A riderless sport horse negotiates a series of ground poles and small jumps, finding his wings along the way. This is free jumping, where the obstacles are aligned in a row down a chute positioned on the long side of an arena. It’s fun to watch, yet a bit mystifying too. How does one teach a horse to free jump?

Here, Ciaran Thompson, head trainer at Spy Coast Farm, a sport horse breeding and training facility in Lexington, Ky., shares his knowledge on this subject.

Why Free Jumping?

Thompson lists a number of reasons to free jump horses. These include assessing jumping talent, showing a client how their horse is progressing, as a marketing tool for selling young jumpers, building confidence in an older show horse, or helping a horse through fear of certain types of fences.

“It’s a great way to give a horse time to figure out jumping fences by himself so he gains confidence,” explains Thompson. “Then when it comes to doing it under saddle, he already has a greater understanding. He’s used to it without the influence of a rider, so it’s not sensory overload. It gives him the best chance possible of becoming a confident and capable jumper down the line.”

In the spring of their 2-year-old year, Spy Coast free jumps the colts they are considering as stallion prospects to sort out which will be gelded. This allows them not only to observe the individual colt’s jumping talent, but also assists in evaluating each colt’s temperament and trainability.

“With stallions, you want to be looking to pass on all the best traits that you possibly can,” says Thompson.

In addition to all of these reasons, free jumping can be a fun way to bond with your horse, as long as you prepare properly. Thompson offers the following step-by-step advice.

Study the Process

To observe the process, you can go to breed inspections, young horse shows, and/or clinics on free jumping. Take notes and ask questions. Volunteer where needed and learn by doing.

Pay attention to how horses going through the chute react to different jumps, handlers, the longe whip, and other cues. Observe where their eyes and ears are focusing. Learn to read their body language to predict whether the horse will go through the chute willingly or if he is thinking about stopping before a jump. See if you can tell if the horse feels relaxed and confident or rushed, confused or panicked.

Facilities & Equipment

A smaller arena is better for free jumping so the horse doesn’t wear himself out in between jumping passes. It also makes the horse easier to catch. Thompson says something on the order of a standard dressage ring dimensions (20 meters by 60 meters) would work well. A larger arena can be subdivided for free jumping, and an indoor arena is generally better than an outdoor for this purpose.

◆ You’ll need enough poles, jump standards and jump cups to build the jump chute, with extras built into the count.

◆ For the sides of the chute, additional jump standards can be turned sideways and used with extra rails, or stand-alone fence panels may be used. The materials should be safe if the horse runs through them. Things such as yellow plastic caution tape, carpenter’s saw horses, tall potted plants, traffic cones, or stacked straw or shavings bales may all be useful chute barriers.

◆ Thompson says they use three handlers when free-jumping at Spy Coast: one to lead the horse into the chute, one along the middle of the chute to keep the horse on track and moving through, and one to catch the horse on the far end.

◆ Enough lead ropes and longe whips so that each handler has both.

◆ Cord or leather lace (about 36 inches in length) to loop through the near bit ring to lead the horse up to chute that easily slides away for quick release.

◆ Bucket filled with feed or treats to entice the horse to stop and be easily caught after each jumping pass.

◆ Quick release snaps on rein ends to easily detach/attach them to bit rings. These are great for inspections or any time you are free jumping the horse in a bridle.

◆ Camera or video camera to record the session.

Jump Chute Construction

There are a number of variations on the theme for free jump chute building, but they all use similar distances between poles and jumps:

◆ 9 feet between the placing pole on the ground (which encourages the horse to trot into the chute and sets him up for takeoff) and the first cross-rail fence.

◆ 21 feet from the cross-rail to the first vertical

◆ 22-24 feet to the final fence, which eventually becomes an oxer.

The distance between fences may need to be adjusted for horses with different stride lengths. Watch to see if the horse struggles to make a too-long distance or has hard time fitting into a too-short distance as he travels through the chute.

There also need to be points along the inner jump chute wall that can be quickly opened (to at least 4 feet wide) on the takeoff side of each jump in case a horse gets flustered and stops in the middle of the chute. This allows a handler to enter the chute, calmly catch the horse, then lead him safely out the side. The horse can then be prepared to re-enter for another try.

Introducing Free Jumping to the Horse

Thompson stresses that the horse should lead well, respect your space, and know how to longe and/or free longe before teaching him to free jump. He should know voice commands and consistently follow body language and whip cues.

