Live blogging the first Olympic show jumping competition

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 3, 2021

Another contingent of U.S. riders is taking to the arena at Baji Koen Equestrian Park today to compete in the first qualifier for the individual show jumping medals, the opposite of the usual order, when the team goes first, as it did in dressage and eventing.

There are 73 starters, a list that includes dozens of standouts as well as some who have come simply for the experience. Each country will field all its riders in the same group.

The top 30 will qualify for the individual medal finals tomorrow, when everyone will start on zero penalties.

On the U.S. side, Kent Farrington (Gazelle), Jessie Springsteen (Don Juan van de Donkhoever) and Laura Kraut (Baloutinue) are competing. McLain Ward, the fourth member of the squad, is on hold until the team competition later in the week.

I expect Kent, ranked fifth in the world, to be a key contender for the gold with his longtime partner, Gazelle; along with the number one horse and rider combination in the world, Great Britain’s Ben Maher and Explosion W and world number one on the Longines rider ranking list, Daniel Deusser of Germany with Killer Queen, a horse we saw during the U.S.circuit in Wellington, Fla.

You can’t list the major players without mentioning Martin Fuchs of Switzerland (Clooney 51); who is world number two and another Swiss, Steve Guerdat (Venard de Cerisy), world number 3. Watch out for Laura Kraut. She and her mount are a new combination, but her experience cannot be underestimated and the horse is something special.

There is no defending champion, since the 2016 individual gold medalist, Nick Skelton of Great Britain, has retired. And Canada’s Eric Lamaze, who has medical issues, did not go to Tokyo. Peder Fredricson of Sweden, the silver medalist in Rio five years ago, is riding All In. They are the number 10 combination in the world.

Below is a look at the course put together by Santiago Varela of Spain for the first qualifier, which has 73 starters who will jump fences as high as 1.60 meters and a time allowed of 89 seconds. Santiago, you will remember from yesterday, also did perfectly planned stadium jumping routes for eventing.

The fences are lovely and just challenging enough for a qualifer, with jumps evocative of the country where the competition is being held. We have a fence flanked by a very lifelike model of a hefty sumo wrestler, then there’s the Tokyo skyline, origami (the Japanese paper-folding art) and gold fish (Japanese koi). We also see the Olympic logo, and to start, the Sugarloaf mountain from Rio de Janeiro, where the 2016 Games were held.

It’s 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7 p.m. in Tokyo, where there’s a 13-hour time difference from the East Coast of the U.S.. Let’s get going with the last of the Olympic equestrian disciplines to be contested at the 2020 Games being held in 2021. The most recent scores will be at the top of the blog, so scroll down if you want to see how everyone did, starting with the first rider. If you want to watch the highlights, they will be on NBC at noon today and on NBCSN at 3:15 this afternoon. Things can change, however, so remember, nothing is in concrete on the Olympic viewing schedule.

9:50 a.m. EDT: We have finished the first day of Olympic show jumping competition, and it’s been a tough one for the U.S. riders, none of whom will be in tomorrow’s individual medal finals. How did I do with my predictions about the individual medals? Americans Kent Farrington and Laura Kraut don’t figure for that now, ditto Steve Guerdat, but my other faves, Ben Maher, Daniel Deusser and Martin Fuchs, are still playing. The course designer did a fabulous job. There were 30 places available for tomorrow’s competition, and 30 riders went without jumping penalties, though five had time faults but made the cut.

9:45 a.m. EDT: The last to go in the class was Bruce Goodin of New Zealand on Danny V, who had 12 jumping and one time. That finish ironically left a place for his teammate, Daniel Meech to qualify as the final person to make the cut with no faults jumping and two time on Cinca 3.

9:45 a.m.: German Christian Kukuk, who works at the stable of Olympic multi-medalist Ludger Beerbaum, made his Olympic debut on Mumbai, a lovely gray. A rail fell at the difficult Olympic logo fence that has caused so much trouble, but otherwise, a nice round.

The Olympic logo fence was the undoing of Syria’s Ahmad Saber Hamcho when Deville toppled rails there and had her head down in the process, and the rider fell off. So did the bridle, and Deville calmly dragged it to the ingate to meet her groom.

Jerome Guerry of Belgium on Quel Homme de Hus was clear while Kamil Papousek of the Czech Republic retired on Warness. The Netherlands Maikel van der Vleuten is clear on Beuville 2; Samuel Parot of Chile on Dubai will go no further after a 4-fault score.

9:30 a.m. EDT: Arggghhh. The U.S. won’t have a rider in the individual medal finals. Laura Kraut had a rail at 13A, the same oxer at the double that got her teammates, Kent and Jessie, and dropped a pole at the last fence as well with her new mount, Baloutinue. She doesn’t know him that well, but had been doing beautifully with him since he came her way in April. Another disappointment for USA. Hard to believe with such strong horse/rider combinations.

9:25 a.m.: Andre Thieme of Germany, who won several of the HITS million $$ grands prix  and is a familiar face in the U.S., had a rail when his horse veered at the Olympic logo fence during an otherwise good round on Chakaria.

New Zealander Uma O’Neill on Clockwise of Greenhill Z logged three rails and one time.

9:20 a.m.: Gregory Wathelet of Belgium, a member of the 2019 European Championships team, is clear with Nevados S. The former Young Rider European Champion in eventing converted to show jumping, Ales Opatrny of the Czech Republic, had 4 on Forewer.

9;15 a.m. EDT: Katie Laurie of Australia wisely retired after having four rails and the water with Casebrooke Lomond, while experienced Olympian Marc Houtzager of the Netherlands on Dante is clear even after his mare reared on the way to the first fence. But it was before he officially started, so all was well..

9:10 a.m.: Oh no! That A element of the 13 A-B double which ruined Jessie’s chances for advancing got Kent Farrington and Gazelle too. I can’t believe Kent is not going to be able to go through to the individual tomorrow, where he should have had such a good shot at a medal. Stunned. Sad.

Daniel Meech of New Zealand had only two time penalties on Cinca, but may not get through to tomorrow. Spain’s Eduardo Alvarez Aznar had a rail with Legend.

9 a.m.: As expected, Germany’s Daniel Deusser, the World Number One, killed it with Killer Queen to qualify for tomorrow. I liked the bending line that he used to get properly to the difficult double. Daniel, based in Belgium, spent a lot of time in Florida over the winter and was delightful to interview.

Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Killer Queen.

8:55 a.m.EDT: Hector Florentino Roca on Carnaval had eight and two for the Dominican Republic. William Greve of the Netherlands dropped a rail on Zypria S. But Niels Bruynseels was clear for Belgium on Delux Van T&L. Anna Kellnerova of Czech Republic had 12 on Catch Me If You Can.

8:50 a.m. EDT: Edwina Tops Alexander, riding as an individual for Australia, had a rail with Identity Vitseroel. I remember how good she was in the Final Four at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (when the WEG used to have the Final Four).

8:45 a.m. EDT: So disappointing; Jessie Springsteen making her Olympic debut for the USA had a rail at the A element of the double, the next-to-last fence on course. With all the clear rounds so far, it’s unlikely she’ll make it to the individual medal round tomorrow. Loved her determined and focused look as she went around.

Jessie Springsteen and Don Juan at the Tokyo Skyline jump.

8:25 a.m. EDT:Peder Fredricson of Sweden, the 2017 European Champion, is riding the equine version of Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo. (Remember the show “Damn Yankees?”) His All In is competing barefoot. Peder was the silver medalist in Rio. He will have another shot at individual glory after a clear round.

Peder was one of five clears in this group, which has finished and now we have a break before the final group that includes the three U.S. riders mentioned above.There were eight clears with no time penalties in the first group.

Oh, and we should note Peder is multi-talented–he devised the FEI’s pictograms for its disciplines.

Jose Maria Larocca Jr. of Argentina and Finn Lente had two down.

Pan Am Games gold medalist Marlon Modolo Zanotelli of Brazil drops a rail with Edgar M.

Luciana Diniz of Portugal has a big hug for Vertigo du Desert after a clear round.

8:15 a.m. EDT: How disappointing!  (I’m using that word a lot). The 2012 Olympic champion, Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, has a rail at the Olympic logo fence and may not get into the individual finals with Venard de Cerisy. But he will have the team competition to look forward to.

Denmark’s Andreas Schou has eight and one with Darc de Lux who is by, as you might expect, Darco.

8:05 a.m. EDT: The scopey Jeofferson produced a round that looked effortless for Scott Brash as Britain logs its third clear.

7:55 a.m. EDT: Alberto Michan, who rode for Mexico in the Olympics, is now riding for Israel, but didn’t stay on past the water jump, having a fall when Cosa Nostra refused there. Consider the horse’s name.

Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson is clear as expected with Indiana.

A block goes down at the weird Nikko Mausoleum wall for Martin Dopazo of Argentina with Quintino, who has eight jumping, two time and won’t be back.

Jasmine Chen of Chinese Taipei sadly won’t make it to tomorrow’s competition after a foot in the water, a rail and one time with Benitus di Vallerino.

Brazil’s Yuri Mansur, without his trademark yellow coat which enables us to always spot him immediately, is clear with Alfons.

7:50 a.m. EDT :Martin Fuchs of Switzerland rode hard to the open water that stretches just under four meters, but Clooney handled it all for a lovely clear.

“The course itself wasn’t super tricky but what makes it difficult is that it’s the Olympic Games, the pressure is there, Clooney feels the pressure and I feel it, the rideability wasn’t as it should have been,” said Martin.

“But usually, he gets better from day to day and I think now we have the most difficult round of the week behind us.”.

