Individual, Men

There were only 10 entrants from four nations (France, Mexico, Sweden, United States). Piaffe and passage were required for the first time. France was led by Charles Marion on Linon, silver medalist from 1928, and Xavier Lesage on Taine, bronze medalist from 1924. In the end Lesage would win the gold medal, with Marion taking silver. Originally the second-place finisher was Swedish rider Bertil Sandström, but he was disqualified after protests from the French and Americans, who accused him of making clicking noises with his tongue to give instructions to his horse. Sandström claimed that he made no such noises, but that what was heard was a creaking saddle. The protest was upheld, however, and he was dropped to 10th and last place, although his score was allowed to stand for the team dressage event.

Scoring was by ordinals from among the three judges, with total points used as the tiebreaker. Marion and American Hiram Tuttle tied for second with 14 ordinals, but Marion won the silver medal with a higher point score. Tuttle’s bronze remains, through 2012, the only individual Olympic dressage medal won by a United States’ rider. His horse was aptly named Olympic, which he had purchased for the total sum of $1.