At Spy Coast, they first lead the horse calmly through the chute (with no jumps up) and reward him with food from a bucket placed at the far end, well after he’s left the chute. He cautions that they don’t want the horse to get used to stopping for a reward immediately after the final jump, but rather the horse should get used to landing and traveling away from the jump before getting his treat.

At the same time, they tell the horse “whoa” so that he can equate the word with stopping at that spot and the reward. They do this with the horse a few times, then trot him in-hand through the chute with a reward again.

Thompson explains how they progress slowly from going through the empty chute at liberty and then introducing ground poles and later jumps in the chute. They start off with just a single pole at the end.

“From there, we build it up to where we have three poles down and maybe the placing pole at the beginning,” he says. “Then we lead the horse over the poles until he is comfortable with that. Then we add a small cross-rail at the end so he moves down through the poles and pops over the cross-rail. When the horse is confident with that, then we make a second cross-rail, then a third. Usually they get the whole idea and seem to say, ‘Oh, I’m popping around and going to the food.’”

Over time and several sessions, they build up to verticals and oxers, and perhaps later the jumps become higher and wider, depending on the experience and age of the horse at the time. The handlers should also be well-versed in helping the horse safely progress beyond poles and cross-rails.

Thompson emphasizes that throughout the process, the horse needs to remain quiet. Don’t rush him through the chute by pushing too hard with voice, body language or whip. If the horse makes a mistake, then go back down a level and start again until he is confident.
He advises keeping the jumping sessions short, no longer than 15 to 20 minutes.

Safety Tips

Thompson says that communication between the humans in the ring as a horse is free jumping is key for safety. If possible, he would like to have the horse track be separated from the middle of the ring all the way around, not just in the jump chute, so that there is a safe place for people to be.

He advises that one person keeps an eye on the horse at all times while others are resetting the jumps to avoid a horse running in before the chute is ready and potentially running over a person or hurting themselves.

Handlers should all have longe whips—not only to direct the horse through the chute, but also to push him away from the handler and other people in the ring. Caution should be taken when catching a horse, since they can sometimes spin and kick out at the last moment.

Thompson uses protective legwear (tendon and bell boots) on horses with shoes, but doesn’t usually use them on younger barefoot horses, since he wants to be able to evaluate their jumping without any effect on style that the boots might cause.

Reading the Horse

Over time, you’ll be able to see when your horse understands what is being asked. At this point, you’ll know you can safely progress.

Some horses need to have the jumps changed more often to keep them thinking about the task and not rushing through the chute. Others need more time to figure things out at a lower level. Some will need adjustment in distances between jumps or extra ground poles placed to assist them in jumping better.

Thompson points out that as a young horse develops, his jumping style may change a bit. He also shares that there are horses that, no matter how carefully you prepare, consistently want to speed through the chute. Those horses may learn more by jumping under saddle.

Find full instructions on setting jump chutes, including diagrams, here.

About the Expert Ciaran Thompson is the head trainer at Spy Coast Farm in Lexington, Ky., in their Young Horse Development Center. Growing up, he was an active member of Pony Club in Ireland, where he received his A rating. He has been at Spy Coast Farm since 2017, starting as Young Horse Trainer, developing 2- and 3-year-old horses, and has been Head Trainer since 2022, overseeing the production of horses from their first rides under saddle to competing at FEI events in both show jumping and eventing.

The post Introduction to Free Jumping appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Although horses are naturally athletic and many can boldly jump over obstacles of astounding heights and widths, there are also those who aren’t quite so sure why they should put themselves in such a compromising position.

A horse may stop at a jump for all kinds of reasons. He may be afraid of the jump itself, or his fear may be more related to what he has experienced from the rider when jumping; sometimes a rider’s lack of confidence relays to the horse, or the horse has been the victim of numerous bad distances.

Jumping from a distance that is too long or too short puts the horse in a physically difficult spot, and he may not want to keep jumping. It’s also common for riders to cause further discomfort to the horse in the air after a bad distance, sometimes accidentally pulling the reins, falling back into the saddle too early, or falling forward onto the horse’s neck.

Allow Your Horse a Thorough Investigation

No matter the cause of the horse’s anxiety, the answer to getting him comfortable jumping again is to go one step at a time, creating enough new positive experiences to outnumber the negative experiences he has had.

Start by allowing your horse to investigate and sniff the jumps. Done at a walk either mounted or unmounted, this is easy to do at home but also a valuable aspect of schooling shows. The horses that benefit from this most are those that hesitate before leaving the ground or that jump with a peek when they do go over.

