# Equestrian at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Individual dressage

The individual dressage event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was held from 26 July to 3 August 1996, at the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia. Like all other equestrian events, the dressage competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. 48 horse and rider pairs were entered, with round one scores from team event.

## Medalists

| Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Germany | Germany | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands |
| Isabell Werth | Gigolo | Anky van Grunsven | Bonfire | Sven Rothenberger | Weyden |

## Results
### Grand Prix Test

Top 25 riders advanced to round two. Held 26 and 27 July. The first round was the Grand Prix Test. Each of the 48 pairs went through a series of movements in the sandy arena, with judges in five different positions observing the movements and giving percentage scores based on the execution of the movements. The total score for the round was the average of the five judges' scores. The top 25 pairs advanced to the second round.
| Rank | Rider | Horse | Nation | Total Points | % Score | Qual |
| 1 | Isabell Werth | Gigolo | Germany | 1915 | 76.60 | Q |
| 2 | Anky van Grunsven | Bonfire | Netherlands | 1893 | 75.72 | Q |
| 3 | Michelle Gibson | Peron | United States | 1880 | 75.20 | Q |
| 4 | Sven Rothenberger | Weyden | Netherlands | 1854 | 74.16 | Q |
| 5 | Monica Theodorescu | Grunox | Germany | 1845 | 73.80 | Q |
| 6 | Klaus Balkenhol | Goldstern | Germany | 1793 | 71.72 | Q |
| 7 | Margit Otto-Crepin | Luck Lord | France | 1783 | 71.32 | Q |
| 8 | Martin Schaudt | Durgo | Germany | 1781 | 71.24 | Q |
| 9 | Nicole Uphoff-Becker | Rembrandt | Germany | 1751 | 70.04 | Q |
| 10 | Ignacio Rambla | Evento | Spain | 1744 | 69.67 | Q |
| 11 | Guenter Seidel | Graf George | United States | 1734 | 69.36 | Q |
| 12 | Lars Petersen | Uffe Korshojgaard | Denmark | 1705 | 68.20 | Q |
| 13 | Steffen Peters | Udon | United States | 1695 | 67.80 | Q |
| 14 | Tineke Bartles-de Vries | Olympic Barbria | Netherlands | 1690 | 67.60 | Q |
| 15T | Gonnelien Rothenberger | Olympic Dondolo | Netherlands | 1673 | 66.92 | Q |
| 15T | Annette Solmell | Strauss | Sweden | 1673 | 66.92 | Q |
| 17 | Richard Davison | AskariFoltaire | Great Britain | 1668 | 66.72 | Q |
| 18 | Ulla Hakanson | Bobby | Sweden | 1666 | 66.64 | Q |
| 19 | Christine Stueckelberger | Aquamarin | Switzerland | 1662 | 66.48 | Q |
| 20 | Arlette Holsters | Faible | Belgium | 1658 | 66.32 | Q |
| 21 | Louise Nathhorst | Walk on Top | Sweden | 1657 | 66.28 | Q |
| 22 | Dominique Brieussel | Akazie | France | 1650 | 66.00 | Q |
| 23 | Robert Dover | Metallic | United States | 1649 | 65.96 | Q |
| 24 | Mary Hanna | Mosaic | Australia | 1644 | 65.76 | Q |
| 25 | Finn Hansen | Bergerac | Denmark | 1636 | 65.44 | Q |
| 26 | Heike Holstein | Ballaseyr Devesereaux | Ireland | 1631 | 65.24 | |
| 27 | Hans Staub | Dukaat | Switzerland | 1628 | 65.12 | |
| 28 | Kyra Kyrklund | Amiral | Finland | 1620 | 64.8 | |
| 29 | Leonie Bramall | Gilbonia | Canada | 1613 | 64.52 | |
| 30 | Dominique d'Esme | Arnoldo | France | 1612 | 64.48 | |
| 31 | Caroline Hatlapa | Merlin | Austria | 1609 | 64.36 | |
| 32 | Beatriz Ferrer-Salat | Brillant | Spain | 1604 | 64.16 | |
| 33 | Eva Senn | Renzo | Switzerland | 1603 | 64.12 | |
| 34 | Pia Laus | Liebenberg | Italy | 1600 | 64.00 | |
| 35 | Paolo Giani Margi | Destino | Italy | 1595 | 63.80 | |
| 36 | Joanna Jackson | Mester Mouse | Great Britain | 1577 | 63.08 | |
| 37 | Tinne Vilhelmson | Caprice | Sweden | 1542 | 61.68 | |
| 38 | Rafael Soto | Invasor | Spain | 1527 | 61.08 | |
| 39 | Joaquin Orth | Bellini | Mexico | | 60.72 | |
| 40T | Vicky Thompson | Enfant | Great Britain | 1516 | 60.64 | |
| 40T | Marie-Hélène Syre | Marlon | France | 1516 | 60.64 | |
| 42 | Suzanne Dunkley | Elliot | Bermuda | 1502 | 60.08 | |
| 43 | Daria Fantoni | Sonny Boy | Italy | 1496 | 69.84 | |
| 44 | Jane Bredin | Cupido | Great Britain | 1468 | 58.72 | |
| 45 | Evi Strasser | Lavina | Canada | 1462 | 58.48 | |
| 46 | Gina Smith | Faust | Canada | 1434 | 57.36 | |
| 47 | Fausto Puccini | Fiffikus | Italy | 1418 | 56.72 | |
| 48 | Juan Matute | Hermes | Spain | 1416 | 56.64 | |
| 49 | Barbara von Grebel-Schiendorfer | Ramar | Switzerland | 1324 | 52.96 | |
| n/a | Thomas Dvorak | World Cup | Canada | WD | WD | |