It’s what we expected from Explosion W and Ben Maher of Great Britain, clear in the fastest time so far, 81.34 seconds, so he leads the pack and is unlikely to be dislodged. He will have the advantage of going last in the competition for the medals.

“We’ve been waiting a long time and we’ve been edgy to get going,” said Ben, reflecting on the class.

“It was a big enough course today and a lot of horses are a little bit spooky. I don’t know whether it’s the new jumps or the lights, and I felt that with him. This is my most nervous round of the week. He’s a horse that improves as the rounds go on, so he was having a little look today but he’s naturally a fast horse and he did everything he needed to do”,

7:45 a.m.: It was unlucky fence 13 for U.S.-based Israel rider Teddy Vlock, who also had two time penalties on Amsterdam, Mario Deslauriers’ Pan Am Games horse. Israel’s Dani Goldman, she of the feathered hair, is standing by waiting for the team fray. Daniel Bluman, who has done so much to put together the Israeli team, could not compete because of a technicality in the way ownership was filed for his horse.

7:40 a.m.: Fabian Sejanes of Argentina lost his bid to continue as an individual with 12 jumping and one time fault on Emir.

7:30 a.m. EDT: The second group is under way, after the first group yielded eight clear rounds. Surprise. Switzerland’s Beat Mandli on Dsarie, usually on time, picks up one penalty for going over the 89 seconds but has no jumping penalties.

Geir Gulliksen of Norway had a rail and one time penalty with Quatro, while Israel’s first rider, California-based Ashlee Bond, is clear with Donatello. She’s come a long way from her team debut at a championship when she had a fall at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.

Three clears in a row now–Kristaps Neretnieks with Valour, from Latvia; and Britain’s Harry Charles on Romeo 88.

“I couldn’t ask for a better start really,” said Harry. “It felt amazing, I was so focused that I was at fence 11 before I knew it. Being here has been incredible – I like to say that I’ve done a lot of really nice shows and this just puts it into context that our sport is far bigger, this is the absolute pinnacle – to be amongst some of the world’s best athletes, not just in our sport but in all the sports. I’m part of a great Team GB squad.”

Harry walked the course with his father, Peter, who was on the 2012 British gold medal team with two men who are the younger Charles’ teammates, here, Ben Maher and Scott Brash.

7:10 a.m. EDT:  Mario Deslauriers, here as an individual for Canada, is clear on Bardolina. His daughter, Lucy, nearly was named to the U.S. team. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Cian O’Connor made it three-for-three for his country on Kilkenny. Too bad it isn’t the Nations Cup.

Cian O’Connor and Kilkenny.

France’s Nicolas Delmotte  clear on Urvoso du Roch, but Oleksandr Prodan of Ukraine won’t proceed further after 12 faults on Casanova FZ.

7 a.m. EDT:  Eiken Sato of Japan has another round for his country that is free of jumping faults, but just 1 time fault with the Mr.Blue son Saphyr des Lacs. Japan will pose a real threat in the team jumping. We had expected them to do the same in eventing, but it didn’t work out, although they had a rider very close to the podium.

6:55 a.m. EDT: Nayel Nasser of Egypt, based in the U.S. and engaged to fellow show jumper Jennifer Gates, is fault-free on Igor van de Whittemore. Colombia’s Robert Teran has two rails and one time with Dez Ooktoff.

6:50 a.m. EDT: Enrique Gonzalez of Mexico and Chacna, another Chacco Blue offspring, is a veteran of his country’s winning Aga Khan cup team at the Dublin show. That experience shows in his expert ride until the weird wingless wall three from the end of the course led to a refusal. Four jumping and four time.

El Ghali Boukaa of Morocco seems up to the considerable challenge of the course with Ugolino du Clos, but wound up with three down and two for time.

It’s two rails and two time for China’s Li Zhenquang on Uncas.

6:45 a.m. EDT: Ireland’s Bertram Allen, who we saw win in Florida on Pacino Amiro, is on the mark with that horse in the beautifully groomed arena.and galloped as if he were in a jump-off to the final fence to make his country’s score zero; two for two for the emerald isle.

Penelope Leprevost of Rio gold France on Vancouver de Lanlore handles the course like the pro she is until a refusal and a knockdown at fence 10, the sumo wrestler, gives her eight for jumping and two for time.

6:40 a.m. EDT: A refusal withc Chopan Va at the liverpool and then the water meant elimination for Sri Lanka’s Mathilda Karlsson, who previously rode for Sweden.

Koki Saito riding Chelensky for Japan is very polished.If there were people in the stands they’d have a lot to cheer about. Double clear and Japan is two for two on fault-free trips.

6:35 a.m. EDT: Egyptian Abdel Said had the first fence down with Bandit Savoie and a refusal at fence 10 flanked by a sumo wrestler. Two rails and eight in time for 15 penalties.

6:30 a.m. EDT: You Zhang of China had a refusal at the second fence with Caesar and retired.

6:28 EDT: Eugen Garza Perez of Mexico has two rails and one for time with Armani.

Ali Ahrach of Morocco is eliminated for two refusalswith USA de Riverland..

6:24: Ireland’s Darragh Kenny and Cartello were clean in 82 seconds.

“Not a lot of people know the horse. This is only my sixth FEI show with him, I’ve only had him since May”, Darragh said.

“He was with Irish riders before, so he was in Irish ownership for the Olympics. Cormac Hanley and Lorcan Gallagher rode him and they both had great success with him, he’s been a good horse for everybody. He jumped great in Rome and Madrid over the last couple of months, but this week will be a big ask. But he feels up to it and we’ve had a great start.”

6:20 a.m. EDT: Japanese rider Daisuke Fukushima is the first double-clear on a son of Chacco Blue, Chanyon. A shame the stands are empty due to Covid or there would be a real celebration. And it’s obvious this course is doable, and the right level for a qualifier.

Mathieu Billot of France, the country that won gold in Rio, has a rail and time for a total of seven penalties with Quel Filou.

6:15 a.m. EDT: We have our first jumping clear, Mouda Seyada of Egypt, who had a single time penalty for exceeding the 89-second time allowed on Galanthos. He likely will be back tomorrow for the medal round.

6:10 am. EDT: It’s four rails and two time penalties for Li Yaofeng of China on Jericho Dewerse Hagen. How tough is this course? Hard to judge at the beginning because lower-ranked riders start off the day.

Manuel Gonzalez  Dufrane of Mexico has 12 with Hortensia  van de Leeuwerk.

The second rider, Moroccan Abdelkebir of Morocco on Istanbull has three fences down, but got around. The next, Manuel Dufrane Gonzalez of Mexico, has the same number with Hortensia van de Leeuwerk.

6 a.m. EDT: Uh-oh. Bad start. Ibrahim Bisharat of Jordan, retired with Blushing after a refusal at the oxer that is the last element of the triple combination.

Live blogging individual Olympic eventing show jumping: Krajewski takes gold

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 2, 2021

It’s 7:15 a.m. EDT and the top 25 riders are still walking designer Santiago Varela’s course where they will contest the individual medals. It’s shorter than the course for the team final that finished earlier today. (See the story on this website) with a 60-second time allowed.

The International Olympic Committee does not allow competitors to win two medals for one performance.So in 1996, it was decided to have a separate competition to determine the top 25 individual placings in eventing. As a result, horses that have competed in dressage, cross-country and show jumping must take one more test.

In my opinion, that’s unnecessary and too much to ask of the horses– especially in 81 degree temperatures with 84 percent humidity–but arguing with the IOC doesn’t work if we want to keep equestrian competition in the Olympics.  It it, however, such a shame to ask more of the most successful horses as they go into the a second round of stadium jumping to determine the individual medals.

We’re in for some exciting competition over fences set at 1.30 meters, as opposed to the 1.20 jumps in the first round. Will Julia Krajewski of Germany become the first woman (hard to believe!) to win individual Olympic eventing gold?  And the third German in a row to take the title? Only a rail separates the top four in the standings.

Julia Krajewski and Amande De B’Neville. (Photo courtesy FEI)

Julia is on 25.6 penalties, followed by British team gold medalist Oliver Townend, who had a rail in the team jumping to lose his lead from cross-country and stand on 27.6 penalties. His teammate, Tom McEwen, has 28.9, and the durable, 62-year-old Australian team silver medalist Andrew Hoy–the oldest rider in the competition, has 29.6.

Germany’s Michael Jung, who was working on becoming the only three-time individual Olympic gold medalist in the sport, lost his edge when his horse, Chipmunk, triggered a frangible pin at a cross-country fence on Saturday. That resulted in 11 penalties being added to his dressage score putting him eighth at this moment on 32.1.

Another rider of note is Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto, who trains with British Olympic multi-medalist William Fox-Pitt. Kazuma stands seventh on 31.5 penalties, which should make up in some small part for the Japanese team’s failure to get as close to the podium as they did at the 2018 FEI Woirld Equestrian Games, where they were fourth. They wound up 11th here.

Riders from the sixth-placed U.S. team are out of sight of the podium, but still could bring home a good placing. Boyd Martin is 15th on 38.2 penalties, while Phillip Dutton (the individual bronze medalist from Rio 2016) is 19th with 43.3 and Olympic first-timer Doug Payne is 20th on 43.8. Great they all made the cut for the individual.

Each toppled a rail in the team round; let’s hope the fences stay up in this one.

We’ll bring you the results as the riders go, so keep coming back to this page.

Riders walking the individual eventing show jumping course.

Here is a look at the course diagram for the route in the stadium at Baji Koen Equestrian Park.

