Dressage duo nearer to Olympic dream

Melissa Galloway and her champion mount, Windermere J’Obei W, are a step closer to the Paris Olympics.

The dressage duo have officially qualifying New Zealand an individual spot in Paris later this year.

Although their efforts have ensured New Zealand has a dressage spot in Paris it does not guarantee they will be the combination selected, although they have met all requirements set by the NZOC [New Zealand Olympic Committee] – namely, two scores of at least 74% at CDI 3* in the Grand Prix or Special.

They now await the official selection process, with the athlete and horse to be announced in late June.

“Having qualified the spot for New Zealand is a massive achievement alone and I want to once again thank everybody that has been involved in the process so far and continues to support us on our road to Paris,” said Melissa on social media.

New Zealand will be represented across showjumping, dressage and eventing at the Olympics.

The FEI [ International Federation for Equestrian Sports] and NZOC have confirmed individual spots for New Zealand in showjumping and dressage, alongside the eventing team who qualified earlier.

ESNZ [Equestrian Sports New Zealand] general manager of high performance, Jock Paget, tipped his hat to those who had secured the spots for New Zealand.

Now the selection process begins in earnest as individuals work to be selected for the Games.

“Those who have worked so hard to qualify New Zealand will certainly be in the mix but it is no guarantee they will be the ones chosen,” said Jock.

“For us it is great to have those spots secure as we can now focus on individual campaigns for Paris and build towards Los Angeles for team success.”