The riders’ view of the team show jumping medal competition

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 7, 2021

Time for a deep breath, as the equestrian portion of the Olympics comes to an end. For some riders, that deep breath will be a sigh, as they’re wishing things had gone better.

For others, it will be a chance to remove the masks that were omnipresent in Tokyo, take in some fresh air and show the world their smiles for more than a one-minute photo shoot.

It’s been hard work, not just during the Games, the quarantine that preceded them and the problems of the Covid pandemic, but all the years that built up to the precious few moments that decided the medals.

In one of the most exciting Olympic show jumping finals ever, Sweden took gold in a jump-off with the U.S., decided on time by a margin of 1.3 penalties as all the riders jumped fault-free in the tie-breaker and the prizes were decided on cumulative time. (For a rider-by-rider account of the team final, look at the second story below on this website.)

It was Sweden’s first Olympic gold in show jumping since 1924.

The Swedish gold medal team: Henrik von Eckermann, Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Peder Fredricson. (Photo courtesy of FEI)

“Yes it’s a dream come true–to win an Olympic gold medal. I think that’s every athlete’s dream for sure,” said Swedish team rider Malin Baryard-Johnsson, whose knockdown with Indiana in the first round today was the only rail dropped by anyone on her squad throughout the individual and team show jumping. No other team came close to matching that.

“We’ve been so well-prepared for everything at this championship, we’ve not missed out on anything. We have a team behind us that’s incredible.

“All of us, the way we’ve ridden, shows how confident we’ve been and how they’ve all made it possible for us to totally focus on what to do in there. We knew it was very possible for a jump-off because it was only one round (Nations Cups are two rounds) and we knew we didn’t want the silver medal this time,” said Malin, a member of the Athens Swedish silver medal team in 2004.

“The riders and everybody gave everything they had to give. It was great sport,” said USA anchorman McLain Ward, who secured his team’s medal with a fast, clear round on Contagious.

McLain Ward and Contagious. (Photo courtesy FEI).

“It was great to be in the battle. Sweden’s win wasn’t unexpected here, but they took it to another level. We would have had to have an incredible day to beat them. I think we pushed them right to the limit, and in competition, when you push them to that limit and they still win, you’ve got to be proud of the fight.”

The Swedes’ individual silver medalist, Peder Fredricson on All In, was last to go and knew the time to beat.

“Oh, the pressure was on,” he said. “My God, in these situations, when you have two teams like this you really want to win. McLain was fast, I saw his round and I knew what I had to do, and today the poles stayed up and the time was on my side.”

Peder Fredricson and All In. (Photo courtesy FEI)

McLain was clocked in 39.92 seconds; Peder in 39.01.

“I had the speed and I gave him (All In) a lot of room. It’s unbelievably satisfying to get this gold. And my horse deserves it also for the way he jumped, I’m so happy for him and his owner and groom and the whole team and my team-mates. This is a great feeling,” Peder said.

Laura Kraut, who blazed the way for the U.S. today with a clear in the first round on Baloutinue, noted of the horse she has ridden for only four months, “He’s new really to this level of jumping and he’s gotten better each day that he jumped.

Laura Kraut and Baloutinue. (Photo courtesy FEI)

I think that was (Coach) Robert Ridland‘s idea when he put me on (the team) We knew the horse has plenty of blood and plenty of energy. Obviously, for Robert Ridland, tonight is his night so I think all week was geared toward this.”

“It’s what you dream of,” said Coach Robert, echoing the thoughts of Malin and the other riders who medaled in Tokyo.

“We came up with a plan a long time ago and the emphasis was always going to be on the team competition. The plan was, of course, that we’re bringing four riders here and all four were going to be whatever results we were able to get,” he explained.

“Today was supposed to be the day that we really channeled everything, and we tried to leave as much gas in the tank as we could through the qualifying round to get there, and we’ve all been saying that the team was going to be three rounds and we were prepared for that. It just became magical. It was sweet revenge for Sweden (from the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, where the jump-off went the other way) and it’s a great rivalry. They were amazing and we pushed them to the limit and that’s what has made us proud.”

Jessie Springsteen, the USA’s Olympic first timer, put in her first fault-free trip of the Games in the jump-off, when it really counted.

Her stallion, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, “has a big step I was able to do the leaveouts and that helped with the time allowed,” she said, explaining that Santiago Varela’s course featured “a lot of half-strides where you had the option to do one less or one more” stride.

Coach Robert likes to pair younger riders with veterans, as he did in the 2014 and 2016 Olympics with Lucy Davis. Jessie obviously was in that spot in Tokyo, and being flanked by veterans obviously was a help in her Games debut.

Jessie Springsteen and Don Juan. (Photo courtesy FEI)

Three teams didn’t finish–France, which had been leading, was eliminated when its anchor rider, Penelop LeProvost, garnered two refusals with Vancouver de Lanlore. Germany’s star, world number one-ranked Daniel Deusser, had trouble at the triple and retired Killer Queen from the competition. With no drop score due to the inception of the three-member teams for Tokyo, Germany was out.

Britain elected to withdraw after its first two starters, Holly Smith and Harry Charles collected 16 and 8 jumping faults respectively, which meant there was no need for Tokyo individual gold medalist Ben Maher to compete on Explosion W. They are thenumber one horse/rider combination in the world.

Ben explained, “Holly and Harry are young riders, they’ve ridden incredibly tonight. but unfortunately, it hasn’t gone our way as a team. Explosion’s welfare is paramount for me. I’m not a quitter on the team, I always push to the end, but we’re a long way off any medal contention and he’s done everything for Team GB and me as a ride this week, and the welfare of him becomes a priority.

“It doesn’t make any difference that we won the individual gold. Yes, he goes back as an Olympic champion – I always knew he was an incredible horse before he came here this week – but this decision is based purely on the team as a whole. We had a decision as a team and any horse’s welfare becomes a priority. This way, he goes home one round less and saved hopefully for another day when we are in medal contention.”

Live blogging the team show jumping medals: Sweden gold, USA silver

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 7, 2021

Can the Swedes do it? They are on quite a streak; three clear in the individual qualifier, three in the jump-off and a silver medal; three clear in the team qualifier. Will it hold through the team medal competition?

