The quest for team glory looks equally fascinating. The new rule, introduced after the Athens Olympic Games in 2005, allows for just three competitors from each nation, so the pressure will be intense as there will be no drop score. Every rider will need to present their very best work from the moment they step into the arena because mistakes will prove very costly indeed. For the 2008 team Dressage Olympians there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Germany's dominance of the historic team medal table is indisputable, but there is a danger that the 11-time champions may be outshone by the Dutch this time around, while there are great expectations for the squad from the USA. The Americans have had to be content with bronze on six occasions, including at the last four Games, but they got a taste of silver way back in 1948 in London – could they be ready to go for gold 60 years later?
The battle lines have been re-drawn and well-cemented between Van Grunsven and Werth in recent weeks, with the former giving a sparkling performance with Salinero on her home turf in Rotterdam and the latter shining with Satchmo before her wildly enthusiastic supporters in Aachen. The Dutch rider will be joined by her 2007 European Championship winning team-mates Hans Peter Minderhoud riding Exquis Nadine and Imke Schellekens-Bartels riding Hunter Douglas Sunrise as the team event begins on 13 August, and few doubt their strength. Minderhoud's mare may be relatively inexperienced at this level but proved herself well up to the task on that Championship debut and has continued to impress ever since, while Sunrise is one of those horses that every dressage rider would like to sit on – there's an eye-catching qualify about her every movement.
However Werth's team-mates are both already Olympic winners – Nadine Capellmann who took team gold in Sydney in 2000 and Heike Kemmer who contributed to victory in Athens four years later. Capellmann this time rides Elvis who she steered to individual fourth and team silver at the 2007
Europeans while Kemmer partners the well-campaigned Bonaparte who took European gold at both Hickstead in 2003 and Hagen two years later.
The game of cat-and-mouse that Anky and Isabell constantly play at each tournament – as Van Grunsven tends to top the Kur and Werth the Grand Prix Special – will be a fascinating one to watch at these Olympic Games. The Dutch star will be hoping to secure a sensational back-to-back hat-trick of gold, but Werth has worn that medal around her neck once before when winning with Gigolo in Atlanta 12 years ago and she is still hungry to do it again. Firstly, however, even these two giants of the sport must follow the Olympic formula by finishing in the top 25 at the end of the team competition in order to go through to the Grand Prix Special and then into the top-15 Freestyle which will decide the fate of the 2008 Olympic title.
From both a team and individual perspective, Hong Kong promises a dressage feast.