The Dutch dressage team finished fifth in the country’s dressage final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The team consisting of Marlies van Baalen, Hans Peter Minderhoud, and Edward Gal faced a tough task.

Germany won gold for the thirteenth time, surprisingly the United States came in second, just ahead of England. “I have high hopes that everything will go well for the horses coming in. “Now Germany is very strong, but in three years it will be very different again,” answered Gal afterwards.

Previously, the battle for gold had taken place between England and twelve-time Olympic champions, Germany. Under him, the Netherlands’ chances of winning bronze are still small, but they must perform optimally until they are left behind by the United States and Denmark.

Amazon Van Baalen was allowed to open the ball for the Netherlands with Go Legend and had a better test than in qualifying. He made a good start, but towards the end some small mistakes occurred. His score (2342.5 points) was not enough to leave the competition.

Minderhoud has fun with Dream Boy. The driver drove convincingly, but with 2505.5 points he did not score enough for the Netherlands to really participate after Van Baalen’s disappointing result.

Ultimately, Gal was allowed to take office at Total US to save his honor. Total AS, a son of the wonder mare Totilas who died late last year, showed his best side. Gal had a beautiful test (2628.5 points) and showed with her performance that she should not be written off for the individual final on Wednesday.

Van Baalen also rides the Totilas breed. The young Go Legend, together with his rider, is still a relatively new combination and a hope for the future of Dutch dressage.

Watch Van Baalen and Minderhoud test below:

The Netherlands has never won a gold medal at the Olympics in the Grand Prix Special, the nation’s final. In the Anky van Grunsven era, the Netherlands won four silver medals and one bronze medal.

“We can train for three more years and then we’ll see what happens. Total US is a mega talent and he can do everything for a score of 8.5 or higher,” said Gal. “It will take time, but I have good hopes. It’s great to have that kind of talent under saddle.”

At the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the Dutch dressage team almost missed out on an Olympic medal. Finishing fourth, Germany won gold for the twelfth time.

Not only were there no medals won at the state finals, but the riders and racers didn’t take home any medals of honor in 2016. It was the first time since 1992 that the Dutch team went home empty-handed.

The individual dressage (freestyle) final is scheduled for Wednesday. Amazon Van Baalen fails to qualify for this. Hans Peter Minderhoud with Dream Boy and Edward Gal with Total US qualified and therefore have to work again tomorrow.

The next Olympic equestrian tournament will continue with eventing and jumping.