The course for the team final. Time allowed is 82 seconds..

Follow along to see how the competition went. If you’d like to watch a recap on TV in the U.S., it will be on NBCSN from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. today and highlights will be aired on NBC itself from 3:15-4:15 p.m. today with 1984 Olympic team show jumping gold medalist Melanie Smith Taylor commentating.

Here we go. It’s 6 a.m. at Baji Koen Equestrian Park as the final equestrian competition of the Olympics, as Santiago Varela of Spain designs yet another fantastic course, both beautiful and testing, as the teams come back. They have to cope not only with a triple combination that has a liverpool oxer in the middle, but also two double combinations and a water jump.

The first rider, Fabian Sejanes on Emir, has three fences down for Argentina. and winds up with two more penalties for exceeding the 82-second time allowed. The 10 teams are going in reverse order of standing.

Marc Houtzager and Dante have two rails for the Dutch, plus one time penalty, while Brazil’s Marion Modolo Zanotelli on Edgar M is the first without time penalties, but has three down. Britain’s Holly Smith cannot improve on that, and in fact, has four rails within the time on former event horse Denver.

As I have said repeatedly in my blogs, don’t count out the French in eventing (where they medaled) and show jumping. Simon Delestre and Berlux Z have a lovely trip, with just a single time fault to put their country into the early lead. But it doesn’t last, as Laura Kraut of the U.S. turns in the first double-clear with Baloutinue, a horse she just started riding in April.

She was spot-on everywhere, saying, “whoa, whoa” going into the triple of a vertical/oxer/vertical as he aced it. It was the first perfect round for the U.S. in jumping at Baji Koen since the discipline got under way on Tuesday.

Laura Kraut and Baloutinue at the stunning cherry tree fence.

European Champion Martin Fuchs has had a disappointing competition with the marvelous Clooney. Here he has the A at the double down and a fault at the water for eight within the time. Germany, always a threat, is less so after Andre Thieme has two rails near the end of the course with Chakaria. Fence 11 comes down for Peter Devos and Claire of Belgium.

Then Sweden comes out in the same form it has showed throughout the Games. Henrik von Eckermann and the shoeless King Edward are clear in 78.05 seconds, moving his country into the lead at the end of the first group of riders, because Laura Kraut’s clean round was clocked in 79.33 seconds. King Edward has not had a rail down in five rounds. Will the rest of his team follow suit?

SECOND GROUP OF RIDERS

Harrie Smolders, former world number one, is in the rotation for the Netherlands for the first time with Bingo Du Parc. He replaces William Greve, who had three rails down yesterday. On the good side, the horse is fresh; on the other side, he hasn’t jumped in this arena until now. No matter, he’s clean, despite getting a little close to the A element of the Japanese fan double. He just made the time allowed of 82 in 81.98.

Another substitution is Yuri Mansur of Brazil for Rodrigo Pessoa, who had copious faults in the team qualifier. Yuri and Alfons. Good move. Yuri only had one rail, at the middle element of the triple, an oxer over a liverpool that had several of the horses looking at the water.

Britain’s Harry Charles hasn’t had an easy time of it at the Games, pulling out of the individual finals after three rails and having another three in the team qualifier while subbing for Scott Brash, whose horse, Jefferson, strained a leg. But Harry and Romeo 88 are improving, and have just two down, the middle element of the triple and the A element of the Japanese fan combination.

France has another clear with one time fault from Matthieu Bilot with Quel Filou. They’re in the lead.

Jessie Springsteen for the U.S. has a rail at the mascot fence after the double with Don Juan, but isn’t ruffled and rides a lovely round after that in 78.89 seconds.It’s her first time in the Olympics, where she is flanked by team gold medal veterans, Laura and McLain Ward. That’s a nice security blanket.

It all goes wrong for Bryan Balsiger of Switzerland with Twenty Two des Biches, as four rails come down. And now Germany has a total of 12 as Maurice Tebbel and Don Diarado topple a rail at the B element of the Japanese fan double.

Belgium’s Jerome Guery on the stallion Quel Homme de Hus, his gold medal team partner from the 2019 European Championships, showed their form with a clear inside the time in 81.33. Belgium and the U.S. both have 4 faults as the second round of riders is coming to an end.

Sweden has its first rail in this Olympics, as Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Indiana fault at the middle element of the triple, but the country has given up its lead to France, which has just two time penalties. The U.S. is third with 4, behind Sweden based on time, as Belgium is fourth in a slower time with 4.

With no chance of a medal in this competition, Great Britain has dropped out and individual gold medalist Ben Maher will not bring Explosion W forward. The top-ranked horse/rider combination in the world and his nation certainly got what they came for, as it looks like Britain will be the only country to have medaled in all three disciplines.

7:15 a.m. EDT: FINAL GROUP OF RIDERS

This may not be the last round. Teams on equal faults will jump off, but if France jumps a clear, it will stay at the top of the heap.The teams are going in reverse order of merit after round two.

We’re starting off with 10th place Argentina, which has 27 penalties. Matias Albarracin on Cannavaro adds to that with five rails down and two time faults. The final total for Argentina is 49.

Swiss 2012 Olympic champion Steve Guerdat and Venard de Cerisy have a rail at the vertical after the water, always tricky to stretch for the water and then come back quickly to a narrower frame. He ends on 4, bringing the Swiss total to an uncharacteristic 28.

Pedro Veniss for Brazil with Quabri de Lisle have a rail at the first of two double combinations on course, then adds two more and a time penalty, making the team total 29, behind the Swiss.

World number one-ranked Daniel Deusser of Germany and Killer Queen were expected to be a real factor here, but that didn’t work out.in the individual.  And their bid ended early, after a rail at the first element of the triple and refusal at the second element when she came too close to attempt take-off. Daniel took a courtesy fence and left the arena. That’s it for Germany, which will be behind every team that completes with three riders, but they are ahead of Great Britain, which also dropped out.

Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and Beauville Z  had the A of the triple down and the fourth fence from the end to bring their team total at 17 penalties and finish in the top five.

