by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 6, 2024
Germany clinched a clean sweep of the individual equestrian medals at the Paris Olympics today, with Christian Kukuk and the dazzling grey Westfalian gelding, Checker, producing the only double-clear effort in a dramatic tiebreaker for the show jumping title.
With his stunning performance, Christian joined his compatriots Michael Jung/Chipmunk (eventing) and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl/TSF Dalera BB (dressage) to complete his nation’s reign atop the podiums at Versailles. He followed the victory path of his mentor, Ludger Beerbaum, who took individual Olympic gold in 1992, but Christian is the first German to earn the honor since Ulrich Kirkhoff did it in 1996. Germany now has six individual Olympic show jumping golds.
Christian Kukuk and Checker.
“What a win! It’s the most emotional day in my life, honestly, in my career,” said Christian.
“This is the highest you can achieve in our sport. I’m one of only a few calling myself Olympic champion, Olympic gold medalist.”
He remembered when he and Ludger went to try Checker, and there was an instant attraction.
“I was the one who said, ‘I really want to have this horse.’ From the first moment, I had a special feeling on him, and I had the feeling that he could do something special. It took a while – we always had good results, but in the last year, what he’s done, our partnership, knowing each other so well, created something special.”
His victories this year included a win in the finale of the Winter Equestrian Festival, when he went around during the victory gallop happily clutching his ribbon in his teeth. Second that day was the USA’s McLain Ward, who did not have the chance for a rematch Tuesday after the last fence fell in the Monday qualifier for him and his mount, Ilex.
Thirty riders culled from Monday’s field of 73 came forward for a test over a long and taxing route in the final.
“It’s the toughest course I have ever jumped, the toughest course I have ever seen and Checker made it feel like just another Grand Prix,” said Christian.
It was what is known as a “perfect course” for designers Gregory Bodo of France and Santiago Varela of Spain (as well as technical delegate Guilherme Jorge), with only three riders — one for each medal — making it into the jump-off.
After going clear in 38.34 seconds. Christian blew a kiss toward the packed grandstand and waited to see what his rivals would do. But they were no match for his score.
Steve Guerdat, Christian Kukuk and Maikel van der Vleuten on the podium.
The individual bronze medalist of the Tokyo Games and the 2022 world championships, the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten on Beauville Z, wound up with the same medal this time after a rail at the Metro oxer and a time of 39.12 seconds
Talking about how difficult the course was he said, “When I came through the finish, I thought the way my horse did this round was unbelievable. It’s a world-class horse and he deserved this medal today.”
The 2012 Olympic champion, Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and Dynamix de Belheme, got unlucky at the next-to last jump and finished with 4 faults in 38.39 seconds, good enough for silver.
“We all aim for gold but to have to the second one (silver) is also very special,” said Steve.
“My mare has been spectacular today and of course, I’m upset about my jump-off, it wasn’t what I wanted, but I want to focus with pride about our second Olympic medal.”
Maiikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z.
The most surprising moment during the morning came when world number one Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden fell off King Edward as the horse cut left following an iffy line starting with a short stride to the Eiffel Tower jump after the water obstacle. Becoming unbalanced on landing from the next fence, Henrik struggled to stay aboard before the inevitable happened.
“I tried to the last, but I couldn’t, and then of course, he turned left and I went right,” he said.
What happened to a superstar shows the unpredictability of this sport, which makes it intriguing and frustrating at the same time. But it demonstrates that anything can happen on the sport’s biggest stage.
Another example of that: Daniel Coyle of Ireland, who had great rounds with Legacy until the final, knocked down the same double as Karl, then two more fences before retiring.
The jumps have been astoundingly beautiful, each one worthy of praise for its visual properties. The fences, laser-printed and made out of a foam with a hard shell that is painted, recount French history, culture and landmarks. From the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe to the Metro transit system and a sidewalk cafe, they were marvelous.
Click here for the course plan
The U.S. had two riders qualified for the final test in the equestrian portion of the Games. It looked as if Laura Kraut would be fault-free with Baloutinue until the rail came down at the final jump, the LA 2028 obstacle (designed in honor of the next Olympics, as is traditional). She blamed herself, saying she was thinking about making the tight 84-second time allowed and took the fence at too much of an angle.
“My horse was absolutely on it today. He didn’t deserve that,” said Laura, who placed eighth.
