Grade 1b rider Jonathan Wentz talks about his Team Test Thursday afternoon;

Jonathan Wentz (Richardson, TX) and Kai Handt's NTEC Richter Scale scored 70.364. Here are Jonathan's thoughts;

On his test:
“It was super; the accuracy was astounding.  Richter was moving really forward; he loves this cold weather and rain. It’s good conditions for him. The walk tour was great and we will look to improve on that.”

On his favorite part of the test:
“The halts. Richter has struggled with the halts throughout his career but now they really have become one of his strong suits now; the last couple months leading into Selection Trials and now here. I’m really proud; my coach and I have been working real hard because that’s a hard thing to teach.”

On NTEC Richter Scale’s reaction to the atmosphere:
“Richter could care less of where he is; you could ride in a war zone or in field he really doesn’t care. You can ride him anywhere in the world, that’s why he’s such a great para horse and a great horse to have at a competition like this you can always count on a certain level of score, it may fluctuate a little bit but he always produces a ride that is similar to any ride he has given his whole career.”

On the U.S. team’s position:
“We’re in a really good position it will come down to tomorrow but the team is sitting really nice. We got some good scores today. We’ll just have to go through the tests tonight, lots of reading the judge’s comments for ways to improve but there’s lots of room to improvement, there always should be that’s what dressage is all about.”

When asked if he had any additional comments:
“Just that Richter is the greatest horse in world and I’m so proud we’ve made it four years. From getting me to WEG, to winning the National Championship in 2011 to making it all the way to London.”

Grade II riders Rebecca Hart and Dale Dedrick talk about their Team Tests from Thursday morning;

Rebecca Hart (Unionville, PA) and Jessica Ransehousen’s Lord Ludger scored 69.095. Here are Becca's thoughts;

On her Team Test:
“I was very happy with it. It’s his first big international in full stadium like this and he handled the atmosphere really well and he handled the rain. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

On riding in the rain:
“We prefer sunshine but he’s just as happy to go in the rain. It actually kind of put’s us into our own little bubble and we focus on each other more than what’s going on. It gives you one more thing to block out but I look at it as an aid and it actually helped us.”

On the Greenwich Park venue and London:
“This has been a fantastic venue.  Everyone has been so wonderfully courteous and helpful when you need it. It was the birthplace of Para-Equestrian, so it’s been fun to come back and partake in that history again. And to be included in the Olympic Village, it’s been great to have the whole Olympic experience.”

On the highlights of her test:
“I was thrilled with our second circle, that one had a nice fluidity to it. I also thought he had a really good strong entry, with the rain and everything coming into him he just kind of marched in there.”

Dale Dedrick (Ann Arbor, MI) and her own Bonifatius scored 60.286. Here are Dale's thoughts;

On how her first experience competing in the Main Arena:
“It was great fun, an amazing audience. It’s fun to look up and see the stands full, I’ve only done that once before when there was a big auditorium. “

On Bonifatius’ performance in the Team Test:
“He was a little frightened in there. He’s not had a tremendous amount of show experience and it’s the first time with a huge audience. But he paid attention to me; he listened, he did what I asked.”

On bringing NTEC Richter Scale in to be the companion horse during her test:
“It’s just something we do. They live in different parts of the country. They just met each other here but Richter is a big target. “

On the 2012 London Paralympic Games:
“Amazing, it’s wonderful and I love London. My groom says my horse wants to become British.”