Gregory Wathelet and Nevados from the winning team in the Rome Nations Cup are eyeing a team medal until having a rail over the middle element of the triple, an oxer which has water underneath it. Then it’s another rail at the first element of the Japanese fan double, to put Belgium on 12 faults, with a medal unlikely

The U.S. will medal! What color will it be? McLain Ward has just one rail with Contagious  at the Hachiko oxer, named for a loyal dog. It’s number 11, with a 1.6-meter spread. That brings the U.S. total to 8.

McLain Ward rides the wave at fence 1 with Contagious.

No one can believe that the last fence of the last round goes down for Sweden to tie with the U.S. as All In has his first rail in two Olympic Games for Peder Fredricson. That jump is the Paris 2024 liverpool, in honor of the next Olympic venue, where hopefully masks won’t be required! It’s a tradition to have the final fence of the last course at the Games pass the torch forward to the next Olympics.

We have a jump-off between Sweden and the U.S. on 8 penalties each after Penelope LeProvost of France loses the 2016 gold menal nation’s lead with Vancouver de Lanlore’s knockdown at the first element of the first double and then a refusal, then another refusal as Penelope goes to retake the first element. The result is elimination, sinking France to eighth/

Sweden will jump off with the U.S. for gold and silver (each has 4 penalties) while Belgium claims bronze on 12 penalties. The Netherlands was fourth on 17 penalties, followed by Switzerland (28), Brazil (29), Argentina (49) and then the drop-outs, France, Germany and Great Britain, all teams that didn’t complete with all three of their riders today. Not having a drop score available makes a big difference.

Although Sweden’s collective time in the round is 235.65 to the USA’s 237.20, with the same number of faults, time doesn’t count for the final placing, which is why a tiebreaker is needed.

JUMP-OFF

The jump-off course.

7:55 a.m. EDT: All three riders for both Sweden and the U.S. will ride in this decider to break their 8-penalty tie over a shortened course with interesting loops. Their combined scores and time decide who gets silver and who gets gold. Each nation alternates its riders in turn.

Laura Kraut is clear again,  in 41.33 seconds; Baloutinue is really on the mark with a pilot who has had him for less than four months, Henrik von Eckermann is clear for Sweden in 42 seconds.on King Edward, who now has the record for no rails down during the Olympics.

Jessie Springsteen in her first Olympics goes second for the U.S., is clear in 42.95 after taking a chance to gallop to the last fence. It was her first fault-free round of the Games on Don Juan. This is close! For Sweden, Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Indiana are clean as well in 41.89 seconds.

Now the USA’s anchor, McLain Ward, is clean in 39.92 on Contagious. It’s his first fault-free trip of the Games; he got it when it counted. McLain was the anchor for the gold medal team  at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, which also ended in a jump-off between America and Sweden.

Peder Fredricson and All In, the Swedish heroes.

What will All In do for Sweden this time? It all comes down to this gallant little gelding and Peder Fredricson. He must finish in 40.30 seconds or better to claim victory for Sweden with a clear round. He does it, in 39.01, and clear. Sweden is timed at a total of 122.90 in the jump-off; the U.S. at 124.20

Sweden gets its first show jumping team gold medal since 1924 (they also won in 1912 and 1920; USA, the 2018 world champions, claim silver for the second Olympics in a row, and the 2019 European gold medalists Belgium have bronze, that nation’s third Olympic team show jumping medal and its first since 1976.

What an exciting final. Great horses and superb riding in a challenge that will make Santiago Varela even more popular than he already is, I daresay.

The U.S. team of Laura Kraut, Jessica Springsteen and McLain Ward.

The show jumping medal teams: USA (silver), Sweden (gold) Belgium (bronze)

Lots of hugging everywhere. What a way to end 12 days of stellar equestrian competition in the Games that Covid couldn’t kill. So glad they went ahead, despite all the controversy. Kudos to Japan for handling it so well.

The athletes didn’t get the usual Olympic experience, no mingling with competitors from other countries, sightseeing or going to sports other than their own. Worst of all, fans couldn’t watch in person, which also meant athletes’ families couldn’t be there.

But for equestrian, it was still the test of horses and riders that it was meant to be, and everyone should be grateful that it could proceed.

What did the riders think about the Olympic team qualifier?

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 6, 2021

If the pressure felt enormous in today’s team show jumping qualifier, just wait until tomorrow.

Ten teams will be going for three medals as the equestrian portion of the quirky Tokyo Olympics concludes. The candidates were culled from 19 countries (four of which were eliminated) who had to deal with tension and a tight time-allowed over Santiago Varela’s marvelous course. Beautifully put together, it showcased fences reflecting Japanese culture, with outstanding exceptions being the Flamenco fence, complete with ruffled dress and guitar that speaks to the designer’s Spanish heritage, and the Tokyo 2020 obstacle. (Yes, they are still calling it Tokyo 2020 after the cancelled edition of the Games, even though this is 2021.

McLain Ward, who has been the anchor rider on so many occasions to clinch victories for the U.S., found himself in unusual circumstances this time around. He had a fresh horse in Contagious, because they hadn’t contested the individual competitions in Japan, but he also had a horse who hadn’t jumped more than nine or 10 fences with him in the last month or so.

“It was really a new challenge, what Contagious and I had to do,” McLain said after his ride, emphasizing with a sense of humor that the two of them had “been on ice.”

The two team riders preceding him in the competition, Laura Kraut on Baloutinue and Jessie Springsteen on Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, had each dropped a rail. It was up to McLain to make sure the U.S. qualified for a shot at the medals, when everyone will start at zero penalties over what you can bet will be an even more demanding course.

The 82-second time allowed today was tight, as just 15 of the starters finished without time penalties, but time wasn’t as big an issue as going carefully enough to avoid knockdowns instead of focusing on the clock.

Having quite a task before him with Contagious after his long layoff, McLain confessed, “I had a lot of anxiety about it, to be frank, but he was right there for me.”

His round was fault-free until the last line, when his 12-year-old gelding had a rail at the Japanese hair decorations oxer.

“As I turned for home, I wanted to make sure we brought that nice score home. I didn’t fight as hard as I needed to for that oxer,” said McLain, whose careful approach also brought a single time penalty.