Laura Kraut and Baloutinue.
Karl Cook, who jumped three clean rounds during the Games after being called up to the team from his original alternate position, was having a terrific trip with Caracole de la Roque until rails came down at the French deck of cards double combination.
He said he made a mistake around the turn approaching those fences and cut it too sharply. Understandably dismayed, he praised his mare after his sixteenth-place finish, saying “she was jumping amazing before.”
Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque. (US Equestrian photo)
Laura cited the length of the difficult course, where the designers pulled out all the stops because they were dealing with the best of the best.
“This is the first time I’ve ever jumped 15 jumps on course. I could have lived without that,” she observed.
“Fence one was 1.60 (meters); the jumps are huge. It’s 19 jumping efforts; I don’t think we’ve ever jumped 19 efforts on a course.”
But as always happily has been the case in these Games, there were no disasters in terms of serious falls. That is important for equestrian sport, which is often mentioned as a possible leave-out for future Olympics.
U.S. show jumping coach Robert Ridland praised the Paris Games and the way they were produced.
“As a sport, we have to celebrate what a great week of show jumping this was. Win or lose, I think everybody would agree with that.”
As for his team, “We accomplished what we came here for,” he commented, citing the silver medal that his squad won last week.
He noted that just qualifying the team for the Games was “a trial by fire” that did not end until the final chance to make the cut materialized at the Pan American Games last October, but it seasoned the athletes. The result meant this was the third time in a row that the U.S. earned Olympic silver.
“We came here to get on the podium. That’s what we do in Olympics. The individual is the icing on the cake. We could have had a better day today for sure, one mistake each, Robert continued.
“McLain could have had a better day yesterday, but it’s not like he made a huge mistake. One little thing different from all three of them, it would have been a better result for the individual.”
McLain noted on social media, “There is no doubt there is some level of disappointment in not being in contention for an individual medal but as the Paris Olympics come to a close, our sixth games, I am also filled with pride in our USA Showjumping team, our support teams and Ilex.
“I’ve played this game long enough to understand disappointment in results is different from disappointment in performance. Though an individual medal continues to elude me, our team once again delivered a medal-winning performance, fifth time in six games! My supporters, family and I are very proud to have been a part of this legacy.
“In reflection, I always see things I could have done better, but Ilex was brilliant and to be honest, I thought a bit unlucky. He has many great days ahead in his future and I’m very grateful to everyone who has brought us together and made our partnership possible, especially Bonne Chance Farm (which own the horse with McLain).
“Most of alI, I am forever grateful and thankful for the people around me who continue to be unwavering in their support and belief in chasing our dreams.”
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 3, 2024
For the fifteenth time, Germany won dressage team gold at the Olympics, but the margin in Paris on Saturday was so small that the outcome was in doubt until the very end of the competition.
Germany’s edge over silver medal Denmark in the Grand Prix Special was an uncomfortable 0.121 percent (a total of 235.790 to 235.669), and no German rider broke 80 percent. That was left to Denmark’s newest combination, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Freestyle, marked at a stunning 81.216 percent.
“What to say? Outstanding. Only tiny hiccup for the one-times (changes) at the diagonal,” Cathrine commented, mentioning it was the ride of her dreams.
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark had the highest score of the team competition with Freestyle.
Her score wound up being 1.262 percent ahead of world number one Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB, graded at 79.954, yet that was enough for the German to save the day for her country.
When Cathrine’s score was announced before Jessica’s ride, that put the pressure on the defending Olympic champion.
“I was a bit out of breath during Jessi’s test, but she finished brilliantly, kept her nerve,” said German national coach Monica Theodorescu.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl waves in triumph after getting the score she needed to secure gold for Germany.
She observed that early in the test, there were false starts into piaffe.
“Dalera wanted to canter, Jessi stopped her and then it took a while until she got into the piaffe,” earning a mark of 5.4 that was uncharacteristic of that duo.
“But otherwise, she was outstanding,” an elated Monica said.
Cathrine was fourth individually in the Tokyo Olympic riding Bohemian, who was the U.S. team alternate with Endel Ots. The Danish anchor rider was backed up by Daniel Bachmann Anderson on Vayron (75.93) and European Championships silver medalist Nanna Skodborg Merrald with Zepter (78.480), whose score was affected by a glitch in the two-tempis.
