July 11—Caledon, Ontario 

Steffen’s the individual U.S. leader on 77.20 percent, and that’ll put the U.S. team into first as well! Check back in a bit at our main page for more details and quotes from the riders. 

5:23 p.m. Their final centerline is extraordinary, with the piaffe and passage. And they’re done! STeffen does his classic first pump. In case you’re wondering, he is wearing a top hat today, though he warmed up in the helmet. We’re just waiting on his score now!

5:20 p.m. No mistakes in the twos! And the ones are clean too! 

5:17 p.m. Legolas isn’t perfectly still in the halt, but they move out of it into a nice first extende trot. Steffen is champion of the half-pass, so those are beautiful as usual. Same for the piaffe and passage, which is a highlight for this horse. 

5:15 p.m. OK! It’s the last U.S. rider AND the last overall rider, Steffen Peters on Legolas 92, of the day heading in now. Just in case you forgot what Steffen and Legolas look like, here’s a picture of them at another competition. 

5:12 p.m. Belinda said Anton was quite lit up by the atmosphere, which she wasn’t expecting, but that he did settle partyway into the test. She had to ride a little conservatively for that reason. 

4:55 p.m. Score for Anton is provisional on 73.26 percent. Next in the lovely Lusitano stallion Zaire, with Ramon Beca Borrego riding. 

4:49 p.m. Anton settled down once in the ring, and he’s focusing on Belinda instead of the crowd now. Belinda and Anton represented Canada at least year’s WEG.

No mistakes in the canter half-pass zig-zag. They finish with a square halt, and Canada goes crazyyy! 

4:47 p.m. Next in the ring is Belinda Trussell with Anton for Canada. Anton’s looking spicy as he goes around the outside. 

4:45 p.m. Laura was happy with her ride, said her horse gave her a great feeling in the ring, and the mistake in the ones were hers. She’s feeling the pressure with the need to earn Olympic qualifying here, but she’s coping with it! Total score of 75.08 percent for her. 

4:36 p.m. Aaand they’re done! A glitch there in the ones, but that was otherwise a super test. We’re waiting on her score, and we’re going to talk to Laura about her ride now. 

4:35 p.m. Ah, but she misses her last few one-tempis! 

4:34 p.m. Diddy goes straight into relaxation mode at the walk. He steps out just briefly behind in the piaffe, but she gets him right back in. The twos are faultless. 

4:30 p.m. Lovely entrance at the canter to a perfect and square halt. This pair has been training hard with Debbie Mcdonald for a few months now. The trot tour’s extremely polished, extended trot’s bigger than I’ve seen him do before, and the piaffe is active. 

4:27 p.m. Laura Graves and Verdades are heading in now! There was a great CNN article about Laura today. Laura always just walks “Diddy” around the outside of the ring to help him keep his cool. 

4:25 p.m. Just one missed tempi for Megan Lane, the crowd notices and groans for her, but the rest of this test is looking very nice. This pair also represented Canada at the 2014 WEG in France. She finishes with a nice halt, and there are plenty of Canadian flags waving! We’re waiting on her scores…and it’s a 70.86 percent for her for currently fifth. 

4:18 p.m. Megan Lane and Caravella in now for Canada! We just heard that Foco Loco was indeed stopped for lameness in the final extended trot. 

4:15 p.m. Foco Loco gets stopped by the judge at C. We’re not yet sure of the official reason, but he was demonstrating unevenness in certain movemements. 

4:12 p.m. Foco Loco! is a pretty great name. His canter going around the outside is amazing, all uphill and really jumping. Yvonne is rocking the cream breeches with cream gloves. As a reminder, all Grand Prix pairs today are getting a coefficient of 1.5 percent. 

4:10 p.m. They finish their ride and are on a provisional score of 65.00. Yvonne Losos is next in the ring with Foco Loco W, riding as an individual for the Dominican Republic. 

4:04 p.m. First in the ring for the Grand Prix is Micaela Mabragana on Granada for Argentina. Some issues with the first halt for them. The piaffe creeps forward, but this horse is very active behind in it.  

3:40 p.m. We’re on a short break now! We start back at 4 p.m. with the first of the Grand Prix competitors. There are two U.S. riders and two Canadians in this next set. 

3:35 p.m. A picture of Kim Herslow and Rosmarin from earlier. Is it more pictures you’re seeking? Check out our gallery that’s growing throughout the day. 

3:30 p.m. Virginia Yarur of Chile and Finn have just scored a 69.15! That will put them in the top 10.

3:27 p.m. In the ring now for Guetamala, Esther Mortimer Jones and Adajio. This leggy chestnut has very nice flying changes and they complete a nice test with a perfectly square halt.