Once the jumps have been thoroughly inspected and sniffed at the walk, flat your horse very close to the jumps and their fillers. Trot and canter just alongside each jump, never pointing him at the jump, but making sure he feels relaxed having the jump close to him. If not, he may need to stop and sniff the jump again.

Next, place flower boxes or other fillers perpendicular to the plane of the jump in between the standards and off to the sides, creating a chute toward the center of the jump. Trot your horse back and forth through the fillers until he is moving confidently past them.

From there, make a small cross-rail with the rails and filler. At a schooling show, this may be where you need to start if taking out the fillers to trot through is impractical. This is also a good place to start for those horses that are more concerned with the distance than the jump itself.

Walk or slowly trot your horse over the jump so that he can have time to process the idea of jumping over filler and so that you can easily follow the motion of him going over the jump. Be sure to praise him when he goes over.

Once your horse is happily taking you to the jump (this is important—he should be moving confidently toward and over the fence), try cantering it. I would caution against making it any larger than a small vertical, as you risk another setback to his confidence. Remember, you must make a large library of positive experiences.

Stick to Small Stuff

For horses that have stopping issues at jumps rooted in too many missed distances, it’s important to honestly evaluate your riding. Your horse may need a tune-up with a trainer or more advanced rider for a few rides, or you may need to accept dropping down to jumping ground poles and small cross-rails until your eye becomes more consistent.

Adjustability of the canter is also crucial for these horses so that you become more familiar with your horse’s proper jumping canter and so that the horse is well-versed at moving forward off of your leg and coming back to your hand.

Some horses may have trouble with combinations or lines specifically, and the same concepts apply. Small jumps and a patient rider will do the trick over time, and it’s important to keep encouraging the horse to go forward, even when the striding is not quite right, so that he eventually gets the confidence to open up his step.

When the jumps are small, it’s completely fine for a horse to add a step, whether it’s two strides in what should have been a one stride, or six in a five, especially when the horse has a history of refusals.

Eventually, with repetition, he will begin to get the correct striding, but this is another process that should not be rushed if you want the lesson and the confidence to stick. Take the time to meet your horse where he’s at and build his confidence back up piece by piece.

This article about training a horse that’s stopping at the jumps appeared in the August 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Solutions for a Horse Stopping at Jumps appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Picture this: You are cantering around the corner, peacefully counting the rhythm of the canter, when suddenly a few strides out from the jump, your horse takes over. Out of seemingly nowhere, he is scooting toward the jump, the distance has disappeared, and he’s launching himself as if he wants the jump to be over with as quickly as possible. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone!

As with any training issue, it’s important to rule out any medical explanations. These horses should be looked over by a veterinarian and perhaps other specialists, like a dentist or chiropractor.

With pain/discomfort off the table, rushing is almost always rooted in anxiety. Your horse may find jumping stressful for any number of reasons. He may feel overfaced by the size of the jump, by the speed at which he’s approaching the jump, or by the complexity of the course. He may also have experienced a lot of missed distances or a rider who was unbalanced and accidentally punishing his jumping effort.

Keep it Positive

In order to reverse the effects of these negative emotions and experiences, from this moment on, your horse must have a consistent positive association with jumping. This will most certainly take time, and you as the rider should expect to be patient and allow the process to take as long as it takes.

While usually I prefer that horses only jump twice a week, many horses that rush do better jumping five to seven jumps or so every day so that it feels less like a special event to them and more like a standard routine.

The jumps should be low. Even if your horse has plenty of scope, he should be presented with only small jumps until his anxiety subsides. (I consider small jumps to be cross-rails through 2’3″). It’s OK if your horse just needs to go back to ground poles or even trotting and cantering through empty standards.

There should not be any right or wrong in these exercises. That extends to leads/lead changes, breaking of gait, or any of the details that normally would be important when jumping. Your horse is feeling enough pressure from the jump alone, so it’s better not to add any pressure through other expectations. (Many young or green horses are most concerned about the lead change that they know is coming after the jump.)

Gradual Introductions to Start

Begin by walking over ground poles or tiny cross-rails. The slow speed gives your horse plenty of time to assess and negotiate the obstacle. Tiny is preferred so that he has less chance of hitting it and scaring himself.

After he has walked over regular rails, add towels, flowerboxes, or other small fillers to continue to build confidence. Once all is going well, you can move up to a slow trot. If trotting leads to rushing, go back to the walk.