The team silver (that the riders felt had a golden tint) was Denmark’s best result yet in the Olympics, but all three were also on their country’s winning world championships team in 2022. That was the year Jessica von Bredow-Werndl did not compete for Germany because she was having a baby.
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour knew she had a great ride for an important score on Freestyle.
Daniel said the team members have known and supported each other since they were children.
“We are the youngest team here and we come in as world champions and we’ve already done so many great things, but we have so much more to come and ahead of us and we are so hungry to do even more,” he said.
Great Britain missed out on a sweep of all the equestrian team golds at Versailles after taking titles in eventing and show jumping. It earned dressage bronze with a total of 232.492 percent. The squad of Carl Hester (Fame), Olympic debutante Becky Moody (Jagerbomb) and World Champion Lottie Fry (Glamourdale) enjoyed a good margin over the Netherlands (221.948).
Prior to the Games, however, Britain was set to go for the gold medal, and might have won it, until a scandal broke last month involving its perennial top scorer, Charlotte Dujardin. She withdrew from the Games and was suspended by the FEI (international equestrian federation) after a whistleblower revealed a video from two-and-a-half years ago, showing the Olympic multi-gold medalist using a longe whip to hit a horse during a private training session.
The timing was a triple whammy that set off an international furor affecting not only Charlotte and the team, but also horse sport. Media at the Olympics kept asking British team members about the issue, and horse abuse became a hot topic globally, with some public sentiment pushing for it to be dropped from the Olympics. Riders emphasized to those inquiring the care taken with their horses, who were living in air-conditioned stalls at the venue, where they beat the oppressive heat with cooling stations.
But the fans who filled the stands were all for the sport, cheering for their countries and the stars who gave their all.
Rapper Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, dressed for dressage, visited riders Steffen Peters (Snoop is an admirer of Steffen’s horse, Suppenkasper), Endel Ots with Bohemian and McLain Ward.
Cathrine’s score (on a horse trained and ridden several years ago by Charlotte) was a shocker in its magnitude, and no one was more affected than Jessica. But she handled it before Dalera stepped into the arena.
“You notice it, but it’s no longer in your head at that moment. At that moment, it’s all about the here and now and about delivering what you can deliver,” she said, explaining how she dealt with Cathrine’s result.
Discussing her test, she said, “Unfortunately, we had an incredibly big misunderstanding once in the transition (from walk to piaffe), which was extremely expensive.” Double coefficients there made the mistake a major problem.
“But oh, I didn’t want that thriller, I have to admit. I would have liked to have made it a bit less exciting. But now no one can say that dressage riding is boring,” Jessica concluded.
As she explained, “Dalera is only human.” Once out of those troublesome movements “everything was fine again.”
Monica critiqued the rest of her team, Frederic Wandres (Bluethooth Old/75.942) — who was so overcome with emotion on the podium that he was wiping tears away — and seven-time Olympian Isabell Werth (Wendy/79.894).
“Everyone had a little something,” the coach pointed out.
“Isabell didn’t quite jump through a one-step change on the center line, Freddy slightly changed once in the right pirouette. Thank God Bluetooth found the right coordination again. Otherwise, all three rode really well. Yes, it was just, just, just, just enough.”
Isabell has only been competing Wendy this year, but she called it “a really perfect match between us and I think we both feel really confident and that makes it so easy. She’s so uncomplicated.
“She’s really tall when you stand next to her…and everything is much easier on her, you can sit and just have fun. She’s everything in a perfect construction, and it’s wonderful to have her in time for the Olympics.”
Becky Moody, making her Olympic debut for Britain on a horse she bred, raised and trained, was happy with her experience and a personal best of 76.489. After all, until Charlotte withdrew, she was the alternate looking forward only to a restful 10-day holiday in France.
Becky Moody and her home-bred Jagerbomb.
“It was pretty cool. What an incredible stadium,” she said, recounting her experience.
“The crowd was fantastic and my horse was a total legend, so what more could I ask for?
“When you’ve trained them from the beginning, then you do know each other so well. He’s a lovely, lovely horse. He’s been quite spicy here this week. I have to say Carl has helped me out an awful lot to find that inner calm in both of us.”
Carl, the mastermind of Britain’s landmark 2012 Olympic team gold medal who watched nervously from the sidelines, said, “Becky went beyond what we expected.”
Carl Hester.