McLain Ward and Contagious. (Photo courtesy FEI)

“I knew what the situation was; I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a major blunder.”

With his two other horses, HH Azuur and Noche de la Ronde, out because of injury and other considerations, McLain’s only choice of a ride was Contagious, who had been a super-careful horse, a little shy but brave.

But in Tokyo, “Contagious stepped up. When I originally got to ride Contagious I didn’t think he was an Olympic horse,” McLain said.

“He proved us wrong in that today.  I don’t know if he believed he could jump the really big fences. He’s a trier and a fighter and I’m a fighter and a trier. I’m really proud of the horse and feel like he belongs here.”

McLain and Contagious were among 15 entries from around the world that switched into their teams after the individual rounds, under the rule allowing substitutions as part of the revised format used for these Games. They took the place of Kent Farrington with Gazelle, who became the alternate.

Teams only have three members, instead of the usual four that allows a drop score for the worst performance. That really changes the game.

“This new format is a little complicated and a little challenging. I’m very thankful to have a course designer like Santiago, who really in my opinion has been brilliant. There’s no drop score, no room for error, no room for mild mishap. I’m not a fan of three-people teams,” McLain commented.

There are, he concluded, “too many variables to make it great sport in this format, in my opinion. I’m not a huge fan of this format but I think that’s something to discuss another day.”

He praised Jessie and Laura, saying, “Everybody’s going to fight hard tomorrow. We’ve got to focus on what’s the task at hand tomorrow and try to be in the mix.”

Laura, the pathfinder, only got her horse in April, so she is still figuring him out. Going early–she was 13th in the order–“was a little bit of a handicap” under her circumstances, she said.

Laura Kraut and Baloutinue (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)

Her rail came at a Liverpool vertical that she observed could have been the bogey jump when she walked the course, because it was going into a corner with a dark hole behind it.

“I could have gotten six inches closer to it,” she mused, saying she probably should not have left out a stride there and would change her plan accordingly if she had it to do over.

“The objective today is to get into tomorrow. We’ll do enough to get into tomorrow and pull out all the stops then.”

Jessie, who started out 18 rounds after Laura, toppled a plank at the A element of the double of verticals decorated with flowered playing cards that was set before the final fence.

“I thought my horse jumped beautifully,” observed Jessie, for whom Tokyo is her first Olympics.

“My horse has a really big stride, so I try to do the leave-outs to make up for time,” she mentioned, adding she “needed to slow it down a little more.

Jessie Springsteen and Don Juan. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)

“I was thinking for the time allowed a little bit, but I just needed to regroup before that last line, but I’m thrilled with the way he’s jumping.”

She noted she felt the responsibility of making sure her team qualified for the finals.

“I definitely had a lot more nerves today as opposed to the first day. I want to make everyone at home proud and have a good performance for my teammates,” said Jessie.

Looking toward tomorrow, she said, “I think we’re sitting in a good spot. I know my horse so well and I know he’s really brave and I can really trust him, so that always gives me a great feeling going in.”

Britain was in a more delicate position than the U.S. in terms of making the finals. Scott Brash, a strong player, could not ride in the qualifier because his horse had suffered a slight leg strain during the individual finals. So he was replaced with Harry Charles, who had retired in the individual final after a series of knockdowns with Romeo 88.

They had three rails today, but finished no worse for wear and Britain will go on to the finals.

“The score maybe wasn’t great, but I’m actually very happy,” said Harry, whose father, Peter Charles, rode with Scott and Ben Maher in the 2012 London Games, where Britain won team gold.

Harry knew it wouldn’t be easy to compete as well as he had to today.

“After the round the other night and only finding out yesterday that I was going to be in the team, I had little preparation and the horse has already done two massive rounds. Today was always going to be about giving the horse confidence, I knew I wasn’t going to go clear – the team knew that, too – so the result was pretty good.

“It wasn’t easy, but we just had to get on with it – there was no other way, I couldn’t not jump, so I’m happy that it went as well as it could have done. He ended very good, very confident, and his jump is super, so no harm done today.”

Holly Smith, riding Denver in her first appearance at these Games, delivered a 4-fault round for Britain. She echoed McLain’s thoughts about what it was like to compete in the qualifier without having jumped previously in the arena.

“I was absolutely delighted with the horse,” said Holly. “Believe it or not, he’s not got a lot of experience jumping at this level and, with us not having competed in the individual competition, it was quite something to go in there.

Her performance gave a bit of a cushion for Ben, the anchor rider, who took individual gold earlier in the week with Explosion W.

Ben Maher and Explosion W. (Photo courtesy FEI)

“I had a talk with Scott Brash just before I went in and he said we had a good margin to make the team final tomorrow, so I could take it a little easier,” noted the anchor rider.

“It may sound crazy in this level of competition that I could take it easy, but it just meant I could give him an easier time and if I made a mistake, we’d still make the finals. It was enough, tomorrow’s another day.”

Explosion W put in an extra stride coming into the middle element of the triple combination and ticked off a rail. But they had no time penalties and only a four for the knockdown.

“I was happy with Explosion,” said Ben. “It’s always tough after a very fast round of jumping like the other day and he’s a horse that gets more careful the faster he goes. It’s about giving him the confidence – it’s important that he’s jumping across the oxers. Maybe on the fault I just left him a bit on his own and I could have helped him a little bit more.”

Ben and Explosion are the number-one ranked horse/rider combination in the world and from Ben’s viewpoint, “There weren’t too many decisions to make on the course today,”.

For the double of those playing card planks, just before the final fence, many horses were doing six strides, but Explosion was one of eight or so who went on five.

“I can trust him to jump those planks – it’s like he has laser vision,” Ben observed.

“He can see them and measure them, so the five was always the right option for me.”

For more about today’s qualifier, see the live blog on this website or click here to get results. Follow my live blog of the team finals tomorrow starting at 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. If you want to watch the highlights, it will be on NBC from 3:15-4:15 p.m. EDT tomorrow. See a longer version from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on NBCSN.

Live blog Olympic team show jumping qualifier: USA comes through to finals

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 6, 2021

Teams from 19 countries lined up at Baji Koen Equestrian Park today to claim one of 10 qualifying spots for the show jumping finals that will yield the medals tomorrow, as the Tokyo Olympics draw to a close.