7:50 a.m. EDT: The first two riders, Fouaad Mirza of India and Felix Vogg of Switzerland, both had time penalties. Make that three:–Jesse Campbell of New Zealand also had time penalties along with two rails. Now it’s four; add Susanne Bordoni of Italy to the time penalty list.

7:55 a.m. EDT: Still waiting for someone to make the time The horses look tired. Alex Hua Tian of China had four rails and 1.6 time penalties.

8 a.m.:Doug Payne collected 4.40 penalties for a total of 48.2, which would turn out to be the best score of the U.S. riders. Phillip Dutton pulled the last two rails in the triple combination and wound up on 54.1 penalties.

8:05 a.m. EDT: We have our first round within the time. Austin O’Connor on Colorado Blue did it in 59.65 second with one rail down. His total is 59.65.

8:a.m. EDT: Lea Siegl of Austria makes the time with a rail, ending on 47 penalties.

Tim Price of New Zealand, the world number two, finishes on 60.4 after three rails and time penalties.

The last U.S. rider, Boyd Martin, had the first two down in the triple combination and a rail at the next-to-last fence as well as 1.6 time penalties that left him on 52.30.

8:15: Australia’s Kevin McNab had 12 penalties to wind up on 46.90, going after his teammate Shane Rose, who dropped only one pole.

8:20 a.m. EDT: We have our first double-clear of this round. Nicolas Touzaint on Absolut Gold, who is worth his weight in gold. He will be sixth, with 33.90 on his account.

Michael Jung, who led after dressage but got 11 penalties for a frangible pin problem cross-country, has a rail to end on 36.10. He had been hoping to be the only person to get three individual golds in the sport at the Games. Instead, he finished eighth.

8:25 a.m. EDT: What a magnificent achievement for Japan. Kazuma Tomoto logged only 0.4 time penalties for going less than a second over the time allowed, and no jumping penalties. His total is an impressive 31.90 with Vinci de la Vigne. He is fourth, just missing the podium.

8:35 a.m. EDT: Andrew Hoy, foot perfect, finishes on his dressage score of 29.60, the only rider in the competition to do so. Stands fourth–will he get higher? Depends on the three ahead of him.

Of his horse, Vassily de Lassos, he said,  “We got the horse on 13th May 2017, the day Steffi and I got married, so an easy day to remember. Got him from Tom Carlile and for me it’s an absolute joy to work with him every day, every day he puts a smile on my face.” Especially today.

Andrew Hoy takes individual bronze on Vassily de Lassos. (Photo courtesy of the FEI)

But Tom McEwen of Great Britain collects only 0.4 time penalties and clinches at least bronze with a score of 29.30.

It’s a rail at the second fence for Oliver Townend and 4.8 time penalties put him on 32.40 and out of the medals in fifth, after coming into today in first place.

Then Julia Krajewski does it–the German becomes the first female individual gold medalist in Olympic eventing history with no jumping faults over two rounds, just 0.4 time penalties added to her dressage score to make a total of 26 penalties.

In the future, silver medalist Tom McEwen, gold medalist Julia Krajewski and bronze medalist Andrew Hoy won’t have to wonder where this podium shot was taken. Masks are synonymous with Tokyo.

Julia’s mount, Amande De B’eneville, was her third choice, in a way. Michael Jung’s sponsor bought her top horse, Chipmunk, two years ago. Then Samouri du Thot, who she was aiming for the Games, had to have an eye removed due to an infection.

That left Amande, and she made the best of a mare that had spent a lot of time off, but went on to win Saumur.

“Cross-country went super good. It was quite good for me that I went early (in the day), because I couldn’t watch too much,” said Julia.

“I just did my thing. And after cross-country, I was fairly positive that we could finish well, because she’s such a good jumper. And I thought, ‘Okay, if it goes wrong, it’s all in your hands.’ And before we went in, and I said, ‘Mandy we’re going to get it,’ and I think she knew it was a special day.”

Women were only allowed to start competing in Olympic eventing in 1964, when Lana DuPont was on the U.S. team. She fell twice (rules were different in those days, you could fall and get back on) and had all kinds of bumps and bruises, but she paved the way for Julia to achieve the sport’s highest honor.

Julia Krajewski did it!

So Tom McEwen is silver and the eternal Andrew Hoy bronze. Kazuma Tomoto made his own history by finishing fourth individually for Japan.

Doug Payne was the highest-placed of the Americans in 16th place, followed by Boyd Martin (20th) and Phillip Dutton (21st).

Live blogging eventing team show jumping: Britain wins, U.S. sixth

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 2, 2021

It’s 4 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and the eventing stadium jumping is under way  at Baji Koen Equestrian Park.

We’re starting out with the lowest-placed riders after cross-country, as the competitors proceed in reverse order of merit.

Designer Santiago Varela’s colorful course begins with six fences that get riders into the task, and becomes increasingly more difficult as they go on, especially with a time allowed of 79 seconds to cope with.

The temperature is 85 degrees with 78 percent humidity, but will become somewhat cooler as the competition continues, since Japan is 13 hours ahead of EDT and it’s heading into the evening there.

Here’s a look at Santiago’s course for the team medals:

The top 25 after the team medal round will proceed to the individual round over a different course. It’s a lot of work for the horses who qualify, after they have done dressage and cross-country in the heat. But having two jumping tests is required, because the International Olympic Committee won’t allow awarding two medals for one competition, as is done in the World Championships.

A view of the first eventing show jumping course.

4:15 a.m. EDT: Colleen Loach of Canada had two rails with Qorry Blue D’Argouges to finish on 50.80 penalties incorporating her cross-country score. She will finish 28th and not make the cut for the individual test.

Another rider we’ve been watching, the stylish Fouaad Mirza of India, had 8 penalties for a total of 47.20. He did make the cut and would wind up 23d over all.

4:30 a.m. EDT: We have our first clear round, Ryuzo Kitajimo on Feroza Nieuwmoed. He is the reserve Japanese rider, filling in for Yoshiaki Oiwa, who had a fall cross-country and was eliminated. Ryuzo was added so Japan could finish as a team, an accommodation for the first yearthe Games has run with a three-member squad and no drop score. Japan winds up 11th.

Ryuzo is one of a number of substitutes, including the next rider to go fault-free over the course, Eveline Bodemuller, filling in for Switzerland’s Robin Godel, whose horse, Jet Set, was euthanized after sustaining an injury on cross-country. Switzerland ended in 10th place.

4:45 a.m. EDT: The first U.S. rider, Doug Payne, had a rail at the initial element of the double with Vandiver, but rode a very competent round–as one would expect from a man who spends a lot of time competing in grand prix show jumping. With the four penalties added, he stands at 43.80 penalties and may be able to come back for the top 25.

4:50 a.m. EDT: France’s Nicolas Touzaint on Absolut Gold went clean over the jumps with a time fault to end on 33.90 and keep France in bronze medal position.

4:55 a.m. EDT: Kevin McNab of Australia was fault-free to keep his team in silver medal position with his score of 34.90 penalties..

5 a.m. EDT: Britain’s Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser are insuring their country stays at the top of the standings at this point with a clean round that puts them in first place with 28.90 penalties. If Britain wins gold, it will be the first time the country has claimed the title since 1972. and in my mind there’s not doubt about who will wear gold here.

They were the favorites–Britain’s Oliver Townend, Laura Collet and Tom McEwen show off their medals. (Photo courtesy FEI)

Tom McEwen of Great Britain and Toledo de Kerser at the colorful double.

5:15 a.m EDT: The cute dun mount of Ireland’s Sam Watson, Flamenco, dropped two rails, including the middle pole of the triple combination to add 8 penalties and finish on a total of 55.30 penalties.

5:20 a.m. EDT: Michael Jung, who saw his dream of being the first three-time individual gold medalist end with a frangible pin penalty on cross-country, had a fault-free trip on Chipmunk. He is standing eighth on 32.10.

Michael Jung and Chipmunk.

5:25 a.m. EDT: The USA’s Phillip Dutton dropped the third part of the triple and the first part of the double with Z, whose total is 43.30. The USA has fallen to sixth place behind Germany now. Phillip will be back for the individual test, however.

5:30 a.m. EDT: Shane Rose of Australia tipped the first part of the double, which can be costly, as his country, France and New Zealand are all close for what Great Britain leaves of the medals to be contested. He’s at 35.70.

5:35 a.m. EDT: Britain has such a good lead of nearly 18 penalties in the team fray that Laura Collett’s mishap at the liverpool with London 52 scattering the rails didn’t make a dent. She came close to the 79-second time allowed in 78.79 seconds, but squeaked through and has 29.80 penalties.

5:45 a.m. EDT: What a disappointment for China. Alex Hua Tian, the country’s best rider, had a very sudden stop with Don Geniro at the last fence. In addition to 4 jumping penalties, he collected. 4.8 time penalties, but will be back for the individual carrying his score of 44.70..

5:50 a.m. EDT: Julia Krajewski of Germany goes into the individual lead on 25.60, having put only 0.4 onto her dressage score when she was one second over the optimum time on cross-country. She is fault-free in this jumping round and could become the first woman to win Olympic eventing individual gold.

5:55 a.m. EDT: No medal for the U.S. Boyd Martin had the first part of the double down with Tsetserleg, and Germany has moved ahead of America in the standings. Boyd will be back for the individual jumping. He is the third U.S. team member to have penalties in the final phase of the event. He is on 38.70 in 15th place.

5:55 a.m.EDT: Three rails down (including two in the triple) by Tim Price on Vitali puts New Zealand behind Germany in the race for the bronze medal. New Zealand is off the podium. It’s a total of 38.80 for the number two rider in the world rankings. Tim was fourth after cross-country and is now 16th.