3:07 p.m. The final rider for Venezuela, Alejandro Gomez Sigala, is in the ring now on Zalvador. This Dutch Warmblood gelding has lovely, floppy ears. Alejandro is quite tall, but a very quiet rider. 

3:03 p.m. While we were chatting with Kim Herslow, who was thrilled with her first ride on a U.S. championship team, Mexico’s Jesus Palacios and Wizard Banamex slipped into fifth place with a 69.52 percent!

3:00 p.m. Raul Bernal Corchuelo and Beckham are in the ring now for Columbia. This gelding has the most perfect braids! He’s also very fancy, with a lovely, uphill canter and lots of sit in the collected movements. Raul rides strong into his changes and is rewarded with very uphill, clean threes and fours from Beckham.

2:56 p.m. Kim and Rosmarin score 75.18 to slip into second place!

2:38 p.m. USA! USA! Our second rider is finally in the ring! Kim Herslow and Rosmarin have entered the building. This pair have been very competitive in Europe this summer. Rosmarin is so steady in the contact and so focused on his rider. He just floats across the ground in his extended trot and Kim is riding every step tactfully. They have very correct flying changes and two good canter half pirouettes. Kim’s groom can be seen riding every step!

2:32 p.m. After a short break, we’re back with Maria Florencia Manfredi in the ring on Bandurria Kacero. This stunning black gelding has a very uphill way of going and Maria is a very soft, quiet rider. They easily complete their half pirouettes and have beautiful, expressive flying changes in both the threes and fours.

2:15 p.m. Happy rider! Brittany Fraser and All In currently lead for Canada. We’re on a short break here now. 

2:06 p.m.  Fraser is THRILLED with her ride, as she should be on a provisional score of 76.10 percent and the lead at the moment! Canada is coming on strong. 

1:53 p.m. Brazil’s team score has been announced as 206.5. They’re the first team to complete all of their riders at this point. Canada’s Brittany Fraser is in the ring now with All In. She enters to a huge applause and starts off with a perfect halt. She definitely means business! All In is slow across the diagonal in his extended trot, but very steady and covers a lot of ground. Fraser said after her ride that she wouldn’t have changed a thing.

1:43 p.m. Christor Egerstrom and Bello Oriente enter the ring now. Christor is quite experienced as a veteran of the 2007 Pan Am Games. His gelding is a big, expressive bay. Their first halt is a bit messy, but they’re off to a decent start in their extended trot and 10-meter half circles. He gets a bit stuck in his first half pirouette but shows some more sit in the second one.

1:36 p.m. Next, the final rider for Brazil, Joao Paulo Dos Santos on Veleiro Do Top, a Lusitano stallion. He doesn’t cover much ground in the enxtended trot, but his lateral work is quite nice. No surprise that the collected work is easy for this pair. They finish with a big pat and hug.

1:31 p.m. Now in the ring, Alexandra Dominguez and Beijing A, a Dutch Warmblood mare, riding for Guetamala. She’s very light in front but they have some issues during the flyg changes.

1:25 p.m. Perfect sequences of changes, although a bit tight in his neck, but they finish to a huge applause.

1:17 p.m. Next up is Oscar Coddou Molina riding a Lippizzaner stallion named Favory Duba 66. Representing Chile. This little guy is very cute and starts out with a bit of an immobile halt, but powers down the centerline in trot after. His mouth is open a bit, so he’s probably a touch nervous in this atmosphere. Oscar’s legs hang down well beyond Favory Duba’s belly, but they make a well-matched pair. He easily collects for his pirouettes.

1:15 p.m. She makes it through her tempi changes flawlessly and opens out into a lovely extended canter and halt to finish the test, And a good fist pump too!

1:08 p.m. Next up, Patricia Ferrando Zilio from Venezuela on Alpha’s Why Not. She is one of three Venezuelan riders here this weekend. This Hanoverian stallion isn’t a huge mover, but the test is very steady with no major mistakes so far.

1:06 p.m. The flying changes looked good. Happy smiles from Karen as she finishes with a big pat. Her boy walks out on a loose rein!

1:01 p.m. Karen Atala and Weissenfels are in the ring now, riding as individuals from Honduras. The gelding is very relaxed for his trot work and is in to his walk work easily. Karen’s left half pirouette is missing some sitting from behind, but the right one is better. They score a 63.31%.

And we’re back!

We’re still on a lunch break until 1 p.m., but check out the scores from the morning. Live scores are posted here. 

11:55 a.m. Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo are now second with a 71.79 percent. Sabine said the mistakes in the canter were “pilot error” but that she’s thrilled with him. 