After your horse has mastered relaxed trot jumps from a slow trot, you can test the waters by adding speed with a regular trot or the canter. However, when adding speed, it’s important to also capture the horse’s attention with something other than the jump itself. Give him a job unrelated to the jump that happens to occur near the approach or landing side of the jump. Some examples include circles, figure-8s, and transitions.

The key is to not make this feel like a punishment. Whatever you are asking your horse to do, you should ask about five strides before or after the jump so that there’s space for him to breathe and relax as he approaches the jump, jumps, and lands.

Exercises to Try for a Horse That’s Rushing Jumps

Two of my favorites are a downward transition five to six strides in front of the jump and a figure-8 after the jump, either in trot or in canter, with a simple change.

From here, you can string a course together with lots of circles or transitions interspersed between the jumps. The more turns the better, since long, straight lines are not the best idea yet. It’s hard to influence your horse to rebalance on a straightaway without using a lot of hand, which is counterproductive to relaxation.

Once you have made it to the point where your horse is ready to canter some jumps, a good option is to canter a jump on a circle and allow your horse to fall into a rhythm. By creating the same track to the jump and facilitating the same striding over and over, you allow your horse to relax into a predictable pace and not worry about his takeoff distance.

After your horse has built a confident foundation in these exercises, you can begin to ride regular courses again. Just keep the concept of relaxation at the forefront so you can continue to help your equine partner let go of his anxiety surrounding jumping.

This article about training a horse that’s rushing jumps appeared in the July 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How to Train a Horse That’s Rushing Jumps appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian stadium on the grounds of the French Palace of Versailles has gone quiet for now. The throngs of spectators, and the riders, grooms, officials and horses have all gone home to rest. Over the last two weeks, the competition has been top-notch and the setting breathtaking.

In less than a month’s time, the world’s top para-dressage riders and horses, and their entourages, will once again fill the stadium during the Paralympics. After that, the task for Games organizers will be to restore the grounds to original condition―pristine parkland.

But for just one more moment, let’s savor the Paris 2024 Olympic Games equestrian action. Here’s a recap of what was.

Opening Ceremony

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place on a rainy Friday, July 26, not in a stadium this time, but on the River Seine. The athletes’ parade was staged on boats floating on the river with spectator stands lining the banks.

The Opening Ceremony was actually designed with television viewing in mind, however, and following the athletes’ parade, a visually appealing artistic show worthy of Broadway or Vegas floated down the Seine. That, coupled with performances by Lady Gaga and Celine Dion (who sang from the Eiffel Tower), made for an enjoyable show.

Equestrian fans, if you didn’t watch the Opening Ceremony, you might want to view a replay. The final bit of the show featured a galloping mechanical horse gliding at a good clip on the water’s surface along the Seine. Once the mechanical horse and his hooded rider reached the river’s banks, it magically transformed into a real horse, a lovely grey, and rider who climbed up the ramp and moved down the streets of Paris until they were out of view.

Another reason to watch a replay of the Opening Ceremony is to see if you can spot U.S. Equestrian Team members among those on the U.S. athletes’ boat during the parade. While the eventing athletes were presenting their horses for inspection on the 26th, some of the U.S. dressage and jumping riders decided to take part in the Ceremony. U.S. Dressage Team members Steffen Peters and Endel Ots (traveling reserve) donned Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms and joined U.S. Jumping Team member McLain Ward on the U.S. boat. It was the sixth Olympics for Peters and Ward and the first for Ots.

Eventing Up First

First up on the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian schedule, eventing took place July 26-29. Sixty-four horse and rider combinations from 27 different countries took part. The cross-country took place around the Grand Canal and through the parkland on the Palace of Versailles estate. The dressage and jumping phases were in the stadium, strategically positioned to use a view of the Palace as a backdrop.

The eventing dressage phase brought record-breaking scores for Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 (17.50) and Germany’s Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH (17.80), both eclipsing the USA’s David O’Connor and Custom Made’s 2000 Sydney Olympic score of 19.30 (converted to match the current scoring system).

After it was all said and done, the very strong British Team prevailed to capture gold and the home-country French Team silver. In another Olympic milestone, the Japanese Team took bronze, the first-ever Olympic medal for Japan in eventing. (The last Japanese equestrian to win an Olympic medal was Takeichi Nishi who won show jumping gold in 1932.)

The final individual standings showed Michael Jung winning his third consecutive Olympic individual gold medal, another Olympic record. (He rode La Biosthetique-Sam FBW to gold in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.) Australia’s Christopher Burton riding Shadow Man captured silver, and British rider Collett and London 52 bronze.