6 a.m. EDT: It’s bronze at least for France, the 2016 Olympic champions, as Christopher Six goes clear with a score of 31.20.

6:05 a.m. There’s no pro like an old pro. A clear round from 62-year-old Andrew Hoy, still on his dressage score of 29.60, keeps Australia atop the podium in silver, while France takes bronze. Then it’s Germany, New Zealand and USA, sixth on 125.8 penalties.

Oliver Townend led Great Britain to team gold.

6:10 a.m: Oliver Townend of Great Britain has a rail at the first part of the troublesome double, putting him behind Germany’s Julia Krajewski individually.

But it does no harm to Britain’s lead, as that nation takes its first Olympic eventing team gold in 49 years. Here are the totals: Britain 86.3, Australia (silver) 100.2, France (bronze) 101.5; Germany fourth, 114.2, New Zealand fifth, 116.4, USA sixth, 125.8.

6:45 a.m.: All three U.S. riders qualified for the top 25. Boyd  Martin was 15th, Phillip Dutton 19th and Doug Payne 20th.

Eventing cross-country kept the favored Brits in front; U.S. fifth

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 31, 2021

The heart of eventing is cross-country, and the Tokyo Olympics route devised over five years by Derek DiGrazia (who also designs the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star) has been the source of speculation for years. How would it ride? Would the weather be a factor? Today we got the answers.

There was a difficult-to-make 7-minute, 45-second optimum time for the route on Sea Forest island, within sight of Tokyo’s skyline, the same area where rowing and kayaking are being held.

The course had not only flair, but also reflected the flavor of the country where it was being held. Fences included a flower shrine, chopsticks, the bullet train and the Mt.Fuji drop.

A view of the course.

For the riders, dealing with the course meant dealing with many issues, from the camber of the tricky terrain at the former landfill, the need for speed and at the same time, caution, as well as the question of how Tokyo’s infamous mid-summer heat and humidity would affect the competitors on a steamy morning.

As the event got under way at 7:45 a.m. Tokyo time, the temperature was 80 degrees and 82 percent humidity, both of which  rose throughout the competition but were mitigated somewhat by a nice breeze..

The weather made no difference to world number one Oliver Townend of Great Britain, who finished five seconds under the optimum in 7:40 with no jumping faults on Ballaghmor Class, his Land Rover Kentucky 5-star winner last spring.

Britain, favored to win team gold, was in the lead after dressage, so Oliver’s round set the stage for the other riders on the squad to keep that edge, and they did. Laura Collett (who stands third with London 52 behind Julia Krajewski of Germany on Amande De B’Neville) and Tom McEwen, sixth with Toledo de Kerser, also completed without any penalties.

Meanwhile, here’s what happened to Germany, which was second after dressage and sank. Initially, a run-out at a tricky corner from the second-to-go German rider, Sandra Auffarth, on Viamant Du Matz, dropped Germany to fifth place at the end of her round.

Then superstar Michael Jung triggered a frangible pin with Chipmunk FRH at fence 14C in the Lone Tree Moguls combination, plummeting him with 11 penalties for that transgression from first place to 10th individually as the team fell again, to sixth, behind the U.S in fifth. Michael’s mishap elevated Oliver to the top of the individual standings. Eight other riders also set off a frangible pin.

“I had a little mistake there (at fence 14C),”said Michael.

“I didn’t realize it fell down, but when I galloped away from the fence I heard the sound. It was quite a surprise for me. Everything else was really nice.”

The USA’s lead-off rider, Doug Payne, proceeded with determination on Vandiver, but took no risks that could have backfired. He put a good score in the bank, finishing in 8:02, with 6.8 time penalties.

Doug Payne and Vandiver. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)

“I thought we were going to be able to catch up a bit faster than we did, ” commented Doug, who is making his Olympic debut.

“At the end we were totally on empty, so it’s all you can ask for.”

Of Vandiver, he said, “He’s got the biggest heart of any horse I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Although a bit unconventional at times, he tries his heart out.”

Time penalties  were the order of the day, as expected. At the end of the first rotation of team riders, only Australia’s Shane Rose was on the same page as Oliver in having a double-clear round.

By the end of the competition, just five others (including the other two members of the spectacular British team, as I said) had joined them in coming in under the optimum and finishing without jumping faults.

Julia Krajewski of the German team, which was standing in second place after she rode, nearly made the time but was one second over for 0.4 time penalties.on Amande De B’Neville.

Germany remained second after the first round, with New Zealand third, following Jonelle Price’s trip on Grovine de Reve in 7:50 that added two penalties to her score.

Twelve riders retired or were eliminated, starting with the first on course, Arinadtha Chavatanont of Thailand, who splashed into the first water when Boleybawn Prince looked down at the grass verge as he jumped and aimed for that instead of the pond, falling into the drink.

Thailand’s Aridadtha Chavatanont had the unenviable position of leading off on cross country, where a miscalculation landed her and Boleybawn Prince in the first water complex, but they both walked away.

That left it to Oliver, second to go, to figure out how to ride the course without watching someone else handle the fences.He and Ballaghmor Class were up to that challenge.

“We know he’s special, anybody who watches eventing knows he’s special, but he’s tough and digs deep,” said Olive.

“Early on, I thought he was getting slightly away from me – in fact, there were a couple of places where he was in control and I wasn’t – but I sat behind him and found good distances.

“Once I got into the course, I started picking up good, big, quick distances – almost racing distances – to the straightforward fences, and he answered beautifully.

Britain’s Oliver Townend on Ballaghmor Class is in the lead individually for Olympic gold.

“His pedigree is part of what makes him good, but it’s mentality more than anything – he’s tough in every aspect of life. He’s quirky, but he’s tough, and the bottom line is that he wants to do his job more than most horses.

“I have a lot of trust in Derek di Grazia’s courses, I think the man’s one of the best – if not the best – in the world at what he’s doing, and even when I think a distance is one way, I know that if it isn’t, then it’s a safe distance.”

The USA’s Phillip Dutton was held after fence 12 when a Thai rider fell on course, but he got going well again with Z and ended on  a time of 7:57 to stand 17th.

The 2016 Olympic individual bronze medalist said such a start-and-stop and start situation “is not ideal.”

Phillip Dutton and Z. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)

He called Z, “a great little horse with a big heart. I think I couldn’t have gone much better.” Assessing the course, he said, “It’s hard work, but I knew that coming in.”

He observed, “We’re in the hunt still. Obviously, sitting in fifth place, we still need to claw our way up a bit further, but it was certainly an exciting day of cross country.

Boyd Martin rode anchor for the U.S. on Tsetserleg and is in 14th place, finishing in 7:53 with 3.2 time penalties as the best score for his team.

“It’s a big sigh of relief getting around well,” he said, noting he thinks his horse “tried his absolute heart out. It wasn’t a course that suited him that well, with the twists and turns and back and forth, but he dug deep.

Boyd Martin anchors the U.S. team on Tsetserleg. (Photo courtesy FEI)

“In hindsight, maybe I should have pushed him a little bit harder,” continued Boyd, who believed he was good on time until the last seven jumps.The weather was a factor in his horse’s performance..

“The heat knocked him around for sure. I felt like he was a bit winded by the second minute. He stayed about that mode the whole way around and never dropped the bit.”

Even so, “he was pretty empty by the end.”

Added Boyd, who was born in Australia and has dual citizenship, “I’m very proud to be American.and have three American horses finish clear today. I’m pleased, relieved and still dialed-in for tomorrow” when the stadium jumping will be held at starting at 4 a.m. Monday EDT back at Baji Koen Equestrian Park, an hour from Sea Forest. I’ll be blogging the action, so you can check this website at any time to catch up, without having to wake at a crazy hour.

The U.S. total is on 109.40 penalties in fifth place, to 78.30 for Britain, which has a great lead over Australia, standing on 96.20; it’s 97.10 for France in third, 104 for fourth-place New Zealand, whichmoved off podium position after a slow round by Jesse Campbell on Diachello.

There are 114.20 penalties for sixth-place Germany behind the U.S. The stadium jumping phase could shake things up a bit, though it seems doubtful any nation can catch Britain.

Showing great professionalism, Australian anchor rider Andrew Hoy was 10 seconds under the optimum time in his eighth Olympics  He tied Mark Todd’s record for the most Olympic clear rounds. Sixty-two-year-old Andrew stands sixth individually on Vasily de Lassos.

He was on hold for some time, with his saddle off and getting a bath, while officials attended to Jet Set, ridden by Robin Godel of Switzerland. The horse, formerly the mount of New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson, never had a fault cross-country.

He became lame after the Mt. Fuji fence and was pulled up. Sadly, Jet Set’s injury was such that he could not be saved and had to be euthanized. The gelding, a veteran of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, received immediate veterinary attention at the fence and, after an initial assessment, was transferred by horse ambulance to the on-site veterinary clinic.

Ultrasound scans revealed an irreparable ligament rupture in the lower right leg, just above the hoof, and on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and rider, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep, according to the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale).

Robin praised his beloved horse, noting, “He set off on what he loved to do the most,: gallop and fly over obstacles.”

In line with the FEI Veterinary Regulations, samples have already been taken from the horse and a post mortem will be conducted.

Australia’s Andrew Hoy gives the thumbs up after finishing 10 seconds under the optimum time.

Japan, which did well in dressage to stand fourth at that point and within sight of the podium, had hopes dashed when Yoshiaki Oiwa fell from Calle 44 at a brush jump down hill from the big drop fence. .That nation now is 11th, but Kazuma Tomoto (who rides with British multi-medalist William Fox-Pitt) is ranked an impressive fifth individually with Vinci de la Vigne.