This is the USA’s only chance for a show jumping medal, as none of its three contenders–Kent Farrington (Gazelle), Laura Kraut (Baloutinue) and Jessie Springsteen (Don Juan van de Donkhoeve)–were fault-free on Tuesday to go through to Wednesday’s individual medal finals. Kent Farrington has been been switched out for McLain Ward and Contagious. McLain will be in his usual spot as anchor.

In the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation book, “Riding for the Team,” Mclain told me what it takes to be an anchor: “Most people would say there’s more pressure for an anchor rider than a lead-off rider, because you understand the consequences of any penalties you accumulate pretty clearly and know what has to be done.

“You’ve been put in that position because they’re expecting a certain performance from you. The pressure is greater for the anchor rider, but someone who has more experience and been in more positions can bring that to the table. You’re using all that knowledge to be mentally and physically in the right place.”

McLain is always up to the challenge. Under the new format that takes some getting used to for these Games, he is among riders from 15 countries who were switched onto their teams following the individual finals. Those usually are held after the team competition. There can also be another switch before the finals on Saturday, so Kent is staying on board as an alternate. To find out more about the substitutions, read the article “Major switches on key Olympic teams” on this website.

The course for the team jumping qualifier, designed by Santiago Varela of Spain. The time allowed is 82 seconds.

What are my picks for team medals? I think the USA is very strong; the performance in the individual qualifier wasn’t indicative of the horse and rider talent on this squad. But I’ll be interested to see how the Swedes do. Remember, they qualified all three of their riders for the jump-off in the individual finals, and Peder Fredricson claimed the individual silver (as he did in Rio) on All In.The Swiss, with 2012 individual gold medalist Steve Guerdat (Venard du Cerisy) and European Champion Martin Fuchs (Clooney) should find a place on the podium also.

There are several others to look at as well. I don’t believe, as I said during the eventing, you should ever count out the French, so keep an eye on them.

The British, however, aren’t nearly as strong as they could have been with Scott Brash, a member of the country’s 2012 Olympic gold medal team, who rode on that squad with Ben Maher. Ben just claimed the individual gold with Explosion W, but Scott, whose horse had an injury, was replaced by Olympic first-timer Harry Charles (son of Peter Charles,another London 2012 team member) on Romeo 88. (see the feature story on this site for what the riders have to day.) Harry retired from the individual final after a series of knockdowns.

Ireland lost a key member when Cian O’Connor withdrew his Kilkenny after the horse had a nosebleed in the individual final. He is being replaced by Shane Sweetnam riding Alejandro, who has plenty of experience, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

It’s 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and action is under way in Japan, which is 13 hours ahead of EDT. I’ll try to blog every round as I have done in the past, but for sure I’ll be giving you information about major players as the countries they ride for jockey for a spot in the finals, where all teams will start on zero penalties. I’ll do the same with tomorrow’s competition, starting at 6 a.m. EDT.

I’ll be blogging in reverse order, with the most recent rounds first, but if you want to see how the day developed, just go down the list.

9 a.m.: Here are the qualifiers for tomorrow’s team medal round, where everyone starts with a clean slate. Sweden leads the way, followed by Germany and Belgium, tied for second; Switzerland fourth, U.S. fifth, France sixth; Britain seventh, Brazil eighth, the Netherlands ninth and Argentina last. Israel, Ireland, Mexico and Japan were all eliminated after they had riders who withdrew or were eliminated. To see the full list of results, click on this

8:40 a.m.:Maikel van der Vleuten, the individual bronze medalist for the Netherlands, has two rails and can’t risk another as he goes down the final line with Beauville Z. He makes it and finishes on 8 penalties to qualify his team in ninth place.

World number one Daniel Deusser of Germany rides a nicely planned round on Killer Queen to end with a single time penalty and put his team in a good spot for tomorrow’s jumping order. It’s tied for second behind Sweden with Belgium on 4 penalties. Gregory Wathelet of Belgium has just two time penalties as he took care not to rush Nevados S to bring his team’s total to 4.

Switzerland goes through to the finals in fourth place on 10 penalties after 2012 individual Olympic champion Steve Guerdat has two rails and one time fault with Venard de Cerisy.

Rodrigo Pessoa has 16 jumping penalties for Brazil and two time penalties with Carlito’s way, but the country still manages to qualify in ninth place with 25 penalties.

8:30 a.m. EDT: Even an individual gold medalist can have a rail down, but there was only one knockdown, at the middle element of the triple, for Ben Maher and Explosion W, putting Britain into the finals on 20 penalties in seventh place.

McLain Ward at the Flamenco fence.

The USA has also qualified, as anchor McLain Ward on Contagious–making his first appearance at these Games–had a rail and one time penalty to bring his country’s total to a very respectable 13 penalties.The USA is fifth in the ranking, which only affects the order in which countries go tomorrow, since all start on zero penalties.

Sweden leads on zero and will have the best draw tomorrow after double silver individual medalist Peder Fredricson continues his record with All In of not having a rail down in either of his Olympic outings, in 2016 and this year.

It’s been a remarkable performance here for Sweden, which qualified all three of its riders for the jump-off for the individual finals, where Peder took silver. If they keep it up, at this rate, they’ll be on track for gold tomorrow. Speaking of herself and her teammates, Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson said, ““I think we all have the same feeling, that it felt quite easy every round in there–they are all jumping so well, every round!”

Peder Fredricson and All In. (Photo courtesy FEI)

8:10 a.m EDT: The troublesome wall (which memorializes a traffic jam at Shibuya Crossing, supposedly the busiest intersection in the world) brings a refusal for Morocco’s Abdelkebir Quaddar, who accumulates 21 with Istanbull to drop his nation in the standings with 37 penalties, behind Argentina (27) . Argentina had six penalties from Matias Albarracin on Cannavaro 9, but that nation seems heading toward qualification. Morocco is ahead of New Zealand, with 39 after Daniel Meech and Cinca 3 have nine penalties total.

8: 05 a.m. EDT: Patricio Pasquel of Mexico and Babel, who is Mexican-bred, have five penalties. Two Mexicans have a total of six, but their second rider was eliminated for two refusals at the narrow Shibuya wall.

