CARL HESTER and Great Britain’s hopes of a team medal in the Olympic dressage competition evaporated on Saturday. Team GB had been sitting in bronze medal position after the first day of competition, with Sark-born Hester fourth overall.

But the second day of competition saw Great Britain drop from third to seventh.

The team competition gold went to Germany, with a score of 74.653. Spain were second on 72.917, with USA third on 71.500. Britain finished on 68.903.

Hester’s score of 70.667 put him in 12th place in the Grand Prix – he said that anywhere in the top 25 would have been like an Olympic win in his own mind.

‘It was very disappointing,’ said GB team leader, David Trott.

‘We always knew it was going to be a hard day but we didn’t quite get the performance we wanted.

‘Richard [Davison] produced a sound test but we were hoping for more from the final combination and in the end they were well below their potential.

‘On the positive side, we have three through to the individual and that is very pleasing.’

The event doubled as the first of three rounds for the individual dressage medals, which will be decided on Wednesday.

The top 25 riders – including Hester, Davison and Emma Hindle – progress to the Grand Prix Special today, with the top 15 from that competition taking part in the freestyle round, in which competitors perform their own routine to music.