Individual, Open

The dressage program again included piaffe and passage, and was expanded to 15 minutes. Women were allowed to compete in dressage in 1952 and four took that opportunity – Lis Hartel (DEN), Ida von Nagel (GER), Else Christophersen (NOR), and Marjorie Haines (USA).

Hartel, however, was the big story of the event. In September 1944, while pregnant, she developed poliomyelitis. Unable to walk for awhile, Hartel eventually developed the ability to walk with braces, although she remained partially paralyzed below her knees. At Helsinki, she still had to be helped on and off her horse but she came through to win the silver medal, trailing Sweden’s Henri Saint Cyr, who won quite easily. At the victory ceremony, Saint Cyr helped Hartel ascend the podium.

Saint Cyr returned in 1956 and repeated as the gold medalist, and Hartel also repeated as the silver medalist. Bronze medalist André Jousseaumé had also competed at the 1932, 1936 and 1948 Olympics, and would return in 1956 as well. The three other women finished 10th (von Nagel), 15th (Christophersen), and 17th (Haines).