Colleen Loach, Canada’s lone rider (following Jessica Phoenix’s decision to withdraw Pavarotti before the event started) finished all smiles in 8:03 on Qorry Blue D’Argouges in 26th place.

Lauren Billys, riding the 19-year-old Castle Larchfield Purdy, felt her mount, the second-oldest in the competiton. was running out of gas and kindly pulled up. Her regular coach is Derek DiGrazia, but of course, that arrangement wasn’t continued into the Games.

Twenty-year-old Tayberry at the Samurai sword jump with Thomas Heffernan Ho.

The oldest horse in this event, Tayberry, was very credible, however, in completing the course. The 20-year-old campaigner finished in 10:04 for Thomas Heffernan Ho, the first Hong Kong representative to ride in Olympic eventing. He is ranked 46th. What a special moment for horse and rider.

For full results, click here

NBC will be showing cross-country at some point, just can’t say when. Check your listings. However, it looks as if it will also be on NBCSN beginning at 1:30 p.m.  Sunday Aug. 1. These things can change, so double-check..

Olympic eventing dressage wraps up

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 30, 2021

We started out at a decent hour for Eastern Daylight Time, 7:30 p.m., rather than 4:30 a.m. the way we did this morning, as the third member of each team took their turn in the sandbox for the finale of the dressage phase. As the segment began, Britain stood first and as it ended, Britain remained in the lead.

You can bet the standings will be scrambled, though, after everyone tries to best Derek DiGrazia’s cross-country course at Sea Forest, which is on the water. The horses ship there tonight so they’ll be ready  for the start of that segment at 7:45 a.m. Sunday Japanese time.

Watch it on the live stream at www.nbcolympics.com starting at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Saturday (don’t forget Japan is 13 hours ahead of us).

Just to repeat, it will be Sunday morning there, Saturday evening for us.The highlights show on NBC won’t be aired until 11:15 a.m. Sunday, or 1:30 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN for a longer version.

This website will have a story Saturday night, and I’ll do some live blog coverage of key rides.

As tonight’s action concluded,  saving the best for next-to-last to go, Germany’s Michael Jung (our coverboy for this post) performed a test that was absolutely by the book and meticulous on FRH Chipmunk, as he works on becoming the first-ever three-time individual Olympic eventing gold medalist.

He passed the overnight individual leader, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend on Ballaghmor Class, earning 21.1 penalties to Oliver’s 23.60.

If you look at the photo at the top of the page, you can see that Michael really went for it in the extended canter, even leaning forward to emphasize his speed.

Michael Jung nails it.

That’s pure Michael Jung, who is also proficient in Grand Prix dressage and show jumping. Recently married, he is the father of a son, who will enjoy quite a legacy from his dad.

Michael’s score gave Germany a total of 80.4 penalties to mover up from fifth and stand second to Great Britain, which has 78.30 penalties..

Tom McEwen, Britain’s final rider in the dressage, earned 28.90 with Toledo de Kerser to stand 12th individually.

“I’m actually very pleased with him, he coped very well in there – he loves situations likes that,” said Tom. “It was just the two early (flying) changes that really cost me – the preparation was good, but they were a bit of a flop really.

“He’s been amazing since he got here, absolutely unreal – which makes it more of a shame to go in there and get a 28 or 29 because I knew he could have been very low 20s or even into the teens on the right day.”

Even though cross-country day July 31 is Michael’s 39th birthday, he’s not taking it easy with the challenge ahead of him.

“Now is definitely not a time to rest, we have to focus, ignore everything else and ride as if we were middling in this competition, we will have to fight properly,” he said.

Speaking of his relationship with Chipmunk, Michael noted, “We had a very good partnership today, everything worked like I wished. Since the European Championships in 2019, I’ve had more time to train with him. We had a long winter to work more and have had many more competitions this year, so everything is going much better.”

New Zealand moved up to third place after Tim Price, world number two, had a smooth test with Vitali, save for a rushed second lead change. His 25.60 mark on the horse previously ridden by Jock Paget, got the Kiwis on a total of 86.40 penalties and put him fifth individually..

Japan is fourth on 90.10 (I told you in my preview story they could get close to the podium; just watch them on cross-country). Sweden stands fifth on 91.10, followed by Australia (93.4) and China, yes China! (93.6). Alex Hua Tian, the most experienced member of that team, is third individually on Don Geniro (23.90).

So what about the U.S.? It has moved up one place to eighth with 94.60 penalties.

A lot of American hopes were resting on anchor man Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg, who started well and had a nice accurate halt. But the horse broke going forward after the reinback that follows the halt.  Obviously on high alert, he then trotted when asked to canter, but somehow got decent flying changes. His score of 31.1 penalties puts Boyd 20th individually..

Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)

Obviously, it wasn’t the ride Boyd had hoped for.

“To be honest, it was quite disappointing,” he said, noting Tseterleg has been ” so good in the dressage for years and years.”

So Boyd was surprised at how things went, citing “One moment in the reinback when he fell behind me and misunderstood me and cantered out and screwed up the next movement. It was  some great moments and some disastrous moments.”

As he observed, “You sort of come here hoping to give a personal best,” and it must be remembered that the dressage is only the first of three phases.

“The cross-country is so difficult and so hard to get the time I think we’re in with  a chance if we can deliver three good rounds on cross-country,” said Boyd.

“We’ve got  good, seasoned horses older and experienced. We’ve got nothing to lose by going out there and giving it a crack.”

The highest-placed American after dressage is Phillip Dutton on Z in 12th; Doug Payne is in the middle of the pack of 62, standing 30th. Both men rode dressage on Thursday.

Other individual rankings of note include: Germany’s Julia Krajewski, the former rider of Michael Jung’s Chipmunk, fourth on Amande D B’Neville (25.20), then Tim Price as we mentioned, with Britain’s Laura Collett on the appropriately named London 52 (25.80).in sixth.

For the full list of individual results, click on this.

So you can plan ahead, here is a link to the order of go for cross-country.

Live blog: Day 1, two sessions Olympic eventing dressage: UPDATED

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 29, 2021

(This blog is being updated with the second session of eventing dressage. It starts with the first session and continues into the second session, so keep going down to get the latest information.)

It’s 7:30 p.m Eastern Daylight Time as three-day eventing kicks off at the Tokyo Olympics.\

The test is specially written for the Games, and provides a challenge with movements such as the half-pass to the shoulder-in, which is counter-intuitive (it’s tougher than the other way around.)

I’ll give key scores, so not every entry will be mentioned in this blog, but we certainly will include the leaders and anyone of particular interest.

We’re starting with some important players near the beginning of the order. After the Thai rider,  Arinadtha Chavatanont on Boleybawn Prince, made her country’s debut  in Olympic eventing with a score of 42.40 penalties, world number one Oliver Townend showed his precision with Ballaghmor Class. Good lead changes, smoothly executed, were typical of this very flowing test, which earned 23.6 penalties. That would be the equivalent of 76.36 percent in a regular dressage score, but that isn’t how they do it in eventing..

Britain’s Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class.

Oliver, like his British teammates, is a 5-star winner, most recently at Land Rover Kentucky in April, but this is his first Olympics. Britain is favored in this Games, and it’s off to a good start.

The USA’s Doug Payne and Vandiver were fulfilling a lifetime ambition by starting in the Games.

The horse, who is by the Trakehner, Windfall, has lovely carriage, but he tossed his head slightly in reactive mode during two lead changes.

Doug, marked at 33 penalties, said, “This is probably about as well as he’s ever done. I think it’s a difficult test for him, everything comes up really quick.

Doug Payne and Vandiver. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)

“He was about as settled as he’s been in quite a long time. For sure, there’s some stuff you wish you could improve and that’s our job going forward…he’s got a massive heart and always tries his best and for that, you’ve got to be thankful and appreciative.”.

Doug stands 12th and is the only American rider tonight. The dressage phase continues tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening.

The dressage is being done during the coolest times of the day to avoid the worst of Japan’s summer heat and humidity, but the horses can also get a break when they leave the arena from the cooling mist fans that we first saw at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Felix Vogg of Switzerland and Colera moved smarly to be marked at 26.70.

If you read my eventing preview story on this website, you’ll know I mentioned that the Japanese team shouldn’t be overlooked.

And that was underlined when their first rider, Kazuma Tomoto on Vince de la Vigne, left the ring with a score of 26.1, which elicited a “wow” from me after watching his test.

Kazuma, who is fourth, trains with British Olympic multi-medalist William Fox-Pitt, and it shows.

8:10 p.m. EDT: Alex Hua Tian of China, a pioneer at the international level of the sport for that country, made his Olympic bow in 2008 in appropriately, Hong Kong. His experience showed as he and Don Geniro were marked at 23.90, right behind Oliver. And there they stayed for the remainder of this segment.

Australia’s Shane Rose has been around forever and he and Virgil looked very comfortable with all their experience. Their total was 31.70 to stand 11th.

Therese Viklund and the one-eyed Viscera.

Sweden’s Therese Viklund had an interesting ride on Viscera, a Hanoverian mare who lost an eye.a while back. (You can see its absence as a black spot in the photo)

It doesn’t seem to bother her; the score of 28.1 was quite nice, good enough for sixth. I’ll be interested to see how she handles cross-country.

The cool thing about the eventing here is the range of countries represented, many more than in Grand Prix dressage. The list includes Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Poland, India, Czech Republic, Belarus and others that we’re not used to seeing. Nice to see that the sport is expanding.