The U.S. Eventing Team (Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, Elisabeth Halliday and Nutcracker, Boyd Martin and Fedarman B) finished seventh overall. Individual placings for the U.S. riders: Martin and Fedarman B, 10th; Halliday and Nutcracker, 19th, and Pamukcu and HSH Blake, 37th.

While it was a disappointing finish for the U.S. Team, two of the three U.S. horses are quite young yet (HSH Blake is 9 and Nutcracker is 10), so high hopes for the future there. The final U.S. placings don’t really tell the entire story; there were some nice moments. Martin and Fedarman B only added 1.6 time penalties on cross-country and then nothing else to their dressage score (30.50) for a final score of 32.10. It was his best individual finish to date in four Olympics.

It was an Olympic debut for both Halliday and Pamukcu and their young horses. Halliday and Nutcracker had a good dressage score (28.0) and jumped clear on cross-country with only time penalties there, and then no rails in their first show jumping round and only one rail in the second. Were it not for an uncharacteristic stop (and the resulting time penalties) on cross-country, and one rail in the show jumping, Pamukcu and young HSH Blake’s performance showed promise as well.

◆ Full Eventing Recap
◆ Team Eventing Results
◆ Individual Eventing Results

Dressage Brings More Records

Second up on the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian docket was dressage. The Grand Prix Tests (which served as a qualifier for both team and individual competitions) were on July 30 and 31, then two days’ rest. Then, the Grand Prix Special Test on August 3 determined the team medals. Then finally, the Grand Prix Freestyle for individual medals was on August 4. Sixty horse and rider combinations representing 30 countries competed in dressage.

The team competition (which included the top ten teams based on rankings from the Grand Prix Test) was hotly contested between Germany and Denmark, with Great Britain breathing down their necks as well. Germany won gold by super-small margin of 0.121 (235.790) with Denmark silver (235.669) and Great Britain bronze (232.492). It was a record 15th Olympic dressage team gold for Germany.

The top 18 horse and rider combinations (representing 10 countries) based on scores from the Grand Prix Test moved on to the individual finals in the Freestyle. The crowd was treated to an enjoyable day of music and dancing. The individual medal winners were: TSF Dalera BB ridden by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, Germany, gold; Wendy ridden by Isabell Werth, Germany, silver, and Glamourdale ridden by Charlotte Fry, Great Britain, bronze.

This was the second consecutive Olympic gold medal for von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera since they also won in Tokyo in 2021. The silver for Werth was her 14th Olympic medal (eight gold and six silver); she continues to be the most decorated Olympic equestrian of all time thus far.

The U.S. Dressage Team members were Adrienne Lyle and Helix, Marcus Orlob and Jane and Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper. They encountered huge disappointment with the elimination of Marcus Orlob and Jane during the Grand Prix Test on the first day (due to a small amount of blood from a tiny cut on Jane’s right hind fetlock, which is cause for elimination under FEI’s rules). This also resulted in the elimination of the U.S. Team and meant that Lyle and Peters and their horses would only compete as individuals going forward.

Lyle and Helix scored 72.593 percent in their Grand Prix Test on the first day to finish 20th in the overall standings. They just missed qualification for the individual finals by just 0.823.

Peters and Suppenkasper competed on the second day of Grand Prix. As they worked in their test, Suppenkasper became more and more tense, evidentially spotting something outside the ring that spooked him. Peters did a good job of keeping the lid on the situation until the final line when Suppenkasper stopped in the piaffe and resisted going forward. They did finish, but the incident cost them and they scored 66.491 percent, much lower than their normal. It wasn’t their day, proving once again that horses each have their own mind and things can happen even to the most experienced riders.

The U.S. Dressage Team will now focus on building toward the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany, and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. Dressage fans will, no doubt, be there to cheer on the team’s riders at these events.

A fun surprise that shined a light on the U.S. Equestrian Team was the visit of celebrities Snoop Dogg (who was an Olympic commentator for NBC) and his buddy Martha Stewart to the equestrian venue. They arrived in shadbelly riding coats and visited with U.S. riders Steffen Peters and Endel Ots and their horses Suppenkasper and Bohemian, respectively. They talked with the riders and fed carrots to the horses. U.S. show jumping riders Karl Cook, Laura Kraut, and McLain Ward also had their photos taken with Snoop and Stewart. During the visit Snoop admitted that he was afraid of horses, but in the video he seemed to genuinely want to overcome that fear. Watch Snoop Dogg’s equestrian segment here.