China’s Zhenquiang Li wisely shows Uncas that tricky narrow grey Shibuya wall before starting his round. He is the father of Yaofeng Li, who rode in the first group. The 2008 Olympic veteran has 7 penalties, making China’s total 35.

Israel has indeed dropped out, as has Japan, joining Ireland in that situation.

7:55 a.m. EDT: Marc Houtzager on Dante for the Netherlands has a job to do, after the country’s first rider had 13 penalties. He isn’t perfect, but a rail and time make the Dutch total 18. That country stands 11th, with only 10 teams to come through to the finals.

Maurice Tebbel of Germany on Don Diarado has two time penalties to make his team’s total 3 so far. Better to take some time and leave the fences standing than rush and have more expensive jumping penalties.

Belgium gets one more time fault in an otherwise clean round from Jerome Guery on Quel Homme de Huis, putting that team on 2 penalties total after two riders.

7:50 a.m. EDT: Switzerland has just a single penalty in its total, from Martin Fuchs’ ride in the first half of the class, as Bryan Balsinger is clear in his first appearance at the Games with Twentytwo des Biches.

Pedro Veniss of Brazil on Quabri De L’Isle has a rail and time to make his team’s total 5 penalties.

Britain’s Harry Charles, who withdrew in the individual competition, had three rails with Romeo 88. He replaced Scott Brash, whose Jefferson came out of the individual after straining a front leg.

7:45 a.m EDT: A well-ridden round by Jessie Springsteen of the U.S. on Don Juan, with just a rail at the A of the double, a combination that is the next-to-last test. That puts the U.S. on 8 penalties, with McLain Ward yet to come.

Sweden is amazing. Two clears to its credit as Malin Baryard-Johnsson is fault free on Indiana. Remember, all the Swedes were clear in the individual medal contest. Sweden leads on zero penalties after two riders have gone.

7:40 a.m. EDT: France now leads on 6 penalties after Penelope Leprovost on Vancouver de la Lanilore has a rail and time for a total of five.

We’re on a break for a few minutes now. Not every team has had two riders go as of yet, so the score only tell us where we are half-way through, with so many key countries awaiting their second and third riders.

7 a.m. EDT: Mohamed Talaat, who wasn’t in the individual competition, rides for Egypt on the stallion Darshan by Diamant de Semilly. Two rails and time added to the country’s other score gives Egypt 17 penalties.

Morocco–Morocco!–is in the lead after two riders with a team score of 16 following a determined ride from El Ghali Boukaa on Ugolino duo Clos, who had a rail and two time penalties. Nice to see a country not among the favorites heading the standings. Don’t forget, though, that this round is only for qualifying for the finals and scores do not carry over. All the teams that make the top 10 start on zero penalties tomorrow.

The flag on the left side of the narrow gray wall goes down, one of three jumping penalties for Mario Dopazo of Argentina on Quintno. He has three rails and time, his team now has 21 penalties after two riders.

It’s elimination for Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez on Armani after two refusals at the wall. It is odd-looking, surprised more horses haven’t questioned it. So two eliminations in a row

6:55 a.m. EDT: Teddy Vlock on Amsterdam for Israel has a fall with his horse at the oxer that is fence number eight, but luckily his air vest goes off and he walks out of the ring. He is eliminated, so Israel joins Ireland at the bottom of the rankings. Ireland has withdrawn; Israel may follow suit.

China stands on 28 penalties after two riders. Xinglis Zang has three rails and time with For Passion.

6:50 a.m. EDT:It’s a total of 32 penalties after two team riders for the Czech Republic have gone, as Anna Kellernova has four rails and time with former German team horse, Catch Me If You Can.

William Greve, a member of the Netherlands’ winning Nations Cup team on home ground in Rotterdam this year, has three rails and a time penalty.

6:45 a.m. EDT: Andre Thieme of Germany, who has won several $1 million classes in the U.S., is just over the time in 82.92 for a single time fault with Chakaria. There are now five nations that have no jumping faults and a single time fault.

Another with a time fault and no rails down, Pieter Devos of Belgium on Claire V. This course demands a high degree of being careful, which so often is resulting in those time penalties.

Oh Marcus Fuchs–how could the European champion have a time fault? Strategy. Better to take your time and have time penalties than a rail down. Otherwise, the Swiss is fault-free on the fabulous gray, Clooney.

Marlon Modello Zanotelli has our second double-clear, riding well for Brazil on Edgar M.

6:40 a.m.EDT: Holly Smith of Great Britain makes her debut at these Games with former event horse Denver. The Flamenco fence, a tribute to course designer Santiago Varela’s Spanish national heritage, has a rail drop. Holly is free of time faults for a very neatly ridden round that finishes on four faults.

6:35 a.m. EDT: A rail falls at fence 10, the liverpool, for Laura Kraut of the USA and Baloutinue, her ride only since April. No time penalties, though.

Laura Kraut, USA, and Baloutinue.

6:30 a.m. EDT:  The shoeless King Edward and Henrik von Eckermann demonstrated the style that got him into the jump-off for the individual on Wednesday and gives us our first double-clear. Remember what I said above about Sweden as a real medal threat?

It’s one time penalty and no jumping penalties for France’s Simone Delestre on Berlux Z.

Egypt has its first Olympic show jumping team since the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Nayel Nasser, the lead-off rider, drops two rails but has no time penalties with Igor van de Wittemore.

6:25 a.m EDT: Cian O’Connor’s replacement (his Kilkenny had a nosebleed in the individual) is Shane Sweetnam for Ireland with Alejandro. He has a fall at a liverpool after a series of rails down and is eliminated. That’s it for Ireland, since there is no drop score with the three-member teams. This nation can’t qualify for the final tomorrow.

“He’s an experienced horse, normally he’s very good but he pulled his shoe off going into the triple combination, I don’t know whether that hurt him but it definitely rattled him, and then after that you could see he was very unsettled and wasn’t like himself at all”, said Shane.

New Zealand’s Bruce Goodin on Danny V has 16 and 1.