I always advise to never overlook the French in eventing and show jumping, but I did in my preview, since I wasn’t sure this team had what it takes to medal.

Its Rio 2016 gold medalist Thibaut Vallette announced July 9 that he withdrew Qing Du Briot Ifce due to a “slight sensitivity” in one foot.

However, today former reserve rider Christopher Six had very smooth changes with Totem de Brecey and some style (so typical of the French equestrians) to wind up with 29.6 penalties, seventh and the lowest-placed of those who scored less than 30 penalties.

I know you’re never supposed to buy a horse for it’s color, but I’d be tempted by Sam Watson’s Tullabeg Flamendo, a dun with white and black on all four legs, oh so flashy.

Sam Watson and his perky dun, Tullabeg Flamenco.

Sam you may know as the co-founder of Equiratings. He was wearing a yellow ribbon in memory of Tiggy Hancock, a 15-year-old Irish eventer who died in a fall last June. His 34.20 penalties puts him 14th.

New Zealand’s Jonelle Price and her husband, Tim, comprise half of their country’s team. She was on Grovine de Reve, previously ridden by her countryman Dan Jocelyn, to get marked at 30.70.

9 p.m. EDT:  Julia Krajewski  of Germany moved into third place behind Alex Hua Tian with Amande de B’Nevelle on 25.20 for a test in which the horse was wholly cooperative, fluid throughout and easy in her flying changes. Julia is the former rider of Chipmunk, who has gone to her multi-medal teammate Michael Jung.

Canada’s only entry is Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue D’Argoges, after Jessica Phoenix declined to present Pavarotti for the horse inspection, after he sustained an injury on his final gallop. This French-bred gray stands at 35.6 penalties, 14th best at this point in the evening (or morning, if you’re in Japan.)

Lauren Billys normally is coached by Derek DiGrazia, who built the cross-country course for the Games, so they are not working together for the Olympics because it would be a conflict of interest (and he wouldn’t have the time, anyway.) She represents Puerto Rico with Castle Larchfield Purdy,,the second-oldest horse in eventing here at age 19.

Her horse was very cooperative, but he stepped forward in the halt. She is on 39.80 penalties to be 17th of 21 in this group.

Thomas Heffernan Ho and 20-year-old Tayberry.

The oldest horse, is Tayberry, age 20. He is in 20th place with 46.70 penalties after kicking out in two lead changes and throwing his head quite a bit. He is ridden by Thomas Heffernan Ho, Hong Kong’s first Olympic representative in eventing.

10 p.m. EDT: We’re finished for this round. I’ll be back blogging at 4:30 a.m. EDT Friday, so return to this story to check scores and find out what’s happening as we begin to get an idea of the team totals..

SECOND SESSION

4:30 a.m. EDT: Fouaad Mirza of India and Seigneur started the session with a very impressive test that did their country proud on 28 penalties, the equivalent of 72 percent in pure dressage. It was worth getting up early to see.

Fouaad Mirza of India and Seigneur.

The former mount of Bettina Hoy of Germany is now under the watchful eye of another German, former world champion Sandra Auffarth. This horse looks every inch a thoroughbred and had a crisp and eager style. This was a ride many competitors would envy.

I mentioned in my comments on the first session of dressage how encouraging it was to see riders from a wider variety of countries than we watched in the Grand Prix dressage competition. But what’s even more encouraging is the quality of riders from countries that are not hotbeds of eventing.

Fouaad is riding as an individual, not as a team member, and a few other individuals followed him.

Peter Flarup of Denmark was on 33.6 penalties with Fascination, while the youngest eventing rider at the Games, 22-year-old Lea Siegel of Austrlia, was marked on 32.6 for DSP Fighting Line’s test.

Thailand’s second rider, Weerapat Pitakanonda on Carnival March (trained by Britain’s Piggy March) withstood the rain to finish on 38.10 penalties.

Britain’s second rider, Laura Collett on London 52, won the 5-star at Pau, France. She nicely added to Oliver Townend’s leading score for her country from the first session. London, the horse she bought as a 5-year-old, is a businesslike horse with a lovely stride.

“He’s been phenomenal all year and I was aiming for (a score of) 21/22. This year, he’s been very close to Ballaghmor Class, but unfortunately it didn’t come off today.”

Laura, who had a bad accident eight years ago, still doesn’t have sight in one eye. That certainly doesn’t stop her. Her mark was 25.80, good enough for fourth at this point and bolstering Britain after two thirds of its team has gone.

From the youngest rider to the oldest–Phillip Dutton at age 57 is the senior U.S.athlete at these Games. This veteran, the individual bronze medalist from Rio 2016, achieved a score of 30 penalties, or 70 percent in Grand Prix dressage terms, with the Zangersheide gelding, Z.

Phillip Dutton and Z.

Phillip turned in a professional performance, as always. Z was on form, though he looked like he was working hard in the lead changes, which are such a big part of the score.

“I was really pleased,” Phillip said, reflecting on his ride.

“I would have liked a bit of a better score, but at the end of the day, my horse went really well and did what I asked, so I can’t be too disappointed. He’s generally a hot horse, but he’s getting more and more seasoned and more and more trained, and I was pretty proud of him actually – there’s no crowd, but you are under the lights, it’s a different situation, and there’s a lot to look at, and he was really in tune with me.

“The great thing about our sport and working with horses is that they keep improving all the time, and if you can keep them competing and sound, then they keep getting better and better, and that’s the way he is. He’s a better, more seasoned horse than he was this time last year.”

The U.S. total is now 63 with two-thirds of the team having performed. The Brits lead with a total of 49.40.

If you look at my eventing preview, the second story on the main page of this website, you’ll note that I said not to count out the Japanese. After all, they were fourth at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, and are proving their mettle again here.

Toshiyuki  Tanaka and Talma D’Allou, the second rider for Japan, demonstrated the potential this team may have to make the podium. His score of 32.6 penalties makes the team total 58.7, putting it ahead of the U.S. He trains in England with Angela Tucker.

Australia is just behind the U.S. now on 63.8 with a 32.10 test by Kevin McNab, who was the second reserve to get on the plane.Now the Aussies are very glad to have him here with Don Quidam. Stuart Tinney and Leporis had replaced Chris Burton on the squad, but after the horse inspection, Leporis was deemed not fit to start, so Kevin was called in.

5:40 a.m. EDT: The second Chinese rider, Huadong Sun, earned 35.2 penalties on the Zangersheide mare Lady Chin V’T Moerven Z to put his nation on 59.1 penalties, buoyed by Alex Hua Tian’s 23.9 mark in the first session that remains in the second position to Britain’s Oliver Townend at this moment.

Polish rider Malgorzata Cybulska on Chenaro 2 has 31 penalties, the same mark as Belarus’  individual rider Alexander Zelenko on Carlo Grande Jr. (the names sounds like a person, but trust me, it’s a horse).  The Polish team total to this point is 71.20.

5:50 a.m. EDT: Poised flying changes were a highlight of the test by Sweden’s Louise Romeike and Cato 60, a 17-year-old whose rump bore a stencil of the Swedish crown. Her score of 28, which ties with the Indian rider for seventh place, makes the team total 56.10, standing second. Like Britain, Sweden now has two riders in the top 10.

France only has one team member riding here from its 2016 Rio Games gold medal squad. It is on a total of 62.60 after a 33-penalty effort from Absolute Gold (love that name!) and Nicolas Touzaint, whose father and uncle rode in the 1976 Montreal Games. This horse looks as if he needs delicate handling. He was casual in the extended walk but when his rider gathered the reins, it appeared that might light his fuse.

6:15 a.m.: We’ve had several reserves put in as members for their teams. Here’s another, Austin O’Connor on the gray Jaguar Mail son, Colorado Blue, stepping in for Cathal Daniels and Rioghan Rua.  Cathal’s horse was pulled for veterinary reasons, but could come back as the reserve if necessary, should her vet report improve.

Colorado Blue performed a classic halt but was a little rushed in the rein-back. I can hear him grinding his teeth; not sure if the judges can.He was rather flamboyant in his first two flying lead changes, and I’m sure his score of 38 reflected that. With two riders in the books, Ireland stands on 72.30 penalties.

6:25 a.m. EDT: Sandra Auffarth, Germany’s individual world champion in 2014, had a few costly errors in her test with Viamant du Matz.

Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz.

Most noticeable was when he struck off on the wrong lead in the canter. He was supposed to be on the counter-lead at that point, but he was on what would have been the correct lead under other circumstances.

So she had to fix that, and then went on moments later to have a flying change that popped a bit too much.

Sandra was marked at 34.10, putting Germany, one of the favorites for gold, on a team total of 59.30. I’ll remind you that she coached the Indian rider who competed earlier in the session and wound up with a better score (28 penalties) than his coach!

7 a.m. EDT: With the second session over (the third and final session starts in 12 and 1/2 hours) I’ll recap. Great Britain holds its team lead on 49.40 penalties, followed by Sweden, Japan (I told you they had potential), China, Germany and New Zealand. The U.S. is ninth on a 63-penalty total, with Doug Payne in 21st place and Phillip Dutton 12th.

The top three haven’t changed since yesterday: World number one Oliver Townend of Great Britain, Alex Hua Tian of China (that’s how China is in fourth place) and Julia Krajewski of Germany.

Oliver led off for his team, noting, “It wouldn’t be my chosen job in life to be pathfinder but at the same time the first bit is out of the way and he’s (Ballaghmor Class) done a very commendable job. So fingers crossed, we keep the work up over the next three or four days and see where we end up”.

Here’s how Oliver assessed the cross-country course: “It’s very intense.You’re always on the climb or camber or in the water, or in a combination.”

