak of consecutive individual gold snapped at four in 2000, when Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands won the individual gold. Van Grunsven went on to win gold in Athens four years later, while Germany won silver.

Canada has won only one dressage medal to date, a bronze in the team event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul – it’s still one of the rare times a non-European team has cracked the top three. The team included Cynthia Ishoy riding Dynasty, Ashley Nicoll riding Reipo, Eva-Maria Pracht riding Emirage and Gina Smith riding Malte.