Story by Kim C Lundin and Photos by ridehesten.com and Kim C Lundin
Australia’s first selection event for the dressage for Rio was held in Odense, hometown of storyteller H.C Andersen. The show ground is in the middle of city, a huge green area, but it would prove to be no walk in the park for the combinations entering. Few could show their full potential, and top ranked Lyndal Oatley had to withdraw.
The Odense Horse Festival in Denmark is a quite new venue for an outdoor dressage meeting. The team behind the show is the same triumvirate that created the successful European Championships in Herning 2013, JBK Horseshows. The Odense indoor World Cup in the fall, opens the FEI indoor dressage season and is famous for a great audience and ambience but also poor stabling conditions. The organizing team for the shows are the same and the formula is to mix jumping classes and dressage to reach a sizeable and attractive format. This means that the same judges often come back along with a team of FEI Stewards, several from neighboring Sweden. The dressage weekend of this 10-day-event coincides with Whitsuntide in Denmark, usually a beautiful spring weekend with warm weather for Scandinavian conditions that is, meaning around 20°C. The riders had a glimpse of what a lovely experience May in Denmark can be, but also the shock treatment of Nordic volatile spring conditions, by half way through the weekend everyone was freezing. 
Sue Hearn and Remmington
Flawed selection from the start
The process to identify the future members of the Australian Olympic dressage team for Rio is well described, 10 pages of clauses on what may or may not be. The Shadow Team would be appointed by two nomination events, Odense and Rotterdam, where all eight riders would meet the same judges in the same Grand Prix class. That was the initial idea. It was a really neat set-up although radical. All countries in Europe struggle with their nominations but no other equestrian federation has been able to reach an agreement with a show organizer promising eight starts from one country in a single class. The Germans, Dutch and Danes all solve this by having a national championship as a huge nomination event quite close to the closing date for entries to any championships.
That is not a path viable for nations with their riders scattered over the globe in different time zones – like Australia where more than half of the nominated riders this year are based in Europe. Whatever promises the Danish show office at the Odense Horsefestival had made to the Australian Federation – the all-riders-inone-CDI criteria was not met at this first selection event. As it played out four riders were given a spot in the CDIO3* Nations Cup class, a class with Olympic qualification status and two 5*-judges and the rest started a day earlier in a regular CDI3*-tour. The time schedule for the classes changed as well, meaning that the two groups of combinations did not face the same conditions in any way as they started on different days. In hindsight, was the formula ever viable? Probably not. 
Brett Parbery and DP Weltmieser
Commotion before it began
Australia’s top-ranked rider Lyndal Oatley was listed with her gelding Sandro Boy for a team start in the CDIO3* Nations Cup. In the week leading up to the event, Lyndal was posting photos of her and ‘Nissa’, Sandro Boy’s nickname, out for a walk in lovely spring weather. One day ahead of the vet-check, she had withdrawn him from the competition. Her cousin Kristy Oatley had initially planned to start Ronan in the CDI3*- tour and he travelled along with Du Soleil from Kristy’s base in nearby Hamburg. Ronan injured himself in the competition stable over night and was out before it even began.
First day of selections Friday 13th
Although not listed as an Olympic qualifying event, the CDI3-tour for Grand Prix Special and Freestyle had an experienced team of European judges. Two 5*-judges presided, Francis Verbeek and newly appointed Hans-Christian Matthiesen, along with Jo Graham, Maria Colliander and Elke Ebert. Starters in this class were Sue Hearn, Brett Parbery, Kelly Layne and Mary Hanna with her second horse Boogie Woogie. Having travelled the longest, Hearn and Parbery were in this first class. They had less than two weeks on European ground before heading north from their temporary German base with supervisor and team adviser, Ton de Ridder. 
Mary Hanna and Boogie Woogie
Mary Hanna, being with two prospects for the Shadow team, started out with Boogie Woogie, her up-and-coming horse. “He made some really nice things in his test, I am quite happy with it, but then we made a mess of the tempis. He is very green but I really need to sort out the tempis and focus on them from now on,” said Mary. She finished on 67.54 % after receiving 3’s and 4’s on the one and two-tempis and a zig zag that could have gone better. The passage is lovely and there is more to come from the piaffe even if it still travels slightly forward.
