Go to Equestrian Section

Go to Olympic Section

Go to Sports Section

In Just a Second, Gibson Falls to Fifth in Dressage

CONYERS, Ga., Aug. 3—Dressage riders don’t talk to their horses—it’s against the rules in the elegant, stylized sport where all signals come through the hands or knees. So no one heard the whisper that escaped Michelle Gibson’s lips in the show ring at Georgia International Horse Center today.

"I said, ‘Uh-oh,’‚" Gibson recalled. With 32,000 fans and a panel of international judges watching, Gibson’s 11-year-old Trekehner stallion, Peron, had just done the unpardonable.

Gibson and Peron were in range of the first U.S. individual medal in 64 years in dressage, a sport long dominated by Europeans, Germans in particular. They stood third entering today’s final event, individual freestyle, a discipline with musical accompaniment that’s new to the Games, which the duo had won in Munich the only time they had competed in it.

But with a third of the routine down and no hint of trouble, Gibson called for a piaffe—a trot in place—and Peron balked. If you blinked you missed it, but of course judges don’t blink, nor do knowledgable fans. "That’s it," said horsewoman Amy Symons, watching from the stands under a threatening sky. "She’s lost it."

So ended a storybook quest for the hometown rider from the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, who already had led the United States to a bronze medal in team dressage. Her loss today was Dutchman Sven Rothenberger’s gain. His errorless performance lifted him to bronze behind gold medalist Isabell Werth of Germany and silver medalist Anky van Grusven, also of Holland.

Gibson wound up fifth. "I was a little surprised," said the 27-year-old horsewoman, who was in her first Olympics. "He was great in warmups. But it’s an animal. Sometimes they don’t react exactly as you want."

Technically, Peron was guilty of a refusal. "He wanted to go one way, she wanted to go another," said Joanne Hodges of the magazine "Dressage Today." "She won." But it was too late.

Peron went on to complete a creditable performance, "but this is a subjectively judged sport," said Marty Baumon, spokesman for the U.S. team. "You can’t win a medal with a mistake like that." And it was clear by the dispirited look on Gibson’s face when her ride was done that she knew it, too.

The freestyle is a curious mix of sport and art as the horses perform choreographed routines of complex steps to a musical background selected by the rider. Interesting choices cropped up today—from Bruce Springsteen to Simon & Garfunkel to old show tunes.

Gold medalist Werth and her horse Gigolo captured the crowd with a show of controlled power performed in perfect time to a medley of tunes ending in "Just a Gigolo." Their score of 83 points far outpaced the nearest rival, van Grusven, with 79.58. Gibson, who needed 75.26 to hold onto the bronze, managed only a 73.35.

"I knew a lot of people were rooting for me," she said, "and probably a lot were trying to ride for me, too. I don’t know what happened. Did he see something? I don’t know.

"I’d have been thrilled" with an individual medal, she said, "but I’m only 27. There’s more Olympics to come. It was a good start for our first time. It was memorable for me, being able to compete at home with all my family here. And it was great to win the team bronze."

It was the first medal failure for the surprisingly successful equestrian team. U.S. riders have taken medals in all three disciplines—the only team here able to make that claim—with team silver in three-day event, team silver in jumping, team bronze in dressage and an individual bronze in three-day.

The team still has a chance to tie or break the 1984 record of five equestrian medals with three strong entries set to go in Sunday’s final individual jumping competition. Among them is Michael Matz, three-time Olympian who also was chosen today to carry the flag in Sunday night’s closing ceremonies.

Matz, 45, was a survivor of a United Airlines flight that crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa seven years ago with 111 lives lost. He wound up hanging upside-down by his seat belt in the overturned fuselage and was credited with leading several passengers safely out of the wreckage.

"He could have a big day on Sunday," said Baumon, "if he wins the medal in the afternoon and then carries the flag at night."