An Olympic cross-country course to remember at Versailles: UPDATE

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 28, 2024

After the first few competitors finished the beautiful Paris Olympics cross-country course on Sunday, from an armchair perspective it may have seemed almost too easy, like a trail ride with challenges.

Britain’s pathfinder, Tom McEwen, completed within the 9-minute, 2-second optimum time to remain on his dressage score of 25.8 penalties. By the end of the day, that would be good enough to move him up from eleventh to sixth with J.L. Dublin. And Germany’s Julia Krajewski, in the unenviable position of being first to embark on cross-country, had just 4.8 time penalties for a total of 31.7 with Nickel 21, a younger horse, therefore not one you’d want to push for time. She wound up fourteenth; most respectable, considering her horse’s lack of experience at the sport’s highest level.

But Tom was a member of the gold medal team at the Tokyo Olympics and Julia is the defending individual gold medalist (with a different horse) from Tokyo. In the early going, their expertise made Pierre Le Goupil’s course look less difficult than it was. Artful in both appearance and design, it took the measure of many in an appropriate way as the hours went by. Six of the 62 starters were eliminated or retired; a host of others couldn’t make the time and accumulated penalties that changed the placings they had earned in Saturday’s dressage.

Tom McEwen and JL Dublin (Photo Jon Stroud Media)

“It is the most amazing crowd all the way around the course. They’re cheering you before, over and after,” said Tom, noting his horse “was phenomenal from start to finish.”.

As the morning went on at Versailles, with a shoulder-to-shoulder enthusiastic spectators who lined the winding route, it turned out that the layout was not only entertaining for fans but was perfect for the job with which the designer had been tasked. And it was safe. There were no ugly falls.

Record-setting Laura Collett of Great Britain and London 52 on the cross-country course, with the palace behind them at Versailles. (Photo Jon Stroud Media)

The changes on the leaderboard were dramatic, with the exception of favored Britain, seeking to defend its Tokyo gold. It continued to head the standings with 82.5 penalties. But instead of being closely pursued by Germany, it was France – with the incentive of competing at home — that moved up to challenge on 87.2 penalties, a little more than the difference of a fallen show jumping rail.

Germany, second after dressage, is now fourteenth on 278.9 penalties. Team member Christoph Wahler had a fall from Carjatan S in the Belvedere complex and was eliminated.

There is no drop score at the Games, which has only three-member teams. Christoph popped out of the saddle when his horse stepped in a ditch after a drop and before the first chevron in the Belvedere complex, obstacle 16 of 28. Carjatan wasn’t the only horse who had trouble reading the ditch.

The USA’s pathfinder, Caroline Pamukcu, ran into a problem there when her HSH Blake got his hind end stuck in the ditch, which she had expected him to jump, but she stayed on and took an optional route to continue. However, she was charged 20 penalties for a refusal, and also accumulated 12 time penalties. She is forty-seventh with 62.4 penalties as part of the U.S. team that was in ninth place after cross-country.

If she were riding as an individual, she would have protested the penalty, she said, but since she is riding for the team, she knew she couldn’t do that. Ironically, she won individual gold at the Pan American Games last fall over a course designed by Le Goupil.

As for her horse, Caroline said, “He was fabulous, answered all the questions. What a brave horse he is, he’s fearless.”

U.S. Chef D’ Equipe Bobby Costello said, “I don’t believe in luck that much, but whatever it was that happened to Caroline at that ditch… It was early on when she didn’t know that all the horses were going to be more or less falling into it, and I don’t for one second put that on her at all. It was just a real unfortunate turn of events. As the day went on…it became clear either to go left or there was a more specific way to ride that right-hand side. It was just a real shame for Caroline that happened to her.”

And the team’s slide from sixth after dressage to ninth was a real dampening of expectations.

“We’re incredibly disappointed at the final result,” Bobby continued.

“I think it shows why this Olympic format is, for better or for worse, intense, it’s completely unforgiving. But that’s the game we came to play today and it didn’t go our way.”

The U.S. may move up a bit in the final show jumping phase, but the podium seems out of reach, even though the team’s horses are all good jumpers.

“We’re not in a place right now where it looks like we can necessarily use that to our advantage,” Bobby pointed out.

“But absolutely anything can happen overnight. Freak things happen, as we saw today, all the time. So we certainly are not going to crawl in a hole. We’re going to come out tomorrow with a fresh mindset for the day and finish up as strongly and in the best place that we possibly can.”

