Individual, Open
| Date | 31 July – 1 August 1980 — 10:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Konnosportivny kompleks profsoyuzov, Bittsevsky park, Moskva | |
| Participants | 14 from 6 countries | |
| Format | Two rounds, final round score to determine placement. | |
There were only 14 competitors. The same format was used as in 1972 and 1976, which was rather odd, as the qualifying round advanced 12 riders to the finals, eliminating only two competitors. The only world-class dressage rider in Moskva was Austrian Sissy Theurer. She led the qualifying and the final round to easily win the gold medal, as Soviet riders went 2-3-4 against overmatched riders from Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania. The defending gold medalist was Swiss rider Christine Stückelberger, who did not compete at the 1980 Olympics, but won the concurrent Goodwood Dressage Festival in West Sussex, England. Theurer’s decision to participate in Moskva created considerable controversy in Austria, and resulted in the resignation of the President of the Austrian Equestrian Federation.
| Pos | Competitor | Horse | NOC | Points | Qualifying | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sissy Theurer | Mon Cherie |  AUT | 1,370 | 1,623 (1) | 1,370 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Yury Kovshov | Igrok |  URS | 1,300 | 1,588 (2) | 1,300 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Viktor Ugryumov | Shkval | URS | 1,234 | 1,541 (3) | 1,234 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Vera Misevich | Plot | URS | 1,231 | 1,254 (6) | 1,231 (4) | |||
| 5 | Kyra Kyrklund | Piccolo |  FIN | 1,121 | 1,458 (4) | 1,121 (5) | |||
| 6 | Anghel Donescu | Dor |  ROU | 960 | 1,255 (5) | 960 (6) | |||
| 7 | Georgi Gadzhev | Vnimatelen |  BUL | 881 | 1,146 (9) | 881 (7) | |||
| 8 | Svetoslav Ivanov | Aleko | BUL | 850 | 1,190 (8) | 850 (8) | |||
| 9 | Petar Mandadzhiev | Schibor | BUL | 846 | 1,244 (7) | 846 (9) | |||
| 10 | Józef Zagor | Helios |  POL | 804 | 1,061 (11) | 804 (10) | |||
| 11 | Petre Roșca | Derbist | ROU | 741 | 1,015 (12) | 741 (11) | |||
| 12 | Dumitru Velicu | Decebal | ROU | 720 | 1,076 (10) | 720 (12) | |||
| 13 r1/2 | Elżbieta Morciniec | Sum | POL | – | 954 (13) | – | |||
| 14 r1/2 | Wanda Wąsowska | Damask | POL | – | 930 (14) | – |
Qualifying Round
| Date | 31 July 1980 — 9:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Qualifying round scores from team event. Top 12 advance to final round. |
| Pos | Competitor | Horse | NOC | Points | Judge #1 | Judge #2 | Judge #3 | Judge #4 | Judge #5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sissy Theurer | Mon Cherie | AUT | 1,623 | 325 (1) | 321 (1) | 325 (1) | 316 (2) | 336 (1) | ||
| 2 | Yury Kovshov | Igrok | URS | 1,588 | 313 (2) | 312 (3) | 311 (2) | 333 (1) | 319 (3) | ||
| 3 | Viktor Ugryumov | Shkval | URS | 1,541 | 310 (3) | 313 (2) | 301 (3) | 291 (3) | 326 (2) | ||
| 4 | Kyra Kyrklund | Piccolo | FIN | 1,458 | 297 (4) | 303 (4) | 296 (4) | 276 (4) | 286 (4) | ||
| 5 | Anghel Donescu | Dor | ROU | 1,255 | 239 (=6) | 253 (6) | 258 (6) | 273 (5) | 232 (9) | ||
| 6 | Vera Misevich | Plot | URS | 1,254 | 239 (=6) | 252 (7) | 263 (5) | 231 (8) | 269 (5) | ||
| 7 | Petar Mandadzhiev | Schibor | BUL | 1,244 | 236 (8) | 262 (5) | 244 (7) | 254 (6) | 248 (8) | ||
| 8 | Svetoslav Ivanov | Aleko | BUL | 1,190 | 228 (=9) | 232 (8) | 239 (8) | 240 (7) | 251 (7) | ||
| 9 | Georgi Gadzhev | Vnimatelen | BUL | 1,146 | 241 (5) | 209 (9) | 223 (12) | 216 (9) | 257 (6) | ||
| 10 | Dumitru Velicu | Decebal | ROU | 1,076 | 225 (11) | 194 (11) | 225 (10) | 208 (10) | 224 (10) | ||
| 11 | Józef Zagor | Helios | POL | 1,061 | 205 (12) | 202 (10) | 229 (9) | 207 (11) | 218 (11) | ||
| 12 | Petre Roșca | Derbist | ROU | 1,015 | 228 (=9) | 179 (13) | 224 (11) | 191 (12) | 193 (14) | ||
| 13 | Elżbieta Morciniec | Sum | POL | 954 | 183 (13) | 181 (12) | 208 (13) | 167 (14) | 215 (12) | ||
| 14 | Wanda Wąsowska | Damask | POL | 930 | 173 (14) | 174 (14) | 193 (14) | 184 (13) | 206 (13) |
Final Round
| Date | 1 August 1980 — 10:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | Horse | NOC | Points | Judge #1 | Judge #2 | Judge #3 | Judge #4 | Judge #5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sissy Theurer | Mon Cherie | AUT | 1,370 | 276 (1) | 272 (1) | 286 (1) | 267 (1) | 269 (1) | ||
| 2 | Yury Kovshov | Igrok | URS | 1,300 | 258 (2) | 256 (3) | 267 (2) | 266 (2) | 253 (2) | ||
| 3 | Viktor Ugryumov | Shkval | URS | 1,234 | 253 (3) | 259 (2) | 241 (3) | 240 (4) | 241 (4) | ||
| 4 | Vera Misevich | Plot | URS | 1,231 | 246 (4) | 254 (4) | 233 (4) | 248 (3) | 250 (3) | ||
| 5 | Kyra Kyrklund | Piccolo | FIN | 1,121 | 234 (5) | 240 (5) | 211 (5) | 196 (5) | 240 (5) | ||
| 6 | Anghel Donescu | Dor | ROU | 960 | 196 (6) | 204 (6) | 185 (6) | 166 (8) | 209 (6) | ||
| 7 | Georgi Gadzhev | Vnimatelen | BUL | 881 | 155 (9) | 178 (8) | 167 (7) | 187 (6) | 194 (7) | ||
| 8 | Svetoslav Ivanov | Aleko | BUL | 850 | 171 (8) | 167 (9) | 161 (=8) | 170 (7) | 181 (9) | ||
| 9 | Petar Mandadzhiev | Schibor | BUL | 846 | 172 (7) | 181 (7) | 161 (=8) | 154 (10) | 178 (10) | ||
| 10 | Józef Zagor | Helios | POL | 804 | 148 (10) | 156 (12) | 151 (11) | 164 (9) | 185 (8) | ||
| 11 | Petre Roșca | Derbist | ROU | 741 | 136 (11) | 158 (11) | 155 (10) | 133 (12) | 159 (12) | ||
| 12 | Dumitru Velicu | Decebal | ROU | 720 | 131 (12) | 161 (10) | 130 (12) | 137 (11) | 161 (11) |