By Chelsey Burris
The 2024 Summer Olympics have begun! Host city Paris, France, will see the top competitors from 206 countries and territories ready to vie in 35 different sports, converging in the ultimate showdown for gold, silver, and bronze medals to take back to their home countries.
For horse-lovers, there are plenty of equestrian sports to enjoy, with team and individual dressage, eventing, and jumping on the docket in Paris. Here, we take a look at Team USA for dressage, and go behind-the-scenes to get to know the riders and horses ahead of the big event.
Meet The Riders
The United States had four riders travel to France: Steffen Peters, Adrienne Lyle, Marcus Orlob, and traveling alternate Endel Ots, along with their Chef d’Equipe, Team USA bronze medalist Christine Traurig.
Steffen Peters
The anchor of the team, making his sixth Olympic appearance, is Steffen Peters. This veteran first competed in the Olympics in 1996, before going on a roll where he has represented the US in the last four Olympic Games, consecutively (2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020.) In that time, he earned team bronzes with Legolas and Udon, before his best performance to date at the most recent Olympics (2020 Tokyo), where his amazing ride helped the US secure a team silver medal.
Fun fact: At 59 years old, Peters is the oldest (or should we say, most seasoned?) Olympian competing this year. He and his mount, Suppenkasper, look ready to prove that age is just a number!
Adrienne Lyle
For those who followed Team USA at the last Olympics (2020 Tokyo), you’ll recognize Adrienne Lyle’s name, as she was a huge part of the historic team that won a silver medal for the United States – the first since 1973. She also represented our nation at the 2012 London Games. At 39 years old, Lyle is the youngest member of the competing team for the US (and just a few months older than the traveling alternate), but she certainly comes with a slew of accolades that she has collected in those 39 years. You might notice that her longtime dance partner, Salvino, is not with her on the trip. In early 2024, the stallion was retired after an 8-year partnership with Lyle. Her new mount, Helix, has big shoes to fill going into Paris.
Fun fact: Salvino, Lyle’s most famous dance partner, was recently immortalized with a Breyer Horse model in his likeness.
Marcus Orlob
Marcus Orlob is the fresh face on Team USA, traveling to his first Olympics. The German-born equestrian spent much of his youth competing across Europe, impressively making his Grand Prix debut at age 21. Now calling Florida home, Orlob runs a successful training operation with a special passion for young horses. With his Olympic mount Jane, he has recorded his personal best Grand Prix scores to date, giving the US many reasons to put hope in their newest team member.
Fun Fact: Orlob is a USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medalist.
Reserve – Endel Ots
Going with the team as the traveling alternate is Wellington, Florida’s Endel Ots. He has the important position of being ready should any of the starters be prevented from competing. Ots is an up-and-comer in the United States, taking major competitions by storm over the past several years and making his Grand Prix debut in 2024 with Bohemian, the reserve horse for the US.
Fun Fact: Endel Ots’ mount, Bohemian, is one of the only horses in the world to ever earn a 90% in a Grand Prix Freestyle.
Meet The Horses
Suppenkasper
Fan favorite Suppenkasper (Spielberg x Upanoeska) will be making his second Olympic appearance with rider Steffen Peters. Nicknamed Mopsie, the towering KWPN gelding has amassed a huge following, in part thanks to his creative freestyles that include techno beats and fast-tempo music. He went viral in 2021, earning him the nickname “The Rave Horse” (which you can read more about in this YourDressage exclusive story here). Owned by Akiko Yamazaki & Four Winds Farm, Suppenkasper has a long resume of bringing his A-game in high-pressure competitions. Foaled in 2008, he is the oldest horse on the team. His performance helped bring home a team silver at the Tokyo Olympics – could gold be next before this gelding?
Fun Fact: Suppenkasper is BIG, standing 18.2 hands (or 74” tall). To put that into perspective with some other Team USA athletes from other sports, if basketball superstar Lebron James (at 6’9”) stood next to Suppenkasper, his head would pop up over his withers by only 7 inches. Or, if the diminutive gymnastics champion Simone Biles (at 4’8”) stood beside him, she would be eye to eye with his chest!
See “The Rave Horse” perform his signature dance here:
Helix
Zen Elite Equestrian Center’s Helix is the new mount of Adrienne Lyle, after the retirement of her longtime partner, Salvino. The Dutch Warmblood (Apache x Zeester T) was foaled in 2012. Although he has only been with Lyle since late 2023, the chestnut gelding and Lyle have proved to be very in sync with one another, scoring well in the US and in Europe, with Grand Prix Special scores near 74%.
