Georgia Rider Puts U.S. in Position for Medal

Michelle Gibson, from the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, didn’t let her fans down. Riding her Trakehner stallion, Peron, her score of 1,880 (75.2%) was the second best of the day in the equestrian team dressage event in Conyers, Ga.

Her team is in third place with 3,529 points going into today’s finale, just behind the Netherlands’ 3,544. Gold-medal favorite Germany leads with 3,708.

“There was some extra pressure riding for the team, but I didn’t focus on that,” Gibson said. “I focused on being happy with my ride.”

While training and competing in Germany for the last six years, Gibson has been piling up the highest scores ever for an American in international competition. U.S. dressage fans had been looking forward to finally seeing her on home turf--or sand, in this case.