SANTIAGO DE CHILE, October 23 (EFE).- The United States, made up of four riders and an equal number of horses, won gold in dressage, the basic dressage method, at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games on Tuesday.
The American team, consisting of Christian Simonson, Anna Marek, Cody Harrison and Sarah Taubman, obtained a total of 450,670 points in a competition held at the Grenadier Horse Riding School in Quilota (North).
The silver medal went to Brazil (443.343 points) and the bronze medal went to Canada (431.937 points), joining the United States as the three countries on the American continent qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It’s unreal and a great honor. Every one of us felt how exciting it was to be a part of this team along with the energy of every one of us. It was a great day for us,” Simonson told the media after the competition. This was the first appearance of Simonson, Marek and Harrison at the Pan American Games.
At the same time, Harrison stressed that the moment of victory is something that “one dreams of as a girl or boy who dedicates themselves to riding and then comes to the Pan American Games… it’s very exciting.”
For her part, Taubman emphasized that she, Simonson, Marek and Harrison felt lucky to have each other as teammates.
“I think we are one of the youngest equestrian teams in the United States that has represented the country and we showed it. We showed the world that we have new horses and young riders who are ready to compete,” he added.
Tubman, in turn, rode alongside her horse, First Apple, with a pin on the left lapel of her costume that highlighted a photo of the horse, First Apple’s late owner, Jerry Ibanez, who was also the jockey’s sponsor.
However, Ibanez died some time after the 2019 Lima Pan American Games.
“To do it again with my medal around my neck and watching it from above is very special. I rode this week for Jerry,” Ibanez declared through tears.
Chile ranked fourth, followed by Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.
Equestrianism will continue on Wednesday in freestyle.