As far as his ride, he noted, “I had a fragile start, he was spooky in the beginning. ”
He experienced trouble getting along the side of the ring.
“Everything in this test happens on the side, and I was next to the judge when he rang the bell,” he recounted. At the sound, Fame jumped; Carl just smiled and said “Merci.” He still managed a quite respectable mark of 76.520.
He rode in his first Olympics 32 years ago and noted it doesn’t get any easier as time goes on.
“Every one does get tougher, because of expectations,” he said, but referring to the medal, added “This is a fantastic way to top the week.”
Lottie, whose late mother also rode for the team, clinched the bronze with 79.483 percent.
Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale compete in the Grand Prix Special (Photo Jon Stroud Media)
“I had an amazing ride today. So many improvements from the Grand Prix. He made me very proud. He did some amazing things,” she commented. As always, the extended canter and flying changes were highlights, but she also was pleased with the pirouettes because “he really nailed them today.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to ride in that arena. We both really enjoyed it.”
She is working on a few improvements for Sunday’s musical freestyle, in which the top 18 riders will take part.
The dressage team medalists from Germany, Denmark and Britain.
The U.S. did not have a team in the Special. It was eliminated during the Grand Prix last week after Jane, Marcus Orlob’s ride, was excused under the “blood rule” for having a tiny scratch on her white fetlock.
She picked that up when she whirled after first entering the arena just as another horse was leaving. (See the full story in the On the Rail section of this website).
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 2, 2024
Britain earned its first Olympic show jumping team gold since the landmark 2012 London Olympics with a mere 2 time penalties Friday, as the U.S. claimed silver on 4 faults and France was third with 7. The Brits took the lead with a 1-time penalty from their pathfinder, defending individual gold Olympic medalist from Tokyo, Ben Maher aboard Dallas Vegas Batilly, and they never gave up that spot.
Riding second for Britain on a fault-free trip was Harry Charles (Romeo) who broke his arm a month ago in Aachen but was determined not to miss the Olympics and redeem himself from a retirement on course in the Tokyo Olympics.
“That was probably the best round of my life,” said Harry, whose father, Peter Charles, was on the 2012 gold medal team, as was Ben and the man who went on to be the anchor in Paris, Scott Brash (Jefferson). He left the rails in place to clinch the title, picking up just a single time penalty.
Scott recalled that it was incredible to win gold in London 12 years ago in front of a home crowd, on “one of the best days of my life, but here is right up there. I mean, what an unbelievable setting, what a beautiful venue for our sport and facilities for the horses were incredible.”
British Chef D’Equipe Di Lampard summed up her team’s performance saying, “The lads were ice-cold and delivered on the given day.” She was “completely overwhelmed” by the result after four years of planning. The British first won gold at the 1952 Games.
This was the second gold of these Games for Britain, which also took top honors in eventing. And they may have had the potential to do so in dressage as well, except that their star, Charlotte Dujardin was sidelined by scandal (read about it here) and replaced by a competent, but less-experienced, rider.
The silver was the first medal for U.S. equestrians at the Games in Versailles following disappointments in eventing and dressage.
U.S. silver medalists Karl Cook, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward. (U.S. Equestrian Photo)
After an uncharacteristic knockdown by Laura Kraut on Baloutinue in the initial rotation at the A element of the cinema-themed triple combination (she called it “an interesting mistake. The horse doesn’t normally jump over his front end like that”) the U.S. carried 4 penalties but was buoyed by clear rounds from Karl Cook on Caracole de La Roque and anchor man McLain Ward with Ilex, who bucked joyfully after his first fence.
“I knew he was in perfect shape today,” McLain said of the Dutch-bred horse he began riding only this year.
“I believed in him and my team put me in a great position to deliver. Everybody behind me made my job a little bit easier,” said McLain, noting he’d had a year of “seconds,” at Aachen last month and in the finale grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival last spring.
Poised at bronze medal level, the U.S. was able to move up after the last French rider, Julien Epaillard on Dubai Du Cedre, dropped that nation a place with a toppled rail at the Jardin Francaise oxer. That elevated the American team to silver, the same medal it won at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
“We came here expecting big things, but you never know,” said U.S. Coach Robert Ridland, commenting it was the best team the U.S. had in the last three Olympics. This was the third time in a row that America earned silver at the Games.