### Grand Prix Special 2nd Qualifier

Held 31 July. The second round was the Grand Prix Special 2nd Qualifier. It was similar to the first, though the time allotted was shorter. The score from this round was added to the score from the Grand Prix Test. The top 14 pairs advanced to the final.
| Rank | Rider | Horse | Nation | Round 1 | Judge E | Judge H | Judge C | Judge M | Judge B | Total Points | % Score | Total Score | Qual |
| 1 | Anky van Grunsven | Bonfire | Netherlands | 75.72 | 346 | 325 | 330 | 330 | 340 | 1671 | 77.72 | 153.44 | Q |
| 2 | Isabell Werth | Gigolo | Germany | 76.60 | 323 | 315 | 323 | 324 | 338 | 1623 | 75.49 | 152.09 | Q |
| 3 | Michelle Gibson | Peron | United States | 75.20 | 320 | 308 | 324 | 320 | 325 | 1597 | 74.28 | 149.48 | Q |
| 4 | Sven Rothenberger | Weyden | Netherlands | 74.16 | 318 | 310 | 321 | 327 | 315 | 1591 | 74.00 | 148.16 | Q |
| 5 | Monica Theodorescu | Grunox | Germany | 73.80 | 322 | 311 | 314 | 315 | 327 | 1589 | 73.91 | 147.71 | Q |
| 6 | Klaus Balkenhol | Goldstern | Germany | 71.72 | 315 | 311 | 325 | 315 | 321 | 1587 | 73.81 | 144.25 | Q |
| 7 | Margit Otto-Crepin | Luck Lord | France | 71.32 | 322 | 309 | 310 | 316 | 311 | 1568 | 72.93 | 146.26 | Q |
| 8 | Nicole Uphoff-Becker | Rembrandt | Germany | 70.04 | 318 | 312 | 315 | 300 | 325 | 1570 | 73.02 | 143.06 | Q |
| 9 | Martin Schaudt | Durgo | Germany | 71.24 | 296 | 301 | 312 | 301 | 316 | 1526 | 70.98 | 142.22 | Q |
| 10 | Guenter Seidel | Graf George | United States | 69.36 | 315 | 301 | 307 | 313 | 303 | 1544 | 71.81 | 141.17 | Q |
| 11 | Ignacio Rambla | Evento | Spain | 69.76 | 303 | 299 | 304 | 298 | 305 | 1509 | 70.19 | 139.95 | Q |
| 12 | Louise Nathhorst | Walk on Top | Sweden | 66.28 | 312 | 300 | 325 | 316 | 328 | 1581 | 73.53 | 139.81 | Q |
| 13 | Lars Petersen | Uffe Korshojgaard | Denmark | 68.20 | 297 | 297 | 300 | 292 | 292 | 1478 | 68.74 | 136.94 | Q |
| 14 | Tineke Bartles-de Vries | Olympic Barbria | Netherlands | 67.60 | 300 | 291 | 293 | 294 | 290 | 1468 | 68.28 | 135.88 | Q |
| 15 | Steffen Peters | Udon | United States | 67.80 | 301 | 286 | 291 | 285 | 291 | 1454 | 67.63 | 135.43 | |
| 16 | Gonnelien Rothenberger | Olympic Dondolo | Netherlands | 66.92 | 300 | 290 | 307 | 283 | 291 | 1471 | 68.42 | 135.34 | |
| 17 | Christine Stueckelberger | Aquamarin | Switzerland | 66.48 | 301 | 290 | 292 | 284 | 297 | 1464 | 68.09 | 134.57 | |
| 18 | Arlette Holsters | Faible | Belgium | 66.32 | 290 | 288 | 298 | 290 | 299 | 1465 | 68.14 | 134.46 | |
| 19 | Annette Solmell | Strauss | Sweden | 66.92 | 281 | 286 | 293 | 281 | 288 | 1429 | 66.47 | 133.39 | |
| 20 | Ulla Hakanson | Bobby | Sweden | 66.64 | 281 | 282 | 290 | 289 | 288 | 1430 | 65.51 | 133.15 | |
| 21 | Richard Davison | AskariFoltaire | Great Britain | 66.72 | 287 | 274 | 278 | 267 | 291 | 1397 | 64.98 | 131.70 | |
| 22 | Finn Hansen | Bergerac | Denmark | 65.44 | 282 | 280 | 295 | 275 | 279 | 1411 | 65.63 | 131.07 | |
| 23 | Dominique Brieussel | Akazie | France | 66.00 | 278 | 276 | 283 | 270 | 272 | 1379 | 64.14 | 130.14 | |
| 24 | Mary Hanna | Mosaic | Australia | 65.76 | 283 | 271 | 276 | 271 | 282 | 1383 | 64.33 | 130.09 | |
| 25 | Robert Dover | Metallic | United States | 65.96 | 264 | 248 | 250 | 252 | 250 | 1264 | 58.79 | 124.75 | |