◆ Full Dressage Recap
◆ Team Dressage Results
◆ Individual Dressage Results

Jumping Closes Paris Olympic Equestrian Schedule

Show jumping was the final sport on the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian schedule. Thirty-five countries were represented, 20 teams of three riders each and an additional 15 riders competing as individuals for their countries. There were two days of team competition (a team qualifier on August 1 and team final on August 2) and then, two days of individual competition (a qualifier on August 5 and a final on August 6).

Throughout the team competition, the U.S. riders (Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, Karl Cook on Caracole de la Roque, and McLain Ward on Ilex) performed very well with two clear rounds from Kraut and Cook, and Ward with only one rail (four faults) and two time faults in the qualifier. Then, in the final, Cook and Ward each jumped clear rounds with Kraut having only one rail. That earned them team silver behind Great Britain, who won gold with only two penalties. The home country, France, took bronze with seven penalties. It was the third consecutive team jumping silver for the USA, having also earned one in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021.

In the individual qualifier, the U.S. riders again jumped very well, with team rookies Cook and Caracole de la Roque producing another clear round and Kraut and Baloutinue dropping one rail, but in a fast enough time to qualify to move on the next day. Ward and Ilex also had only one unlucky rail at the last fence, but their time was slower and they did not qualify to move on.

On individual final day, there were a number of unexpected happenings, among them the reigning World Champions Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward parting ways during their round, eliminating them from the competition. Of the 30 horse and rider combinations competing in the final, only three jumped clean. This forced a jump-off for the medals between Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker 47, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme and the Netherland’s Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z.

Only one of the three pairs jumped double clear in the individual final jump-off, Kukuk and Checker 47, to earn gold. Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme took the individual silver with van der Vleuten and Beauville Z bronze (each dropped one rail, but Guerdat had the quicker time). U.S. riders Kraut on Baloutinue took down one rail to finish eighth, and Cook on Caracole De La Roque dropped two to finish 16th.

◆ Full Team Show Jumping Recap
◆ Full Individual Show Jumping Recap
◆ Team Show Jumping Results
◆ Individual Show Jumping Results

Final Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Medal Count

In the overall equestrian venue medal count, Germany and Great Britain tied with five each (four gold and one silver for Germany and two gold and three bronze for Great Britain). Second in medals won was France with two (one silver and one bronze). Australia, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA all garnered one medal each.

Germany left its mark on these Games by winning individual gold in all three equestrian sports (Jung in eventing, von Bredow-Werndl in dressage and Kukuk in jumping) in addition to their team gold and individual silver in dressage. Great Britain, too, made a statement with their team gold and individual bronze in eventing, team and individual bronze in dressage, and team gold in jumping.

The Amazing Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Venue

Riders had nothing but praise for the amenities offered at the Olympic equestrian venue at the Palace of Versailles estate. And, the views from the grandstands were nothing short of one-of-a-kind spectacular.

Many spectators, and some competitors, also took the opportunity to tour the Palace and its stables and grounds. There was also a special exhibit of equestrian art at the Palace, “Horses in Majesty at the Heart of a Civilization”. Everywhere you looked, the horse figured conspicuously into the architecture, art and history of Versailles.

Celebrity Sightings

The equestrian venue attracted its fair share of celebrities who came to watch the action. In addition to Snoop Dogg and Stewart, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was there for show jumping and Great Britain’s Princess Anne for eventing (she was a medal presenter). Then, actors and spouses Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes were spotted watching on dressage freestyle day.

Looking Toward Los Angeles 2028

The Olympic Games return to U.S. soil in 2028 when Los Angeles is scheduled to host for a third time. The equestrian venue is set for Galway Downs, an equestrian facility in Temecula, California. While it was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October 2023 that all three equestrian sports were to be included in the 2028 Olympics, a conflicting statement was issued in January 2024 that a format for eventing had yet to be accepted for the 2028 Games.

Rumors of one of the three equestrian sports being in danger of not being included in 2028 are circulating now too, but it remains to be seen what will ultimately happen. Possible reasons run the gamut from the costs and logistical challenges of including equestrian sports to recent reports of animal welfare issues surfacing. Fans of equestrian sports should consider providing positive feedback to the IOC and the television networks to make them aware of how much interest there is for these competitions to continue in the Olympics and Paralympics.