Both Laura and McLain were on the Tokyo team, but Olympic rookie Karl Cook–a last-minute replacement with Caracole de la Roque for veteran Kent Farrington and Greya –proved his worth with clears in both Thursday’s qualifier and the final.
Karl said of his mount, previously ridden by Julien Epaillard, “I’m so grateful to Caracole, she’s such an amazing horse.”
Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque, who jumps in a hackamore.
Karl, whose performance has improved impressively this year, noted it is “Amazing to be with people I’ve watched and respected for so many years and be able to go in and jump and do it all together is what you hope for when you’re a kid.”
McLain called the three-rider, no-drop score format, which had debuted in Tokyo, “a real pressure cooker”:…that ratcheted up the pressure and excitement. I think it’s great sport.”
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, watched the competition in the stands full of 20,000 fans, including avid flag-wavers from the nine countries involved in the final (Mexico did not appear due to a veterinary issue with one of its horses.) France made the podium despite being tied with the Netherlands on seven penalties because its team had a faster collective time.
Big surprises were the placings of Ireland, which had been favored by many going into the competition, and Tokyo team gold medalists Sweden. World number one Henrik von Eckermann had a pole with King Edward at the lavender fields fence that was a bit of an optical illusion, number 11 of 14 obstacles. Rolf Goran-Bengtsson and Peder Fredricson each followed with knockdowns for 12 penalties to put Sweden in sixth place, four penalties behind fifth-place Germany.
The tight 79-second time-allowed was an issue for several riders early on, including Maher, and it caught Shane Sweetnam, the Irish pathfinder on James Kann Cruz with one for time in addition to a rail. Daniel Coyle was foot-perfect with Legacy, but the most experienced Irishman, Cian O’Connor, had surprising rails at two fences and a time penalty with Maurice to put the team in seventh place. Ireland has never won a team show jumping medal in the Olympics, where Cian was its only individual medal winner with a bronze in 2012.
The course, laid out by Gregory Bodo of France and Tokyo Olympics designer Santiago Varela of Spain, was just challenging enough.
As Laura, who has jumped many of the routes designed by Bodo pointed out, he is an “important designer,” noting there were “no eliminations, no disasters; lots of poles down. He’s very crafty with the time allowed. I felt I was flying and I only came in a second and a-half under (the time). it’s just what you would expect at the Olympics.”
Laura Kraut and Baloutinue. (U.S. Equestrian Photo)
The team final course was as beautifully produced and themed as the previous day’s qualifier layout. Bodo has a way of using all of the ring in his designs, with no space wasted. The intriguingly designed fences resumed the tour of French history and culture that we saw on Thursday.
The vinification fence complete with grapes and wine barrel (it’s in our lead photo being jumped by McLain Ward) is a tribute to the country’s wine industry. There was a fence flanked by the Statue of Liberty (a gift to the U.S. from France) and its torch; the Eiffel Tower (of course!), a wall crafted to look like the stained glass at Notre Dame, and seaside cabins (we would call them cabanas) in a nod to the country’s popular beaches.
The US, British and French teams with their medals. (U.S. EQuestrian Photo)
Laura, 58, who started her Olympic career as an alternate at the 1992 Barcelona Games, has the distinction of being the oldest female U.S. Olympian to medal since an archer who competed in 1904. When it’s brought up, she laughs about it. Laura is a good sport. Anyway, she wasn’t the oldest in the class. That was Rolf Goran-Bengtsson, who is 62. It’s wonderful that riding is such a lifetime pursuit!
Jumping returns to Versailles on Monday with the qualifier for the individual medals, but the action continues on Saturday with team dressage at 4 a.m. Eastern Time. Don’t worry about getting up, I’ll tell you what happens. The U.S. does not have a team; it was eliminated earlier this week because Marcus Orlob’s ride, Jane, had a small scratch on her right hind fetlock. No U.S. rider qualified for the individual finals on Sunday.
Click here for team jumping results. Click here for individual results
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 29, 2024
It was a historic day at the Olympics, for Germany’s Michael (Michi) Jung and the British.
Let’s rename the country “Very Great” Britain.
The British eventing team of Laura Collett Ros Canter and Tom McEwen at the Paris Games defended its Tokyo team gold against a challenge from the home favorites, France, finishing on 91.3 penalties for three days of competition after a tense show jumping finale. It is the most successful nation in the history of eventing, now having earned team gold five times.