Fun fact: Helix began his training career in Sweden, under the tutelage of Marina Mattsson.
Jane
Jane represents the US as the only mare on the dressage team. The Dutch Warmblood (Desperado x Zandra) will compete with Marcus Orlob, making their Olympic debut together. It was only in early 2024 that she took her first trip down centerline at Grand Prix Level. Jane began her career with her owner, Alice Tarjan, who purchased her as a young horse. Tarjan recently handed the reins over to Orlob, and the pair have looked great so far. The lovely dark bay mare is easy to pick out, with her flashy four white socks.
Fun Fact: At just 10 years old, Jane is the youngest horse on Team USA.
Reserve – Bohemian
Owner Zen Elite Equestrian Center sends out both Helix and the traveling alternate horse, Bohemian. This 14-year-old Westphalian (Bordeaux x Sunshine) began his career in Europe. Since late 2023, he has found his new partner with Endel Ots. Nicknamed Bo, this gelding will be ready to step up should any of the selected competitors need to withdraw for any reason.
Fun Fact: Bohemian has been to the Olympics before – but with a different rider and a completely different country! He represented Denmark in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games (with rider Cathrine Dufour-Laudrup).
Schedule and Where to Watch
Coverage of the dressage action begins July 30, with Day 1 of the Individual and Team Grand Prix. You can watch it live at 5:00 AM ET. This is followed by Day 2 of the Team and Individual Grand Prix at 4:00 AM on July 31, before a short break leading into the Team Grand Prix Special on August 3 at 4:00 AM. The dressage excitement is capped off with the Grand Prix Individual Freestyle at 4:00 AM on August 4. Peacock will be providing live coverage and streaming, and you can also watch on NBC and USA, with replays available. Check your local listings to be sure you don’t miss anything!
Follow the Athletes
Want more great behind-the-scenes content from your favorite riders and horses – like this adorable video of Bohemian and Helix? All of the Team USA Athletes are active on social media. You can follow along with their adventures in Paris here:
Steffen Peters
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Adrienne Lyle
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United States Dressage Federation
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Leading Dressage Storylines
Just days ahead of the competition, the dressage world has seen unprecedented drama unfold. On July 20, the renowned Ingrid Klimke, the traveling reserve for Germany, announced she would be withdrawing from the Olympics after her mount, Franziskus, suffered an unfortunately-timed re-injury. Klimke has two Olympic team gold medals and a silver from her career as a top-level eventer, but she was hoping to add more hardware to her collection in the world of dressage. Germany is currently the favorite for gold in Paris. It remains to be seen if Klimke’s withdrawal will affect that outcome.
Even more shocking to the dressage community was the stunning withdrawal of Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin on July 23, just three days before the Olympics were set to begin. She was a favorite to bring home another gold to Britain, after earning two in 2012 and a gold and silver in 2016 (all aboard Valegro), before two bronzes in 2020 with Gio. Dujardin was set to attempt to become the most decorated female Olympian from Britain (she was currently tied for this honor), but the FEI has suspended the rider after the release of a video showing Dujardin “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare.” Dujardin is not allowed to compete while the FEI investigates. This leaves team Great Britain scrambling, with the oddsmakers dropping their odds from 2/1 to 4/1, and putting Germany on top as the favorites, instead of Britain.
So far, Team USA has not been rocked by any changes. They currently rank third, at odds of 6/1, in their pursuit of gold. So far it has been smooth sailing. You can check out the Team USA horses on their way to Paris here:
We hope you will follow along with YourDressage’s exclusive Olympic coverage. USDF Connection magazine editor Jennifer Bryant is in Paris to cover the event, and we will be sharing stories, updates, and behind-the-scenes photos that you can’t find anywhere else! Bookmark this page to keep up with all the updates from Paris 2024.
We wish all the riders and horses the best of luck! Go Team USA!!!
[…] Meet Team USA: 2024 Paris Olympics […]
[…] US team is a mixed bag of newbies and old hands. The anchor is indisputably Steffen Peters, 59, of San […]
[…] a three-member dressage team format, and therefore Orlob’s elimination means that there is no US team. Lyle and Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper, who compete tomorrow, still can vie to qualify for the […]