6:20 a.m. EDT: It’s the first time in the ring at Baji Koen for Golden Lady, ridden in a hackamore by Ali Al Arach (riders were able to change horses from the individual if they liked). The Moroccan has 8 jumping, two time.

A quiet round from Jose Maria Larocca of Argentina on Finn Lente has only one rail down, but three time penalties.

6:15 a.m.: The first with no jumping faults is Enrique Gonzalez, a member of Mexico’s Aga Khan trophy winning team in Dublin, but he has one time penalty on Chacna, a daughter of Chacco Blue.

Israel’s Alberto Michan rides free of time penalties, but is another with 12 jumping faults.

6:10 a.m. EDT: Japan’s Daisuke Fukushima, who was clear in the jump-off for the individual to finish sixth, is back on Chanyon, the son of Chacco Blue (Explosion’s sire as well).He’s good until the end, with 13B and 14 down. Best so far.

The first two riders, from the Czech Republic and China, each had three rails with 3 time penalties.

UPDATE: It’s gold for Maher/Live blogging the Olympic individual show jumping medals

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 4, 2021

The Olympic show jumping medalists are pictured at the top of the page, as the discipline’s individual competition wrapped up in Tokyo. Read the blog to get the timeline of how it all happened.

It’s 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and the individual show jumping medals are at stake in the impressive arena at Baji Koen Equestrian Park in Tokyo. The 30 who qualified yesterday will be riding over a bigger, but just as beautiful, course designed  by the brilliant Spaniard, Santiago Varela. (He created a PC, a perfect course, for the qualifier, with clear jumping rounds–four had time faults–to come up with the top 30.)

Everyone today starts with a clean slate; no faults carry over.

I’ll be blogging in reverse order, with the most recent rides at the top of the story. (the faster riders from yesterday’s qualifier go later in the class). At the bottom of the page is a map of the first-round route the riders will take,with a time allowed of 88 seconds. The course is larger than yesterday’s qualifier, and we see many different fences that reflect the culture of the host country. There is the sushi vertical, complete with chopsticks; a Japanese gong and the kabuki triple. The obstacles are all works of art.

Don’t look for an American starter. Each of the three who rode yesterday  (Laura Kraut, Kent Farrington and Jessie Springsteen) had the same rail down at the A element of the double, and Laura had 4 faults at the following obstacle as well. It’s a one-and-done way to qualify for the individual final that is not popular with the riders. Read their comments in the second feature story on this webpage.

On the bright side, at least the American horses will be fresh for the team competition Friday, when McLain Ward on Contagious will be up. The question is, who will be out, as only three members are permitted per team under the Tokyo format. Veteran Kent has an older horse; Jessie is in her first Olympics. So we’ll see.

Here’s how it shook out today.

7:50 a.m. EDT: The number one horse/rider combination in the world, Explosion W and Ben Maher, earn Olympic individual gold. Britain now is the sole nation so far that has medaled in all three disciplines at these Games (team gold in eventing, bronze in team and individual dressage.) Aside from Germany, it is the only country to have had back-to-back individual gold medalists (the now-retired Nick Skelton won in 2016).

Ben Maher and Explosion W. (Photo courtesy FEI)

For the second time in a row, Sweden’s Peder Fredricson is silver with the shoeless All In and the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten on Beauville takes bronze.

Peder Fredricson and All In. (Photo courtesy FEI)

All six finalists in the jump-off were fault-free, pretty amazing, considering the challenge of eight jumping efforts that Santiago set for the tie-breaker, which had a 45-second time allowed, not to mention three verticals in the stratosphere at 1.65 meters.

Congratulating Ben, the 2012 Olympic team gold medalist, after his win was a raft of equestrian big names, from Paul Schockemohle of Germany and the USA’s McLain Ward to 2012 individual gold medalist Steve Guerdat of Switzerland.

Following his victory, Ben confessed, “I had a plan, but I don’t really remember it now, to be honest. The team believed that, by being fastest qualifier yesterday, I’d be last in the jump-off today and it threw me off a little bit that that wasn’t the case (he went fourth of six in the jump-off based on his time in today’s first round, not on his time in the qualifier.)

“I wanted to go in there knowing exactly what I had to do,” said Ben, “but Peter Charles and Scott Brash (his teammates from the London 2012 gold medal squad) were watching for me and they said `You’ve just got to go. Do what you’ve done on him in the past’. As I was going through the gate, I knew I didn’t want to be that person who came fourth. I wasn’t going to leave anything on the table.”

This, he realized, was his moment. He had an opportunity and an extraordinary horse who can leave from anywhere and jump a mountain..

“I’ve had many good horses in my career, but I won’t ride another one like him again, and that’s a big statement,” said Ben. “He’s just such an intelligent horse, a fun horse to be around, and he’s a real athlete. He’s not a normal horse. All the nerves that I had coming from the hotel today and when I got here, I came in through the gate and they just went away. I jumped fence one and something just clicks.”

He added, however, ““I don’t know what was more pressure, this or getting married in two weeks.”

Peder Fredricson, Ben Maher, Maikel van der Vleuten.

7:40 a.m. EDT: Here’s how the jump-off happened in the order in which the riders competed.

Daisuke Fukushima of Japan is careful with his guidance of Chanyon, a 13-year-old also by Chacco Blue, Explosion’s sire. His strategy adds up to a clean round in 43.76 seconds for the Japanese rider. It will be too slow for a medal. It’s always tough for the first on course.

Improving on that was Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson with Indiana, clean in 40.76, as she sought to be the first female individual gold medalist in Olympic show jumping.

She was followed by her teammate, Peder Fredricson, in 38.02, on All In. Ben Maher does just enough with Explosion to get him across the finish line in 37.85. Will that be good enough for gold?

Next to go, Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward can’t beat it in 39.71. The Swede is out of the medals. And the last starter, Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleueten with Beauville Z, is close enough to secure third place in 38.90.

Ben wins, Peder gets another silver and Maikel, 20th in Rio, is bronze. (He will learn the hard way that he can’t do the traditional kissing of his medal while wearing a Covid mask).

The jump-off course for the individual final.