And just as he said, on Sunday night, the U.S. moved up from ninth to eighth after the Irish had to sub Sarah Ennis and Sporfsfield Freelance for Aiofe Clark, after her mare, Action Lady M, “picked up an injury” on cross-country. The additional penalties incurred under Olympic rules moved Ireland down a spot and boosted the U.S. one placing. The official team standings had not been updated to show that change late Sunday.

Britain’s Ros Canter, ranked number one in the world, was charged 15 penalties for a missed flag on course at fence 12D, the triple brush.. She said she did touch a flag there, but added, “I would never have imagined I didn’t  jump the jump.” However, an appeal of the penalty by the British team was denied and the score remained the same.

Calling her ride, Lordships Graffalo, better known as Walter, “the horse of a lifetime,” she said of his performance,”Walter absolutely loves to run and jump. He loves the crowd.”

After London 52 lost a front shoe early on and began slipping, Ros’s teammate, Laura Collett, had to be cautious and take a more sweeping line from the final water combination at 23ABCD, which made it tough to finish without time penalties. She had set an Olympic record in dressage with a mark of 17.5 penalties, but the 0.8 time penalties added to that score put her second, just 0.5 penalties behind Germany’s Michael (Michi) Jung. He took the lead with his perfect trip on Chipmunk FRH (one of Julia Krajewski’s former mounts).

But never mind, Laura was so happy with her partner.

“London 52 is just my horse of a lifetime, he’s incredible,”said Laura.

“He’s just so talented and I think, for me, it’s knowing what he was like as a young horse and knowing how much he’s had to trust me and believe in me… he’s not a natural cross-country horse, and then he goes round a course like that on railways tracks – it just shows what a partnership you can build up if you make them believe in you.”

Japan is in podium position, third with 93.8 penalties, so it’s pretty close among the current contenders for the medals, with Switzerland fourth on 102.4.

Michi had a blast while finishing well within the optimum time.

“Today was a lot of moments to enjoy. Chipmunk made it very easy for me. Every jump was easy — he was so well listening and connected to me, and so powerful galloping,” Michi said.

After checking his watch, he told Chipmunk “Okay, we have more time at the next fence so slow down, slow down!’ It was an unbelievable feeling. I’m so thankful to have such good horses, and to be at my fourth Olympic Games is a dream. It’s always a special feeling (at Olympic Games), even if it’s the first time here.”

In fact, he said Chipmunk felt so good that he wanted to do it all over again.

The best American performance belongs to Boyd Martin, who was disappointed in his dressage score Saturday after having flying change problems with Federman B. Cross-country made up for that.

Boyd called his horse, known as Bruno, “An absolute legend, a spring in every step of the way. I couldn’t have asked for anything more today.”

He moved up from twenty-sixth to seventeenth, with just 1.6 time penalties for a total of 32.1.

“He gave me his heart and soul,” said Boyd about his horse, noting that even when Bruno was a little tired near the end, “he kept going,” saying the few slippery spots in the footing didn’t faze a horse who is “sure-footed as a mountain goat.”

Boyd Martin and Federman B on course.

He was buoyed by the crowd’s enthusiasm, noting “I heard more cheers going `Bruno’ than `go Boyd.’” He called it, “one of the most memorable cross-country rounds in my life,” citing, “the venue, the crowds, the moment. I’ll remember this one forever.”

Boyd is optimistic about Monday’s show jumping finale, contending Bruno is is “probably the best jumping horse in the field. I’ve just got to ride well, stay calm and rely on our thousands of hours of practice.”

His other teammate, Liz Halliday, is twenty-second with Nutcracker on 34 penalties.

On a sad note, the oldest horse in the event, Forever Young Wundermaske, finished his Olympic quest at the third water obstacle. Rider Ron Gabala of Ecuador tipped off  there from the 21-year-old horse, who has been retired twice but wanted to go back to work.

Click this link for individual standings. Team penalties were not updated Sunday night to show that Ireland had moved down a place.