Laura Collett in the show jumping arena and a look at its fabulous vista.
Silver medal France had 103.6 penalties, while Japan — which has been getting better and better at the eventing game — made history itself by finishing on the Olympic podium in the sport for the first time with a score of 115.8 for the bronze. The U.S. wound up seventh with 133.7 penalties, 3.2 behind Sweden and 0.9 ahead of New Zealand.
The British celebrate another gold medal.
Michi, who had a rail at the double in the team final, came back when it really counted in the individual final with Chipmunk FRH to post a clean round and is now the first person in history (there it is again!) to win three individual Olympic gold medals.
Australia’s Christopher (Burto) Burton was silver with just 0.4 time penalties over two jumping rounds added to his dressage score of 22 penalties. He had a bit of an edge in the final phase — he had been concentrating on show jumping when he turned back to eventing and started riding Shadow Man just this year.
As he heads back to Australia from Britain to start his own stable, he believes the horse, the former and future ride of Ben Hobday, will return to the owners.
“It would be my dream to keep riding him, he’s just the most delightful animal. From the minute I sat on him, I thought he was incredible, like we were made for each other, but I think anyone that sat on him would have the same experience I’m afraid, it would break your heart. But what a story we had and what a great time we had in Paris,” Burto commented.
And Laura Collett took individual bronze with London 52 on 23.1 penalties. She was fault-free in the individual round, but had a rail and 0.8 time penalties in the team jumping round. Without those errors, she would have had gold and foiled Michi’s historic moment.
Silver medalist Christopher Burton, gold medalist Michi Jung and bronze medalist Laura Collett. (FEI Photo)
The first woman from Britain to earn an individual Olympic eventing medal in 16 years, she is an achiever who wasn’t going to be stopped by a fall that nearly took her life in 2013 and left her without sight in one eye. She set an Olympic record with her dressage score on Saturday, which made it an obvious prediction that she would be in the medals.
Even so, she said through tears of joy, “I never thought this day would come.”
“I owe everything to that horse and the team that made it possible just to get here. I’m so lucky to be the the one that gets to ride into an arena like that and come out with a team gold and individual bronze medal.”
Expressing her gratitude for the help people gave her along the way, she emphasized, “I want to say thank you to every single one of them. It’s so many years of hard work and blood, sweat and tears. Emotional rollercoaster doesn’t even do it justice.”
To others who have aspirations, she advised, “for moments like this, every bad day is so worth it. You just have to never give up, never lose faith. You can never dream too big.”
Michi’s campaign for a third gold was foiled at the 2021 Tokyo Games when he was in the lead, but received 11 penalties in a controversial issue with a MIM system device at a cross-country fence there. Some felt the call was quite unfair, as he had galloped off before a pole fell at a fence his horse touched, but now he has achieved what he set out to do three years ago.
Even someone as experienced as Michi had nerves to control in the last stages of his medal quest, as he rode in front of a packed and noisy stadium.
“I tried to say to myself it’s just a normal show,” he revealed.
“I try to push my horse not too much, to give him the feeling it’s a normal show, although it’s not so easy with so many spectators. In the end I needed to look at the board to see that it’s really true, and now I need a moment to realize what it means. It’s a very special moment for me.”
The U.S. wound up seventh, securing a spot in the top 10 after some rocky moments in the previous phases. With the gallant Federman B, Boyd Martin delivered two double-clears for America over the course designed by Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo. The route was beautiful, with fences symbolizing various aspects of France and its history, including the street signs of Paris and the art of Toulouse Lautrec (seen in the photo below).
Boyd Martin and Federman B were heroes in the show jumping phase of eventing. (US Equestrian photo)
He finished tenth on 32.1 penalties total. Teammate Liz Halliday, originally the traveling alternate, was fifteenth on Nutcracker with 34.8 penalties. The third team member, Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, finished thirty-seventh (66.8) and so did not qualify to be in the top 25 who contested the individual round, an hour after the team show jumping wrapped up.
Boyd noted how pleased he was with his horse, known as “Bruno,” saying, “He didn’t touch a jump in the warmup and came in the round and jumped like a superstar. I’ve got supreme confidence in Bruno’s jumping ability.”
