Team, Open

At London in 1948 Sweden appeared to have won the team dressage with the team of Gehnäll Persson, Henri Saint Cyr, and Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern, Jr.. However, the team was disqualified when Persson was revealed to be “only” a sergeant and was not a military officer, as was then required by the rules. The rules were changed in 1949 and the 1952 competition was open not only to non-commissioned soliders, but also to civilians and women. It mattered little as Sweden won the gold medal, with the exact same team. In 1956 at Stockholm, Persson, Saint Cyr, and Boltenstern returned and defended their gold medal in team dressage. Had they not been disqualified in 1948, this would have been the only circumstance in Olympic of the exact same team, with more than two members, winning the same event three consecutive times.

Germany won the silver medal in team dressage but did not closely challenge Sweden. The German team consisted of Liselott Linsenhoff, Hannelore Weygand, and Anneliese Küppers, a fully-female team for the first time in Olympic equestrian history. Switzerland won the bronze medal.

Team dressage was first placed on the Olympic Program in 1928. At Roma in 1960 the event would not be held, but it would return in 1964 and remain on the Olympic Program through 2012, and likely far longer.