Ben Maher and Explosion at the Kabuki triple

Here’s the first round, with the last trip listed first:

7:25 a.m. EDT: The number one horse/rider combo in the world, Britain’s Ben Maher and the Chacco Blue son Explosion W are qualified for the jump-off, which includes eight jumping efforts for six riders–half of them from Sweden! They are Peder Fredricson, hoping for a second consecutive individual medal (he was silver in Rio), Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Henrik van Eckermann. The other starters in the jump-off in a few minutes are Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and Daisuke Fukushima of Japan, which will have his compatriots eagerly following his fate on their TVs, since a bid to have Japanese spectators at these Games failed because of Covid fears.

7:15 a.m.: Ireland’s Darragh Kenny has a rail at the double of walls and one at the gong jump with Cartello to put him out of the final. Californian Ashlee Bond, riding for Israel, drops a pole at the seventh fence with Donatello. What a shame–would have been nice to have someone from America in the jump-off, even if she is riding for another country.

Olympic team silver medalist Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands sets the rail in the final fence rolling, but it stays up. Clear on Beauville Z.

7:10 a.m. EDT: Mario Deslauriers has three rails with Bardolina. He is making his first Olympic appearance since 1988. As the only Canadian competing here, he won’t be seen again in this arena.

Bertram Allen of Ireland on the 9-year-old Pacino Amiro got tight to the first fence of the triple and had it down.

7:08 a.m. EDT: Luciana Diniz of Portugal was very fast, in 84.69 seconds with Vertigo du Desert, but a rail kept her out of the jump-off.

Niels Bruynseels of Belgium missed his start time because of a thrown shoe, but he didn’t get far when he got into the arena, as Delux Van T&L took offense to the fourth fence, the liverpool, and wouldn’t go near it. Eliminated.

7 a.m.: A round that left all the rails up was not good enough to get Britain’s Scott Brash into the jump-off; he and Jefferson were 0.45 over the time allowed for one time penalty. He was, he said simply, “Gutted.” at the outcome.

6:55 a.m. EDT: Rio individual silver medalist Peder Fredricson of Sweden is on track to go for another medal with All In. Three Swedes in the jump-off. What does that say about their chances for a team medal later in the week?

Jerome Guery of Belgium was going so well with Quel Homme de Hus until his horse refused at the last, the Olympic mascot fence featuring creatures named Miraitowa and Someity. He has four penalties for jumping, three for time.

How can this be? Two rails down for world number one Daniel Deusser of Germany and the usually spectacular Killer Queen.

6:50 a.m. EDT: Brazil’s Yuri Mansur has two down with Alfons. He’ll be back with the team.

6:45 a.m.: Britain’s Harry Charles had a rail at number 5, the sushi fence (which is complete with chopsticks) and then two more come down and he retires with Romeo 88.He may not be on the team Friday, as Holly Smith at the moment is tabbed to step in with Ben and Scott Brash, who also were the teammates of Harry’s father, Peter Charles on the 2012 Olympic gold medal team.

And one more for the jump-off, another Swede. Malin Baryard Johnsson on Indiana. Could she become the first female Olympic individual gold medalist in this discipline?

6:40 a.m. EDT:The only French rider in this round, Nicolas Delmotte, had a rail and time with Urvoso du Roch.

Daisuke Fukushima scores for the home side with a perfect trip on Chanyon. There are a few people in the stands; owners, grooms, staff, other riders, and they give a big cheer.

Japan’s Daisuke Fukushima and Chanyon. (Photo courtesy FEI)

But can you imagine what a packed stadium would have sounded like, had it not been for those Covid restrictions? Japan hasn’t won a show jumping medal since 1932. This rider, number 600 in the world, is set for the jump-off, which so far includes only Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden..

6:35 a.m. EDT: This is the fabulous Clooney, who has a great journey with Marcus Fuchs until the last two fences come down. So much for the pairing that was the betting favorite for gold.

6:30 a.m. EDT: The second fence goes for Kristaps Neretnieks of Latvia with Valour. He has been a pioneer for his nation at this level of the sport, but three rails and a time penalty mean he doesn’t qualify for the jump-off I presume we’ll have before the medals can be distributed

6:25 a.m. EDT: Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden is aboard King Edward, who is competing without shoes, as is his teammate All In, Peder Fredricson’s ride. Perhaps that is the ticket, as he is our first clear trip over these fabulously telegenic fences.

London Olympic medalist Mark Houtzager of the Netherlands is delayed when Dante needs a shoe replaced. Not the best thing to happen during your warm-up. Perhaps that affected his performance; which involved having three fences down and a single time penalty.

6:15 a.m. EDT:Koki Saito of Japan on the stallion Chilensky . The Japanese riders are based in Germany to sharpen their skills. He had just one rail down at the second part of the double and a single time penalty

Ireland’s Olympic medalist Cian O’Connor and Kilkenny are the first entry to go that did not have time penalties in the qualifier. He has one today, though, finishing in 88.45 seconds, just 0.45 over the time allowed, but his horse leaves all the rails in place.

However, Kilkenny, who finished seventh, had a very visible nosebleed during his round. That is not cause for elimination–unlike bleeding in the mouth. However, Cian said although his horse “recovered well” and could participate in the team competition Friday, he is thinking of Kilkenny’s welfare and therefore will not ride him in the team competition.

“For me, his future’s more important,” said Cian, who plans to help the other Irish team members.

. “We’ll be back to fight again another day.”

Today’s first course.

6:10 a.m. EDT: Geir Gulliksen of Norway retires before the final three fences after collecting 24 penalties with Quatro. He is not part of a Norwegian team (there isn’t one), so this is the last appearance here for the 61-year-old rider.

Eiken Sato, who was taught to ride by a monk, topples four fences with Saphyr du Lacs for the home side of Japan. Were there fans in the stands (prohibited by Covid measures) you would have heard the moans of disappointment.

Swiss veteran Beat Mandli had trouble, including a foot in the water with Dsarie, and elected to withdraw, saving his horse for the team competition that starts Friday. Egypt’s Mouda Zeyada had two rails with Galanthos SHK.

6:05 a.m. EDT: Daniel Meech of New Zealand is the pathfinder on Cinca 3, collecting 12 penalties with two time penalties. He also had two time penalties yesterday.