He cited the help he got in the warm-up from trainers Peter Wylde and Erik Duvander. But as he wrapped up his experience in Paris, where his flying change problem in dressage foiled his medal hopes despite wonderful performances in the event’s other phases, Boyd observed, “it’s heartbreaking, to be honest. I feel like we’ve been so close so many times. This is my fourth Olympics and my career is probably in the second half now. I thought everyone tried hard, it’s a tough sport, a game of inches and I had all these dreams of wearing a medal and it’s not going to happen this weekend.”
U.S. Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello was both philosophical and insightful while discussing his team’s experience at Versailles.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about the weekend and I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m just being overly Polly Annaish, but I really truly believe that there were more positives this weekend and there are still signs that we are here competing with the rest of the world, we didn’t compete in this format to a level that was going to get us a medal this weekend.
“I think we have to get better at this Olympic format because it is unique, but we really do have to think about what are the things that we can definitely…concentrate on and improve that are going to make us more significant in a competition like this, which is unique. I’m heartened when I look at the quality of the riders we have here…they all have a deep bench of horses coming along. When I’m looking to the future, I get a little bit worried about the `deep bench of athletes.’
He wants to “really knuckle down and look into the next four years and map a blueprint of what it’s going to take to make sure the improvements keep going and that we’re always putting ourselves in a place where we can be competitive on a world stage. I feel so very hopeful about the trajectory we are on. We just have to stay focused and positive but not be patting ourselves on the back for being seventh. We need to be better than that, but we also can’t get discouraged, either.”
I was thinking about why the Brits are so great at eventing, and I believe part of it might be because the deep bench they draw on has a lot of experience foxhunting, or trail hunting or drag hunting. That really stands in good stead for cross-country. And eventing is also a popular sport in Britain in the panoply of equestrian disciplines, which encourages people to draw in at a variety of levels.Just my musings…
Click here for team results. Click here for individual results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 5, 2024
There were some astonishing results in Monday’s Olympic show jumping individual medal qualifier. A couple of very key contenders failed to make the list of 30 eligible starters from a field of 73 seeking a place in Tuesday’s final competition, which still promises to be outstanding.
Podium prospect McLain Ward, for instance, who anchored the USA’s silver medal team last week with the impressive Ilex, had 4 faults at the last of 14 fences, the Le Petit Prince oxer of blue and gray rails named after a famous book.
Only 20 riders were fault-free in the class that drew 73; the other 10 qualifiers all had knockdowns, with the exception of one with a single time penalty. But with time separating the tied 4-fault competitors, McLain was too slow to make the cut, finishing thirty-fourth in 75.50 seconds.
Of Ilex, McLain observed, “He was brilliant; actually jumped it very easy.
“Coming down the last line, it was getting easy coming to the (out) gate. I think I just got myself a little bit anxious and put on little more leg than I needed and made him go a little flat. It was just a small rider error. It’s a little frustrating,” he said.
McLain Ward looks back at his fallen rail.
That’s particularly true because his horse is capable of handling bigger challenges than what was laid out in the Versailles arena.
“For me, I wish it was a more difficult track. It was very soft,” he suggested. (Click here to see the course diagram)
“We’ve seen a lot of that this year, 30 clear in Rotterdam, 25 clear in Aachen. My horse is a big jumper. I wish it was a little bit stronger track. The rail was my fault.”
Richard Vogel of Germany is another who was expected to vie for medals in the final, where riders all start with a clean slate but run in the final according to their order of merit from the qualifier. Richard toppled three rails with United Touch S as he rushed to make a time that would get him in the final. The stallion is deemed one of the world’s best horses and a jumper everyone would like to have in their stable. He finished fifty-fifth and thus will not be seen again at these Games.
The defending gold medalist from the Tokyo Games, Britain’s Ben Maher, had a very bad moment when Dallas Vegas Batilly crashed through the trapezoid-shaped wall at the start of the last line, sending blocks flying everywhere. There were numbers on the pieces, so the ring crew could put the dizzying pattern of suns and horse heads back together properly. No other horses took issue with the obstacle.
Ben Maher and his mare scatter some bricks.
With his great skill, Ben didn’t turn a hair and recouped to finish twenty eighth.
“I don’t know what happened. She felt amazing today,” said Ben of his mount
In terms of the wall, he noted there was a shadow there at the time he rode, which could have affected her perception.
“She rolled around the corner and as she took off, it took her by surprise. Luckily, I’m a little older and experienced, and we made a quick recovery together.”