1

GBR

Great Britain

82.50

2	FRA	France		87.20
3	JPN	Japan		93.80
4	SUI	Switzerland		102.40
5	BEL	Belgium		111.00
6	NZL	New Zealand		118.20
7	SWE	Sweden		120.10
8	IRL	Ireland		121.10
9	USA	United States of America		128.50
10	NED	Netherlands		147.50
11	CAN	Canada		158.00
12	BRA	Brazil		177.40
13	ITA	Italy		229.10
14	GER	Germany		278.90
15	AUS	Australia		294.30
16	POL	Poland		391.10

Eventing dressage produces two Olympic records in Paris

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 27, 2024

The Phantom of the Opera, a funky fashion show, that mechanical horse with a silver-clad rider galloping down the Seine, where boats full of jubilant athletes celebrated the glory of being Olympians. A  rare performance by ailing Celine Dion, a tortured torch relay that attempted to include as many French competitors as possible and a one-of-a-kind lighting of the cauldron with the Olympic flame, sending a hot air balloon skyward. And the first time the bells of Notre Dame rang out since a devastating 2019 fire. Wow!

With the memory of Friday evening’s crazy and colorful opening ceremonies lingering, the Paris Olympics got down to business Saturday morning as eventing dressage began, showcasing a quick, intense 3-minute, 50-second test (it doesn’t even include the customary initial halt) that had never been performed in competition prior to these Games.

There were 64 competitors crammed into one day of dressage, so three-day eventing really goes on three days, and not four, as is usual elsewhere in high-end events. The International Olympic Committee has strict guidelines to which eventing must adhere, so it can be included in future Olympics. There’s always a danger of all horse sports being dropped, which means one day of eventing dressage it is! (Someone on social media suggested the mechanical horse is the only horse that should be included in an Olympics, so you can see the perception problem.)

Britain went right to the forefront, with an amazing 17.5-penalty ride by Laura Collett and London 52. That’s an Olympic record for international test number 390 on Laura’s resume. Is it necessary to say that her horse didn’t put a foot wrong? Her marks for individual movements soared into the 80s, with 85 percent for her entry and 82 for shoulder-in. (Percentage points are converted to penalties for the standings.)

Record-setting Laura Collett and London 52. (photo Jon Stroud Media)

“That’s pretty cool,” Laura said when informed of her record. (The previous record is 19.3 penalties, set in 2000 at Sydney by Olympic individual gold medalist David O’Connor of the USA and adjusted so that test score jibes with current parameters.)

“That horse is one in a million,” Laura emphasized, saying he can handle the presence of a crowd, but hoped she hadn’t misspoke when she saw the size of the crowd at Versailles. She hadn’t. He was cool, calm and listening to her.

“He’s an absolute show-off and he loved being in front of a palace with crowd of people cheering him on, so I’m just so lucky to sit on a horse like that,”

She added, “That horse is unbelievable – what he’s done throughout my whole career is just amazing and he just keeps on delivering. I’m just very, very grateful to him. It’s safe to say that I’ve never enjoyed a dressage test more in my life.”

Combined with a score of 25.8 from early leader Tom McEwan on JL Dublin, and 23.4 from Ros Canter (favored to win the individual title) on Lordships Graffalo, Britain was well in the lead for team standings and in fact set a record for the lowest score after dressage at the Olympics (66.70). The previous record of 68.6 was set in Hong Kong in 2008 by Australia, according to our friends at EquiRatings, who are doing a great job of keeping everyone updated on analytics.

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo.

Germany’s star, Michael Jung, just missed out on setting a world record of his own. His score with Chipmunk FRH was 17.8 penalties, a mere 0.3 back of Laura.

Tom McEwen said he had “a little bit more electricity” under him than usual with JL Dublin, as the horse took in the impressive Versailles vista. (photo Jon Stroud Media)

Germany’s Julia Krajewski on the 10-year-old Nickel 21, rode first in the competition and was very composed, considering her horse’s age and lack of experience. Nickel’s previous exposure to the big time stardom came at Aachen earlier this month, where he and Julia won.

Julia Krajewski and Nickel 21.

The only woman ever to earn Olympic eventing individual gold (2021) was a late call-up to the team, replacing Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz who was deemed not fit. Her mark of 26.9 penalties offered flowing but controlled flying changes and was good enough for fifteenth place.

Despite a flurry of anticipation that broke up the walk segment, Julia’s teammate, Christoph Wahler on Carjatan S, pulled into twenty-first place with 29.4 penalties. Germany stands second overall on 74.10 penalties. France edged into the top three with 80.7 penalties and the support of the flag-waving home crowd.

Where is the U.S. in all this? Sixth (88.9 penalties) behind New Zealand (83) and Japan (87.4).

Things didn’t go as hoped for the Americans, who lost a top prospect when both of Will Coleman’s horses were not fit to compete. That being said, the rider who replaced him, former traveling alternate Liz Halliday, was the highest-ranked for the U.S., in nineteenth place on Nutcracker with 28 penalties in her first Olympics.