Florida-based Kelly Layne on her huge Udon P produced a solid test after a two month break from competitions following the winter tour in Wellington. Kelly celebrated her 41st birthday on Saturday by riding an even better Special with a third place ribbon and 68.588 % behind the unbeatable Team Helgstrand Dressage on home ground. Aussie star of the class was Sue Hearn on her Remmington who had 5*-judge Mathiesen on her (long-) side. If he had been the sole judge Sue would have stayed above 70, but she had to settle for 68.82 % and 5th placing. She rode a little conservatively at first, more quick than lengthened in the first extended trot, and had a mishap in the two-tempis, but a stronger second half. Impressive rein-back and nice suppleness throughout the test, even if the paces are not the most expressive. 
Kelly Layne and Udon P
For Brett Parbery and DP Weltmieser had a real Friday the 13th. Halfway into the first trot extension, Rabbit broke into canter and the scores were moving downward, the second was good. The first piaffe in front of the VIP-stands turned into a levade, scores dropping again. The walk and second piaffe were smooth, as were the tempis and a beautiful zig zag. Brett and Rabbit finished with a good centerline with a cautious last piaffe, but it was too uphill to recover lost points – 65.18 % in the GP, with a way better test in the Sunday freestyle, but that does not help in the selection chart. “We always knew that we would be up against the odds at the first selection event because my horse and I have been out of the competition arena since January, and I knew that we would be a little rusty. I didn’t quite expect for it to be THAT rusty. We had too many mistakes in the Grand Prix and finished on the bottom of the list for Olympic Games selection, with a lot of ground to make up,” Parbery concluded, pausing on his way back to Australia.
Second day of selections Saturday 14th
The same judges served in the Nations Cup and in the CDI3* and kept their positions thus making it as equal as possible even if they riders were appearing on different days and in different classes. Three riders make a team and first to go was Maree Tomkinson in the CDIO3* Nations Cup. She was accompanied by her German trainer Christoph Koschel. Tomkinson was focused and Diamantina is an impressive mare, a fuller figure. They did a solid test, but the energy was missing until after the walk when the whole picture changed with more bounce and elasticity. “She started out a little weak but finished on a strong note, very good and super job,” said Christoph after the test. Maree and Diamantina scored 66.10%.
Maree Tomkinson and Diamantina
Mary Hanna and Umbro was assisted by trainer Patrik Kittel during warm-up. They started their test really well, but the extended walk parted the judges’ opinions, a costly mistake in the two-tempis brought down scores significantly, 66.92 %. “This was a bit of a decider for me, Umbro got too hot for me today. I am going to focus on Boogie Woogie for Rio, sometimes things get decided for you, he is an exciting horse.”
Last Aussie team member to go was Kristy Oatley on the stunning Du Soleil, a horse that really makes you look. They received the first 9 in the extended trot and in the initial two thirds of the test, their scores were really good. An over enthusiastic Du Soleil decided to use the over-drive in the two-tempis and Kristy actually almost halted to get a grip before reaching the short side. They finished on a high note with a last good piaffe scoring Australia’s best result – 69.52%. 
Kristy Oatley and Du Soleil
“In total I was very happy with him, but ohh too many mistakes. He is very green, overambitious, but very very promising” said a freezing Kristy. She had the support from her long-time trainer Sjef Janssen. The competition went all the way from sunset to sundown.
What next?
The biggest question mark is of course Lyndal Oatley and Sandro Boy. “The federation is of course aware, and now it’s all focus on Rotterdam and ensuring Sandro Boy is in top form – thankfully tests show nothing serious, just bad timing,” was Lyndal’s response. The whole Shadow team is scattered across Europe, Brett Parbery returns home while Rabbit stays on, and the rest polish their act for the final scene: Rotterdam.