GREAT BRITAIN'S dressage team relinquished their Olympic title in Rio but still claimed a battling silver medal behind runaway champions Germany, writes Andrew Baldock.

Olympic individual title holder Charlotte Dujardin faced an effectively-impossible task on Valegro to overhaul Germany's score as the last British rider, such was the gap between first and second.

And although she made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes ¬– Dujardin refused to blame noise from a helicopter that flew over the main arena during her test – Valegro’s rider still posted 14 scores of 10 across the seven judges.

The British quartet of Gloucestershire-based Dujardin and Carl Hester (Nip Tuck), along with Fiona Bigwood (Orthilia) and Spencer Wilton (Super Nova II) finished more than three per cent behind Germany, who landed an eighth Olympic team gold medal in the last nine Games.

They also reclaimed the crown from Britain, who triumphed in memorable fashion at London 2012, while the United States took bronze.

Dujardin has now matched British cyclist Victoria Pendleton's feat of winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver, and will go into next Monday's individual freestyle final as title favourite.

"If I don't get that gold on Monday, I am going to slit my throat! No, not really," Dujardin said.

"It just makes you more determined and want to fight harder.

"It has kind of given me that wake-up call that I have got to shake myself, get myself in gear and off I go again. If it all goes to plan, fantastic."

Of the mistakes, Dujardin added: "I was so annoyed. It was my fault, really, I just used too much leg, and he thought it was a canter (movement).

"He is normally such a genius. It was just tiny misunderstandings, that's all it was. He felt so good, I was just a bit disappointed with myself.

"I didn't even hear it (helicopter). It was just one of those things. You have just got to forget it - you can't dwell on mistakes, you move on.”

German consistency shone through, with their three top riders - Isabell Werth, Dorothee Schneider and Kristina Broring-Sprehe - all posting scores of above 80 per cent.

The Germans will now be lining up to knock Dujardin off the sport's summit in three days' time, and it should be a spectacular freestyle showdown.

Reflecting on the result, Hester told Press Association Sport: "We are very happy.

"Any medal, we would have been very happy with, because any Olympics produces a lot of nerves, different atmospheres and different rides.

"But the whole of the GB team has ridden beautifully.

"Everyone coped with the pressure, and the fact these horses have come halfway around the world and performed like that is testament to the grooms and support staff."

Germany finished on a score of 81.936 per cent, with Britain on 78.595 and the United States 76.667.

Dujardin will defend the individual title she won four years ago after qualifying for Monday's event on Valegro with the second highest individual score.

Hester and Bigwood will also compete in the individual event, after scoring the ninth and 16th highest totals respectively.