In a statement during the Olympic Games, Isabell Werth called on all equestrians and horse lovers to step up and lead by example by providing a good life for horses, “We need to establish a culture of respecting the horse as a creature. Education is important, but this senseless violence must not happen, because otherwise, we’ll have a hard time making our case to the rest of the world.”

Paris 2024 Paralympics Para-Dressage

The stadium at the Palace of Versailles will fill with fans one last time September 3, 4, 6 and 7 when the para-dressage competition will take place. Thirty countries are expected to send athletes to compete. The U.S. Para-Dressage Team was named on July 11. They are:

◆ Rebecca Hart (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Floratina, a 2008 Hanoverian mare (Fidertanz 2 x Rubin Royal OLD) owned by Rowan O’Riley and cared for by Mackenzie Young

◆ Fiona Howard (Boston, Mass.) and Diamond Dunes, a 2013 Hanoverian gelding (De L’Or x Wolkentanz) owned by Dressage Family LLC and Hof Kasselmann and cared for by Helen Claire McNulty

◆ Kate Shoemaker (Wellington, Fla.) and Vianne, a 2016 Hanoverian mare (Vitalis x Ramiro’s Bube) owned by Nocordia USA and cared for by Katherine Barrett

◆ Roxanne Trunnell (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Fan Tastico H, a 2017 Oldenburg gelding (Fuersentaball OLD x Weltmeyer) owned by Karin Flint and cared for by Rafael Hernandez-Carillo

Helpful Links

◆ Horse Illustrated’s Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Main Page
◆ Overall Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Results Book
◆ Final Equestrian Medal Standings

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Equestrian Recap appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Check out Horse Illustrated’s latest updates from the 2024 Paris Olympics on equestrian sports for the three disciplines of dressage, eventing, and show jumping. 

U.S. Olympic Equestrian Teams

◆ U.S. Olympic Eventing Team
◆ U.S. Olympic Dressage Team
◆ U.S. Olympic Jumping Team

Latest News from the 2024 Paris Olympics

Equestrian Recap

The Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian stadium on the grounds of the French Palace of Versailles has gone quiet for now. The throngs of spectators, and the riders, grooms, officials and horses have all gone home to rest. Over the last two weeks, the competition has been top-notch and the setting breathtaking.

In less than a month’s time, the world’s top para-dressage riders and horses, and their entourages, will once again fill the stadium during the Paralympics. After that, the task for Games organizers will be to restore the grounds to original condition―pristine parkland.

But for just one more moment, let’s savor the Paris 2024 Olympic Games equestrian action. Here’s a recap of what was.

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Dramatic End To Show Jumping Individual Final

The 2024 Paris Olympics equestrian competition closed with the Show Jumping Individual Final today, a dramatic end to 11 days of equestrian competition here at the Château de Versailles southwest of Paris. The huge course, co-designed by Santiago Varela Ullastres from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France, was higher, wider, longer and required a faster pace than previous courses in the last week.

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Show Jumping Individual Final Results

The 30 riders returning for the 2024 Paris Olympics individual jumping final today faced a really tough track co-designed by Santiago Varela from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France―higher, wider, longer and requiring a faster pace. Only three went double clear in the first round, requiring a jump-off for medals: Germany’s Christian Kukuk on Checker 47; the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten on Beauville Z, and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on Dynamix de Belheme.

When the last fence of the jump-off had been jumped, the medals were set: Kukuk gold, Guerdat silver, and van der Vleuten bronze. The USA’s Laura Kraut was eighth with Baloutinue and Karl Cook was 16th with Caracole de la Roque.

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Show Jumping Individual Qualifier

In an exciting first day of individual show jumping competition, two of the three U.S. riders qualified to move on to the Paris 2024 Olympics individual jumping finals tomorrow. Seventy-three riders attempted the course co-designed by Santiago Varela from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France today.

Two U.S. riders qualified for to tomorrow’s Paris 2024 Olympics show jumping final: Karl Cook aboard Caracole de la Roque, and Laura Kraut aboard Baloutinue.

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Dressage Freestyle Recap

The final day of the Paris 2024 Olympic dressage schedule dawned blessedly cool and a bit overcast, in the high 60s (Fahrenheit), a nice break after the extreme heat and humidity of the Grand Prix Test days last week. Earlier this morning, all 18 horses to go in today’s Grand Prix Freestyle Test were inspected by the Ground Jury again for fitness to compete and all were accepted without issue.