### Grand Prix Freestyle

Held 3 August. The final round of dressage competition was the Grand Prix Freestyle Test. Fifteen pairs competed in this round, in which they designed their own program of movements set to music. They were judged on both execution of the movements (technical) and how well their performance matched the music (artistic). Each of the five judges gave a score from 0 to 10 in both categories, with the final score for the round being the sum of those ten scores. This score was then added to the scores from the other two rounds to determine final ranking.
| Rank | Rider | Horse | Nation | Judge E | Judge H | Judge C | Judge M | Judge B | Total Points | % Score |
| 1 | Isabell Werth | Gigolo | Germany | 16.63 | 16.60 | 16.80 | 16.73 | 16.25 | 83.00 | 83.00 |
| 2 | Anky van Grunsven | Bonfire | Netherlands | 15.68 | 16.68 | 15.82 | 15.78 | 15.63 | 79.58 | 79.58 |
| 3 | Monica Theodorescu | Grunox | Germany | 15.07 | 15.35 | 15.25 | 15.75 | 15.43 | 76.85 | 76.85 |
| 4 | Sven Rothenberger | Weyden | Netherlands | 14.73 | 15.57 | 15.48 | 15.80 | 15.20 | 76.78 | 76.78 |
| 5 | Klaus Balkenhol | Goldstern | Germany | 15.30 | 15.10 | 15.03 | 15.43 | 15.43 | 76.28 | 76.28 |
| 6 | Margit Otto-Crepin | Luck Lord | France | 15.40 | 14.70 | 15.18 | 15.40 | 14.88 | 75.55 | 75.55 |
| 7 | Guenter Seidel | Graf George | United States | 14.48 | 14.63 | 14.68 | 15.20 | 14.88 | 73.85 | 73.85 |
| 8 | Michelle Gibson | Peron | United States | 14.80 | 14.38 | 14.05 | 15.23 | 14.90 | 73.35 | 73.35 |
| 9 | Louise Nathhorst | Walk on Top | Sweden | 13.65 | 14.53 | 14.70 | 15.55 | 14.30 | 72.73 | 72.73 |
| 10 | Ignacio Rambla | Evento | Spain | 13.90 | 14.30 | 14.73 | 14.82 | 14.43 | 72.18 | 72.18 |
| 11 | Lars Petersen | Uffe Korshojgaard | Denmark | 13.55 | 14.30 | 14.53 | 14.57 | 13.93 | 70.88 | 70.88 |
| 12 | Martin Schaudt | Durgo | Germany | 13.60 | 13.75 | 13.85 | 14.78 | 14.55 | 70.53 | 70.53 |
| 13 | Tineke Bartles-de Vries | Olympic Barbria | Netherlands | 13.40 | 14.23 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 13.73 | 69.66 | 69.66 |

### Final rankings

| Rank | Rider | Horse | Nation | Grand Prix | Grand Prix Special | Grand Prix Freestyle | Total |
| 1 | Isabell Werth | Gigolo | Germany | 76.60 | 75.49 | 83.00 | 235.09 |
| 2 | Anky van Grunsven | Bonfire | Netherlands | 75.72 | 77.72 | 79.58 | 233.02 |
| 3 | Sven Rothenberger | Weyden | Netherlands | 74.16 | 74.00 | 76.78 | 224.94 |
| 4 | Monica Theodorescu | Grunox | Germany | 73.80 | 73.91 | 76.85 | 224.56 |
| 5 | Michelle Gibson | Peron | United States | 75.20 | 74.28 | 73.35 | 222.83 |
| 6 | Klaus Balkenhol | Goldstern | Germany | 71.72 | 73.81 | 76.28 | 221.81 |
| 7 | Margit Otto-Crepin | Luck Lord | France | 71.32 | 72.93 | 76.65 | 219.80 |
| 8 | Guenter Seidel | Graf George | United States | 69.36 | 71.81 | 73.85 | 215.02 |
| 9 | Martin Schaudt | Durgo | Germany | 71.24 | 70.98 | 70.53 | 212.75 |
| 10 | Louise Nathhorst | Walk on Top | Sweden | 66.28 | 73.53 | 72.73 | 212.54 |
| 11 | Ignacio Rambla | Evento | Spain | 69.76 | 70.19 | 72.18 | 212.13 |
| 12 | Lars Petersen | Uffe Korshojgaard | Denmark | 68.20 | 68.74 | 70.88 | 207.82 |
| 13 | Tineke Bartles-de Vries | Olympic Barbria | Netherlands | 67.60 | 68.28 | 69.66 | 205.54 |