Ben had a plan B to insure he was fast enough to get into the final if he had a knockdown, and it worked.
Despite having a rail at the C element of the troublesome Champs Elysee triple combination, the USA’s Laura Kraut wound up twenty- seventh and will start on Tuesday, when the class begins at 4 a.m. Eastern time.
Laura Kraut and Baloutinue. (U.S. Equestrian Photo)
While she felt confident going in, Laura noted, “it’s a different sort of mindset when you know how many are clear already. Any mistake is going to be very costly. I jumped into the triple and he jumped a little right. I didn’t hear him hit it; I heard the crowd” (reacting to the knockdown).
She agreed with McLain that course designers Gregory Bodo of France and Santiago Varela of Spain had made their route “a little bit softer,” taking into account that some riders were not in the team competition and so hadn’t jumped in the ring.
But Laura felt the course was well done and noted “nobody’s on the ground. I think it’s been a great week for show jumping.” As for Baloutinue, she emphasized, “I couldn’t ask for a better horse to have in an Olympics.”
Karl Cook, who originally was the U.S. alternate, put in his amazing clear round number three of the Games with Caracole de la Roque. Karl, who gained his spot on the team after Kent Farrington’s Greya suffered allergy problems, had a remarkable Olympic debut as he helped the U.S. to team silver last week.
Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque. (US Equestrian Photo)
Of his mare, he said, “She has more energy today than she had before, she feels stronger, more power, which is a great thing,” said Karl, who knows she is excited to show.
Karl warms up Cara in a regular bridle, then switches to a hackamore, where he has no option for adjustability. But as he noted, it works for jumping.
Interestingly, the man who previously rode Cara, France’s Julien Epaillard, lived up to his speed demon reputation in the qualifier by finishing first in the class with Dubai du Cedre. Julien, who also rides this mare in a hackamore, will have the advantage of going last in the final, where time will determine the placings when there is a tie.
Julien (who’s in our cover photo) was clocked in 73.07 seconds. The slowest of the fault-free rounds within the 79-second time allowed was Japan’s Takashi Haase Shibayama on Karamell M&M (78.97).
Julien Epaillard triumphant.
Julien recounted, “It was a lot of pressure in the team, I was last to go and playing for a medal and you don’t want to disappoint anyone. Today, the weight was off my shoulders and I rode differently, more relaxed. Also, my mare is every day more relaxed and it helped me to have more precision.
“But it was not so easy, because it’s not a big, big, course. It’s more delicate and a bit open, which is not the best for me. I like when it’s a bit short (distances) with my mare, but I’m really happy to be to be in the final tomorrow.”
He won individual bronze at last year’s European Championship and was second this year in the FEI World Cup Finals. Although France medaled in the eventing and show jumping team events, it has yet to enjoy a gold, so the home side wlll be rooting for Epaillard to end the Games with a win.
EquiRatings analytics gives Julien a 7 percent win chance
Ireland had been favored by many to win the team gold Friday, but only Daniel Coyle had a clear round and they were out of the medals. Today Daniel was clean again on Legacy (he’s one of my medal picks), but it wasn’t the best of circumstances for him. He had food poisoning the night before the class.
“I was under a lot of pressure today in all the wrong ways,” he said.
“But I was just trying to get through the finish with a good score, because after this week, my mare deserves to be in the final no matter what. So I would have been disappointed if she wasn’t there”, he said.
His teammate, Shane Sweetnam, also left all the rails in place with the lovely James Kann Cruz.
“We didn’t really have the rub of the green on Friday,” he said. “When I watched the video of my round (in the team jumping), it was like he just breathed on that fence (that came down). But that’s just show jumping for you. You have to have a little bit of luck, and today we had it on our side.”
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by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 3, 2024
The entire U.S. show jumping squad that earned silver at the Olympics on Friday will be starting Monday in the individual medal competition qualifier.
Kent Farrington, whose mount, Greya, was under the weather last week will stay on the sidelines and not ride in Paris. Originally named to the team, he was replaced by traveling alternate Karl Cook with Caracole de la Roque, who put in clear rounds over two days and helped the USA to the medal.
“The three medalists earned their shot,” said Coach Robert Ridland, referring to Laura Kraut and McLain Ward as well as Karl, while explaining the lineup for the final phase of these Games. The team silver is the only medal earned in Paris by the U.S. so far.
