Sweden finished fourth on a score of 214.437 per cent, Spain was fifth with 211.580 per cent, and Denmark sixth on 209.985 per cent.

The three leading nations at the Championships had already achieved Olympic qualification, with gold medallists Great Britain automatically qualifying as next year's Olympic Games' host nation.

Silver medallists Germany and bronze medallists the Netherlands had previously secured their spots at last year's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, along with the United States, bringing the total number of qualified teams for London 2012 to seven.

The next event for direct team qualification is the Pan American Games, which are being held in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 14 to 29, with the two best placed teams from Olympic Groups D representing North American and E from Central and South America securing spots at next year's Games in London.

The Pan American Games will be followed by the two FEI approved qualification events, taking place in Sydney, Australia on October 23 and Ermelo, the Netherlands on November 2, which are open to teams from the Olympic Groups F representing Africa and Middle East and G from South East Asia and Oceania.

Combined standings from both competitions will be produced and the two best-ranked teams, excluding those already qualified, will secure participation at London 2012.

Eleven nations qualify directly for the 2012 Olympic dressage competition through team competitions at FEI Championships, with a team consisting of three athletes and three horses.

However, the total number of nations participating in the team competition in London may exceed 11 since additional composite teams made up of three individuals from the same nation may qualify through the FEI Olympic Athletes Rankings.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]