U.S. win team dressage at Pan Am Games, earn Rio berth

TORONTO (Reuters) - The United States' dressage team won gold in the team event at the Pan American Games on Sunday to earn an automatic qualifying spot for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The American team of Sabine Schut-Kery, Kimberly Herslow, Laura Graves and Steffen Peters combined for a total score of 460.506 to punch their Rio ticket.

Canada (454.938) won silver and Brazil took bronze (414.895).

Team dressage is among a handful of disciplines in 10 sports at the July 10-26 Pan Am Games that offer athletes a chance to secure a spot in the Rio Olympics, which are scheduled for Aug. 5-21 next year.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue, editing by Gene Cherry)