Even so, he said, “The questions are extremely fair, it’s very horse- friendly, and if you took each fence individually, there wouldn’t be too many problems. But at the same time, when you add the heat, the terrain, the Olympic pressure and then speed on top of that, it’s going to be causing a lot of trouble and it’s going to be very difficult to get the time.”

“Derek is a horseman to start with, and I think he’s a special, talented man at the job. He wants the horses to see where they are going, there’s no tricks out there. Derek doesn’t try to catch horses out, he builds very see-able questions and lets the terrain and the speed do the job for him.”

I’ll be live blogging the final session, so come back to my website to learn who’s where before we head to the cross-country, where things will change a lot.

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Eventing is next in Tokyo: Updated

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 28, 2021

There were a few surprises in the dressage competition at the Olympics; the U.S. got its first team silver in the discipline since 1948, and there was a new face on the highest level of the podium after the individual competition.

No one was surprised, however, when Germany won team gold for the 14th time, and many familiar names–even with new horses–did well.

But eventing in Tokyo, which gets under way Thursday evening Eastern Daylight Time, will be a whole different story. The dearth of top-level eventing since the spring of 2020 due to Covid means horses might not be in their usual form and we may not be aware of new contenders with the potential to win.

With only three on a team and no drop score, the ability to substitute a horse/rider combination during the competition comes with penalties, which make the sport harder to understand. Even those who have followed it for years are on a learning curve. As a result, it’s also more difficult to handicap. And we all know anything can happen in eventing under any circumstances, let alone the Olympics.

For the U.S. squad, preparation has gone “according to plan,” said the discipline’s performance director, Erik Duvander, noting the idea always was that team contenders would compete primarily in America in the run- up to the Games. With Covid, as it happened, there was little choice about traveling to foreign competitions. .

“If we had planned to go abroad, it would have been different,” Erik pointed out, but as it was, only one or two horses originally might have wanted to go to Great Britain’s 5-star Badminton Horse Trials before it was cancelled in May for the second time.

Key to the American lead-up was April’s Land Rover Kentucky 5-star, which was called off and then went ahead after a grassroots fundraising campaign.  A Kentucky outing was vital because the cross-country was designed by Derek di Grazia, who is also laying out the Olympic cross-country route at Sea Forest, a former landfill on the water. The horses will be based at the Baji Koen equestrian park for the dressage and stadium jumping phases, and travel to Sea Forest Friday night Japanese time, which is 13 hours ahead of EDT.

In Kentucky, said Erik, “Derek built a very, very good track this year, as he always does, but this one was particularly good. I think we learned a lot from riding around there.”

The team of three and an alternate was changed when Liz Halliday-Sharp’s ride, DeNiro, was injured. Doug Payne and Vandiver were tapped to replace her on the team, which also includes perennial members Phillip Dutton (Z) and Boyd Martin (Tsetserleg). Tamie Smith and Mai Baum are the traveling reserves.

Doug Payne and Vandiver in the ring familiarization at Baji Koen. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)

After walking the course, Phillip concluded, “Derek has made people think and decide what line they want to take. It’s not the biggest course I’ve ever walked, but there’s plenty there to do.”

He cited, “Thinking all the time…pushing things to stay on the clock.”

Boyd said the course is “very difficult just because it’s on a twisting piece of land. I think it’s going to feel big because you’re sort of stopping and starting and going left and right and up and down. Even though it’s 7 minutes 45 (seconds) I think the horses will be pretty winded just because there’s a lot of sprinting and stuff. I think Derek’s built a top track because there’s not one wicked influential jump,” he continued, mentioning tricky traps set the whole way around the course, from the fourth fence, the first jump into the water, until the last combination. The course is way harder if you have a crack at the time and go the direct lines and take chances.”

Doug said with the land Derek had available, he’s done an excellent job to make use of it. He compared it to the 4-star short at Tryon, N.C.

“Everyone’s goal is to be as smooth and easy on the horses as possible. I’m quite happy to have Vandiver here. He’s really quick horse in general… it will help your horse a lot if you know the land and know your line from start to finish within a couple of inches. It would be very easy to get caught out a little bit off one way or the other and have a pretty big impact on your round. The time’s going to be challenging for sure.

The riders were thrilled with the facilities for training and the climate-controlled stables. “Horse friendly,” is how Phillip put it.

At the same time they’re dealing with the inconvenience caused by Covid, the heat,and social distancing, they’re focusing on the competition.

“It’s been an Olympics like no other, ” said Boyd.

“You can whinge and whine about how inconvenient and this and that,” he observed, but added the situation needs to be kept in perspective.

“It’s fantastic being here. I think you can enjoy the moment. It’s unique, it’s different. I think in years to come, we’ll look at photos on the wall wearing masks and no spectators and think, `Holy hell, what a weird time that was.’

“It’s different, but it’s a special moment in all of our careers. and at the end of the day, the dressage arena is the same size, the same number of judges,” Boyd pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter if one person is watching or 50,000 people are watching, you’ve still got the same job to do, so it’s important you don’t get focused on things that are difficult or inconvenient.”

Doug rides at 7:42 EDT today (Thursday), Phillip at 5 a.m. EDT Friday and Boyd at 8:28 p.m. EDT that evening.

If you can’t watch the livestream and want to keep up with what’s happening, come back here to read my live blog for the moment-to-moment action. With a delay, you can watch highlights on NBC Sports Network on Friday from 3:15-4:15 p.m. EDT. That program will also include the second segment of eventing dressage that starts at 4:30 a.m. EDT Friday.

Want to follow German superstar Michael Jung? He rides next-to-last Friday evening at 9:44 p.m. EDT. Those rooting for Canada will have to be content with seeing just Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue D’Argouges.at 9:26 EDT Thursday. The other Canadian entry, Jessica Phoenix’s Pavarotti, was withdrawn before the horse inspection.after sustaining a minor injury on their last gallop.

Erik came to the U.S. program in 2017 and immediately was faced with organizing things for the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018. He found the contenders were not quite ready, with a group of young horses at the fore. The team finished eighth of 16 squads.

Three years on, Tsetserleg and Z are more mature and Doug has quite a resume with Vandiver. Tamie and Mai Baum are also proven entities.

While the U.S. doesn’t really figure among the hottest favorites for the team medals, as I said, handicapping is tough because of the three-member format, the heat horses will face cross-country through the morning (dressage and jumping will be held during cooler times of the day) and how the substitutions will figure in the picture. But America has three good horse/rider combos (four if you count the talented alternate) and the determination to make their mark.

The U.S. team: Phillip Dutton (Z), Boyd Martin (Tsetserleg), Doug Payne (Vandiver) and Tamie Smith (Mai Baum). (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)

The short odds are for the British, with Oliver Townend on their side. Also a factor are the Germans, led by three-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Jung (two individual golds and one team gold). The husband/wife team of Tim and Jonelle Price will make New Zealand a nation to watch in term of medal possibilities. And Australia, with veteran Andrew Hoy leading the way, can be dangerous as well.

But the withdrawal of the formidable Chris Burton after his horse suffered a slight injury means that nation won’t be quite as much of a contender as it would be with him on its roster.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on the Japanese–I was impressed at the 2018 WEG, when those riders took the short way out of a troublesome water complex, which made me think they could put in a bid.

Individually, Ollie and Michael Jung are the big players, along with Tim Price, number two in the world. But there’s always room for a dark horse or two in eventing, so maybe Boyd or Phillip will find a spot to slide onto the podium.

Live blogging the Olympic dressage freestyle: Von Bredow-Werndl, Werth, Dujardin get the medals

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 28, 2021

I put the medalists in the headline, but to find out how they got to the podium and what happened to the other riders, follow my live blog.

It’s 4:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time as the final dressage competition of the Tokyo Olympics gets under way at Baji Koen Equestrian Park. An elite group of 18 starters will be dancing to their own music for another shot at the medals.

If you didn’t want to wake before dawn to watch the freestyle, I’m covering it for you, so you can check my blog to see what’s happened when you do get up. And if you want to see the highlights, they’ll be on NBCSN at 3:45  p.m..

The USA’s Adrienne Lyle, the lowest scorer on her silver medal team but still impressive with Salvino, elected not to ride today. In a statement, she said, “This morning, Salvino did not feel quite like his usual self and last night’s historic team medal was an extraordinary accomplishment, and we are proud of the team’s incredible effort.”

Adrienne was replaced by Canada’s Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu and All In, the first starter on the roster today. The white-legged chestnut earned 72 percent for technical marks and 80.2 for artistic, with a toal of 76.404 for their routine to lovely orchestral music that reminded me of an ocean wave in its swells of sound.

Germany’s Isabell Werth, the number one-ranked dressage rider in the world with an Olympic medal record unmatched by any other equestrian, normally would be odds-on for another gold with her favorite horse, Bella Rose. But during the team competition yesterday and the Grand Prix over the weekend, she had to take a back seat to her teammate, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with TSF Dalera, who was the high score rider of the team competition as Germany won its 14th gold. Her mark of 84.666 set a new Olympic record.

You have to figure these women will be 1-2 in either order, leaving only one place for someone else to claim an individual prize. Jessica obviously is one to watch, but never underestimate Isabell. I’m guessing she has plenty in reserve and a clever freestyle in her quest for more gold.

Another rider of great interest is three-time Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain. Although her mount Gio is young and inexperienced, he is not only correct in his form but brilliant. A mistake going into the one-tempis in yesterday’s Grand Prix Special meant she couldn’t break 80 percent, so the silver medal slipped away and the U.S. took it as Britain settled for bronze. But word is that Charlotte has a freestyle with a high degree of difficulty, which will help her score if she executes it as planned.