Anchor rider Boyd Martin thought his mount, Federman B, was set for a special performance, but noted the left to right flying changes became “a bit of a muddle” leading up the event.

He called his ride “an awesome test, except for two moments which were disastrous.”

The number six-ranked rider in the world added with a resigned tone, ” l sort of felt like I gave my all. It would have been awesome to have four great changes, but it wasn’t to be today.”

Boyd is twenty-sixth on 30.5 penalties and looking forward to Sunday’s cross-country, saying “I’ve got complete belief in Bruno,” as his horse is known.

His plan calls for him to go “fast but calm at the beginning. There’s nothing I see out there he can’t do, but I see a lot of jumps he could have a mistake at.”

Boyd Martin and Federman B.

“It’s a hell of a course out there, but I think my horse is tailor-made for this track. I’ve got to stay switched on for every jump, every stride. I feel like the American horses are in a great place and this is our opportunity to have a crack at this.”

The first U.S. rider to go, Caroline Pamukcu, made a nice impression in her Olympic debut, where she has said her focus is entirely on the team, not individual glory. The Pan American Games individual gold medalist kept the lid on HSH Blake when he spooked during the half-pass, and one flying change was a bit of a scramble. But a score of 30.4 for twenty-fifth place was admirable, considering the imposing atmosphere in the arena at Versailles.

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake.

She repeated that old saying, it’s not a dressage competition, and knows the cross-country test is demanding. There are, she said, no “gimme” fences on the route designed by Pierre Le Goupil.

Liz Halliday triumphant after her test on Nutcracker.

Liz produced a very determined test with Nutcracker from the get-go, receiving a mark of 80 percent (that’s Isabell Werth territory) for her entrance into the arena. Finding out at the last minute that she would be riding in the Games after all left Liz with a feeling of sadness for Will Coleman and his disappointment. Then her mood went from “shock, to oh  my gosh, to okay, `now I’m just going to be a competitor again.’ ”

Getting to ride in the Games was emotional for her; she sheepishly admitted she cried on Olympic TV.

Liz Halliday and Nutcracker. (US Equestrian Photo)

We should mention Australia’s Shane Rose, who many thought would not make it to the Olympics after enduring fractures to his elbow, femur, pelvis and ribs following an accident during training in March. But they didn’t know Shane. He is very much in Paris and was riding well despite what he’d been through, standing thirty-eighth aboard 19-year-old Virgil.

Shane Rose and Virgil.

Click here for individual results. Click this link  for team results.

There is much more to come. Keep returning to this website, where we will tell you what happened on cross-country, where the action begins Sunday at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Here’s the list of everyone who will be riding in Paris

by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 12, 2024

You know who the U.S. is sending to the Olympics this month–this website has publicized the looong team selection process and named the names of who has been selected in all three disciplines.

But what about the other 48 countries that are entering the equestrian competitions in Paris? Peruse the list of definite entries. It’s fun to see who is riding for Greece, Latvia, Japan or other countries that haven’t been on your radar. Remember, there are only three riders on a team, but each squad has an alternate and the rules allow for substitution under certain circumstances.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is the only equestrian competing at the Olympics who will be going for two individual gold medals in a row on the same horse. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

Click here for the list of show jumping entries from 35 countries, on this link for eventing entries from 27 countries and here for dressage, in which 30 countries will have representation.

This is how the stadium at Versailles will look during the Games. (FEI photo)

Equestrian competition is not being held in the heart of Paris, but in Versailles, 12 miles west of the city. The setting includes the palace that originally was the home of Louis XIV, and an array of gardens. When the Olympics aren’t being staged, it is a public park.

Britain’s Ben Maher will be trying for a second Olympic individual gold medal in show jumping, but on a different horse than he rode last time. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)

The lone Olympic equestrian individual gold medalist who will be defending a Tokyo Games title on the same horse is Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with TSF Dalera BB. Britain’s show jumping gold medalist, Ben Maher, will be on a different mount, Point Break, while Germany’s individual medalist Julia Krajewski (the first woman to take the title in that sport) is an alternate for her nation.

The competition will be held six hours later than Eastern Daylight Savings Time, which means if you want to watch everything and live in the East, you’ll have to get up at 4 or 5 a.m. many days. If you live in California, you could just stay up all night.

But don’t worry, we’ll be telling you what happens right here every day, starting with July 27 and the dressage Grand Prix. We’ll keep reminding you that it’s possible to sleep in and still be up to speed by coming to this website after the competition ends each day.