Saturday 13 August 2016 07:00, UK
Great Britain won a silver medal in the Olympic Games team dressage competition in Rio de Janeiro.
Anchored by reigning individual champion Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, Britain finished on a team total of 78.602 per cent, some way adrift of the German quartet on 81.396 per cent.
Dujardin performed best of the British team, scoring 83.025 in her second team run, although that score was bettered by Germany's Isabell Werth, who qualified in top spot for Monday's Grand Prix freestyle competition.
Werth scored 83.711 per cent but only narrowly beat Dujardin, who scored 83.025 despite a couple of obvious mistakes during her routine.
German riders Dorothee Schneider and Kristina Broring-Sprehe sit in third and fourth with Laura Graves of the United States the only other rider to beat the 80 per cent mark.
Britain's Carl Hester and Nip And Tuck also qualified for Monday's final in ninth place on 76.485, as did 16th-placed Fiona Bigwood, who scored 74.342 aboard Orthilia.
"If I don't get that gold on Monday, I am going to slit my throat! No, not really," Dujardin said. "It just makes you more determined and want to fight harder.
"It has kind of given me that wake-up call that I have got to shake myself, get myself in gear and off I go again. If it all goes to plan, fantastic."
Dujardin's scores dipped dramatically in the two test elements where mistakes happened, and she added: "I was so annoyed. It was my fault, really, I just used too much leg, and he thought it was a canter (movement).
"I was so cross with myself. I haven't ridden that test since the Europeans last year, and I should have probably practiced it a bit more.
"He is normally such a genius. It was just tiny misunderstandings, that's all it was. He felt so good, I was just a bit disappointed with myself. I felt on such good form, but it happens. It's dressage, he is a horse, he is allowed to make mistakes, and so am I. I will blame myself, though."