11:40 a.m. One very small mistake as they go from the canter half-pass zigzag into the change in the corner, and they do five strides in the first four tempi. But the threes are mistake-free, and the last halt square. We’ll have their score soon!  

11:37 a.m. This horse (Sanceo) is just really expressive in his trot work, and they should be riding a high score from that as they head into the walk tour. One thing we’re missing here today is the running score on the board!

11:34 a.m. Sabine Schut-Kery with Sanceo are in next, the first pair for the U.S. team. 

11:24 a.m. Straight and correct through both sets of tempis for Chris and Zilverstar. He looks very happy with that ride! They now have a very healthy lead on 75.02 percent. Chris couldn’t name a particular highlight after his ride, said it all felt great, and that the horse kept his focus in the atmosphere beautifully. 

11:20 a.m. The stakes here are high this weekend for the U.S. and Canada in terms of Olympic qualification, and Chris is riding to win. Very fluid half-passes and expressive extended trot.  

Chris Von Martels celebrates his ride with Zilverstar.

11:17 a.m.: Our first North American rider in the house! Christopher Von Martels and Zilverstar are headed in for Canada. The (small) crowd goes (a little) wild for them! 

11:15 a.m. Oliva said his favorite part of his test was the feeling his horse gave him. He’s only 19, but this is already his second major international competition; he also competed at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. His family breed horses, though it was a friend who bred the horse he’s riding today. 

11:05 a.m. Very nice test for Brazil’s 19-year-old Oliva. He’s doing some fist-pumping for sure. They’re on a provisional score of 69.18 percent, and that’ll put him into second right now. Three Brazilians in the top three at the moment!

11:00 a.m. Guatamala’s Andrea Pinot Schorpp’s slotted into provisional tie for second with Zedrick Dyloma! 

10:59 a.m. The third rider for Brazil, Joao Victor Marcari Oliva on Xama Dos Pinhais, headed into the ring. Brazil currently holds the top two placings. Xama Dos Pinhais is an lovely grey Lusitano stallion. This is the first Baroque horse we’ve seen today. This rider is also only 19! He’s the youngest dressage competitor here. 

10:50 a.m. Curious about your ground jury this weekend? Here you go: 

10:40 a.m. We’re back from the first break! Kicking things off this round with Julio Fonseca and Wettkonig for Chile. In the meantime, check out some images from this morning. 

(That’s Brazil’s Leandro Da Silva and Di Caprio from this morning. They still lead.)

10:15 a.m. One more to go before the first break, Virginia McKey riding as an individual for Bermuda, but here are your scores so far. 

10:02 a.m. Colombia’s Juan Sanchez de Brigard has the largest cheering squad so far. He’s just completed his ride with First Fisherman. Next in is Irina De Muro Moleiro on Von Primaire.

9:45 a.m. Another strong ride for Brazil with Sarah Elizabeth Waddell and her flashy and very shiny chestnut Donelly 3. They slot into provisional second behind their fellow countryman on 65.60 percent. 

9:29 a.m. Confirmed score of 57.78 percent for Colombia’s Maria Aponte Gonzalez and Pretty Woman. 

9:20 a.m. Chile’s Manuel Montero riding the adorably-named Everybody Dance Now in the ring…now…dancing. 

9:10 a.m. Here’s the view this morning. The stands are still largely empty, though spectators are slowly trickling in.

9:07 a.m. Our first pair in this morning is Brazil’s Leandro Aparecido Da Silva on Di Caprio. The morning rides here are all Prix St. Georges, and then we’ll switch to the Grand Pri later this afternoon. He is very excited at the conclusion of that ride! It gets a score of 69.42 percent. 

 8:05 a.m.  Good morning from the lovely Caledon! It’s a sunny and cool morning, and we’re kicking off the first day of dressage here at these Pan American Games at 9 a.m.

In the meantime, here’s all the information you need and want. Here’s the full list of ride times. Want to see pictures of the venue? The next question you’re going to ask: Is it streaming anywhere? We don’t think so! But follow along here throughout the day for updates on the action. 

(The main ring. Those stands should be full today!)

U.S. rider times:

11:34: Sabine Schut-Kery on Sanceo

2:39: Kimberly Herslow on Rosmarin 

4:27: Laura Graves and Verdades

5:12: Steffen Peters and Legolas 92

Canadian rider times:

11:16: Christopher Von Martels and Zilverstar

1:54: Brittany Fraser and All In 

4:18: Megan Lane and Caravella

4:45: Belinda Trussell and Anton

Did you watch the opening ceremony last night? It was pretty cool!