After receiving the team medal on Tuesday, Charlotte said of Gio, “This last few days, he’s literally tried his heart out. I can’t really ask much more.

The round little chestnut, only 16 hands high, is appropriately known as Pumpkin and has a hold on Charlotte’s heart.

“This might look like bronze,” she said of her team medal, “but for me, with my horse, it feels like a gold medal.”

As we handicap the individual medals, let’s not forget Sabine Schut-Kery of the U.S., a first-time Olympian with the stallion Sanceo, who clinched silver for her adopted country (she’s a native of Germany).with a personal best, marked at more than 80 percent, another first for her. Technical advisor Debbie McDonald always said she believed Sabine and Sanceo could achieve 80 percent and as usual, she was right. The two are really on a high and perhaps they’ll surprise with a medal. After all, they were third in the Special.

Another to watch is Denmark’s star, Cathrine Dufour with Bohemian. Though I don’t think she’ll get into the medals, she’ll be close.And we can’t forget the third German, Dorothee Schneider with Showtime, who earned 80.213 in the Special. Can you imagine if the Germans swept the individual medals?

The second rider to go, Nanna Skodborg Merrald of Denmark on Blue Hors Zack, had a canter half-pass to a pirouette as a highlight. She was marked at 76.3 for technical, 85.4 artistic and 80.893 overall.

The USA’s Steffen Peters offered an impressive compilation with the 18.2-hand Suppenkasper, his menu set to his familiar “We can dance” music from his 2009 World Cup Finals victory with Ravel. The floor plan included such interesting moments as a double pirouette into piaffe and half-pass passage, as well as  extended trot to a half-turn in piaffe, demonstrating the horse’s ability to stretch out and instantly shorten. It was worth a score of 80.968 percent. His artistic mark was 85.8 and technical was 80.

Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper.

Speaking about the U.S. team competition, Steffen said of winning the silver medal, “I’ve been competing for 45 years. That was probably the most special day of my equestrian career. Mopsie (Suppenkasper’s nickname) gave everything yesterday, every ounce of energy and every ounce of cooperation. Yesterday, he fought for our team.

“I wouldn’t say he was tired today but not as brilliant as yesterday. But it was still a clean test.and almost an 81 percent, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Rodrigo Torres of Portugal and the gray Lusitano stallion Fogoso, a name that reflects his coloring, received rousing applause from the few in the stands (spectators are barred due to Covid, but the owners, grooms, riders and other staff are watching closely).

Rodrigo Torres of Portugal and Fogoso.

His personal best score of 78.943 percent to me seemed a bit low for his routine that made much of the piaffe and passage in which this breed excels. The artistic mark of 83.743 percent far outstripped the technical total of 74.143 percent.

Spain’s Beatriz Ferrer-Salat rode Elegance, a horse with no international freestyle experience. He made an honest effort but was perhaps a bit tense. Her technical mark was 72.607, artistic 82.457, with a score of 77.532.

5:30 a.m. EDT: After six of 18 starters have gone, Great Britain’s Carl Hester on the Jazz son En Vogue leads the way with 81.818 percent. The technical score was 77.750, the artistic an impressive 85.886 percent. It was En Vogue’s first international freestyle, but he was guided by a master in his sixth Olympic Games, the man who piloted the British to the top of the international standings with his program.

Carl offered tempi changes on a bending line, including more steps than required to increase the degree of difficulty, which should have made up for missing a beat in the one-tempis. The passage zig-zag was pure brilliance, and a great way to end the confidence-building ride.

5:55 a.m.: Hans Peter Minderhoud, a stalwart of the Dutch team, rode Dream Boy to a score of 80.862 percent.

6 a.m. EDT: Sabine Schut-Kery, who clinched silver for the U.S., had her usual mind meld with Sanceo to take the lead on 84.300 percent. She was marked at 88.457 artistic for her routine to, appropriately, music from the movie “The Last Samurai.” Her technical score was 80.143.

Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo.

While some of the other horses have appeared a bit tired, understandable after competing in the Grand Prix and the Special in Tokyo’s heat and humidity, Sanceo looked unfazed by the weather as he and his rider put in a personal best.

A piaffe pirouette to passage and performing the walk in two sections was innovative. There was a little break before a pirouette, but it was nothing compared to the overall excellence of this effort.

Sabine did note that “the last time I rode the freestyle was 2018. I cannot ask for anything more, other than next time, I have to come more polished. He was really good, sometimes they have that extra little edge and maybe that was not quite there. Because I wasn’t as polished in the floor plan and having not ridden it, I think I, if anything, was not as fluid and I was in his way.”

Sabine was involved in entertainment exhibitions at shows before she started on her road to the big time in international competition, so that experience has helped her learn to present herself and her horse in the best form to her audience and the judges.

Here’s a shot of Sabine Schut-Kery as part of the exhibition at the 2007 World Cup Finals. How cool is this? And look at her now!

Of the stallion she brought from Training Level to Grand Prix, she said, “He’s there for me and I feel like we definitely do have a partnership. He’s sensitive but not overreactive. He lets me guide him and be the leader.”

6:37 a.m. EDT: Sweden’s Therese Nilshagen and Dante Weltino Old were marked at 79.721, but her teammate, Juliette Ramel on the impressive Buriel KH who followed her upped the ante with an entry that involved passage to a piaffe pirouette and a pirouette into the canter half-pass, but was not quite with her music at one point. She earned 81.182 percent, with 76.679 for technical and 85.686 for artistic.

6:45 a.m. EDT: Charlotte Fry of Great Britain wraps up the second group with the quirky stallion Everdale. He usually only shows his aggressive side in the horse inspection, but during her freestyle, he half-reared before settling into the half-pass after going around a corner. He had some impressive moments, though, including a zig-zag to a piaffe pirouette. He was scored at 80.614, with 75.714 for technical marks and 85.414 for artistic.

At this point, with the competition two-thirdsinished, the USA’s Sabine Schut-Kery still leads the way with Sanceo. She stands 52d on the world ranking list, the same number as her age.

7: 10 a.m. EDT: But that didn’t last long. Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour on Bohemian rode magnificently to the music from Les Miserables. I loved the way she blended the two tempis into the ones on the same line.She was marked at 87.507 to take the lead. Her artistic score was an awesome 93.086, with technical at 81.929.

7:20 am. EDT: And then we had Jessica von Bredow-Werndl of Germany, living up to being the leader in the first two phases her with TSF Dalera. With a light touch on the reins of her mare, her score was 91.732 percent with an incredible 97.571 percent for artistic with 85.893 for technical. Can Isabell beat that? We’ll see, but it will take some doing. And interesting to note that in 2008, when the Olympics were in Hong Kong, the winner’s score was 78 percent. How far the sport has come!

Jessica was under the utmost pressure as she rode to the music from the movie “La La Land,” noting, “At times. I felt like I was riding in and out of a fire, on the edge of a knife.

“How far can I go, how much risk can I take? But it all worked out.”

7:30 a.m. EDT: The Netherlands’ Edward Gal did all he could with his 9-year-old Totilas son, Total US. This is a horse for the future. We likely will see him at the Paris Games in 2024, when he will be more polished. His biggest mistake was a stop before the transition into passage from the canter, but just wait until he is seasoned. His score was 84.157 percent, with an artistic mark of 89.1. She got loads of 10s for harmony, choreography and music.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera ended their freestyle one-handed on the way to gold.

7:40 a.m. EDT: Isabell came out blazing on her fighter, Bella Rose, yet she couldn’t overtake her teammate Jessica. Isabell scored 89.657 to “Ode to Joy” with a one-handed finish, like Jessica, heading toward the final halt.

She had all 10s but for one 9.5 in choreography and only two 10s for harmony; you could have fooled me. I thought she and Bella Rose were definitely on the same wavelength.

So it looks like there’s a new Olympic champion and Isabell has to settle for silver, just as she did at Rio and London in the last two Olympics.

7:50 a.m. EDT: Charlotte Dujardin, the champion from London and Rio, slotted Gio  into third place with 88.543 percent and an artistic mark of 94.086. She had four 10s for music, one for music and high 9’s for difficulty, with the exception of one 9.5. She’s in bronze at the moment, with one more German, Dorothee Schneider and Showtime to come. Are we in for a German sweep?

7:55 a.m. EDT: I’m guessing no German sweep. No score yet, but too many mistakes for Dorothee and Showtime, including a big fumble in the one-tempis and a lack of energy at the end, leading to a mark of 75.607..

8 a.m. EDT: As I said, Dorothee obviously was out of the medals and dropped down to 15th.Charlotte Dujardin is bronze, the same spot she was in at the 2018 World Equestrian Games with Mount St. John Freestyle. Cathrine Dufour of Denmark takes fourth and Sabine Schut-Kery ends her first Olympics in fifth place with Sanceo, what a fabulous finish. The other American competitor, Steffen Peters, was 10th.

The medalists: Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, gold (center), Isabell Werth, silver (left) and Charlotte Dujardin, bronze.

This is the Olympics that many (but not me) doubted would happen. For many reasons–the amount of money involved for Japan and the IOC, the need to provide a venue for athletes who had worked so hard–the Games that already had been postponed for a year needed to go on.

And so far, so good. There are Covid cases, of course, but I have no information on how serious they are. I know our equestrians have been incredibly careful (and I hope they will continue to be at their celebration tonight.)

With one equestrian discipline in the history books, it’s time to turn to another. Eventing begins tomorrow with its dressage phase. Follow along with another live blog on this website.