So the stage was set for an enjoyable day of dancing in the sand. With the gorgeous backdrop of the Palace of Versailles (with its glittering fountains and manicured gardens) shining behind the entrance at A, the day felt a bit like attending a classical ballet performance in one of the great halls. The huge crowd was ready. The first horse and rider, Patrik Kittel and Touchdown, had warmed up and stepped into the arena. Anticipation and excitement filled the air.

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Dressage Individual Final

Dressage competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics concluded this afternoon with riders from Germany taking the top two of the three individual medals and Great Britain taking bronze. Reigning Olympic Champions from Tokyo 2020/21, Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and the amazing 17-year-old Trakehner mare TSF Dalera BB repeated in wining gold here in Paris, finishing on a score of 90.093 percent. The pair rode to a medley of French songs in a nod to the host city Paris.

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Dressage Team Final

The top ten dressage teams, based on scores in the Grand Prix Test competition from July 30 and 31, returned to the main arena for the FEI Grand Prix Special Test here at the Château de Versailles today for the 2024 Paris Olympics. After a string of four hot, humid days dotted with intermittent thunderstorms, the skies were mostly overcast (but without rain) and temps were in the high 60s (Fahrenheit) when competition began. The stands were full to witness today’s battle for team medals.

In a close finish, Germany secured a third straight gold medal in dressage and 15th ever in Olympic history.

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Three Times Olympic Silver for U.S. Jumping Team

The U.S. Jumping Team captured their third consecutive Olympic silver medal today in the Show Jumping Team Final here at the Château de Versailles in France. In addition to Paris 2024, they also won silver in the Tokyo 2020/21 Olympics Games and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. Great Britain won gold today with a total of two penalties (their last Olympic jumping team medal was gold in 2012 in London). Home country France took the bronze on a score of seven penalties (their last Olympic show jumping medal was gold in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro).

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Show Jumping Team Final Results

In an exciting finish to the 2024 Paris Olympics team show jumping final, Great Britain’s riders all jumped clear, but incurred two time penalties to grab the gold ahead of the U.S. team, who captured silver with only four penalties. The home nation, France, finished on seven penalties for bronze.

Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, the lead-off pair for the USA, brought down only one rail and stayed within the time allowed to start the U.S. team out with four faults. The USA’s Karl Cook riding Caracole de la Roque, the middle rider to go for the U.S. team this afternoon, jumped clear and was the fastest (75.88) for the team. Team anchor rider McLain Ward on Ilex jumped clear as well in 76.57 to add no penalties to the team’s score.

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Jumping Competition Underway with Jumping Team Qualifier

Changes were announced to the U.S. Show Jumping Team roster for today’s 2024 Paris Olympics Jumping Team Qualifier Class before the sun came up (at 3:55 a.m.). US Equestrian (USEF) issued a press release saying that, due to a slight allergic reaction, Kent Farrington’s mare Greya would be replaced.

This did not deter the American team, though, as they posted the second best score in the qualifier. With that, they will advance to compete against nine other countries in tomorrow’s Jumping Team Final.

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U.S. Show Jumping Team Qualifies for Team Finals

With great rides by all three U.S. riders, the U.S. Show Jumping Team here at the 2024 Paris Olympics have qualified to move into tomorrow’s jumping finals on a score of only 6 faults. They were the second best team in the rankings today, behind Germany who finished in the top spot on zero faults.

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US Equestrian Announces Pre-Competition Change for U.S. Olympic Jumping Team Prior to Start of Team Competition Today

US Equestrian has announced a pre-competition change prior to the start of team competition for the U.S. Olympic Jumping Team today at Versailles. Kent Farrington and Greya will be replaced by Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque for today’s Team Qualifier competition, which begins at 11:00 a.m. GMT+2/5:00 a.m. ET.

“There is a small question mark with Greya, which is allergy related, and erring on the side of extreme caution and with the no drop score in the format, we have made the decision to bring in Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque,” said Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland.

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Show Jumping Begins Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 1, is the 2024 Paris Olympics show jumping debut, beginning with the team qualifier. There will be 20 teams of three riders each for a total of 60 competing in the qualifier class. Competition runs from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Central European Time (5:00 a.m. – 8:00  a.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

Then, the next day, Friday, August 2, is the jumper team finals and medal ceremony. For the team final, the number is whittled down to 10 teams of three for a total of 30 riders. Competition runs 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Central European Time (8:00 a.m. -10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

Then the jumpers will take two days off while the dressage horses finish up. Finally, jumping returns to close out the 2024 Paris Olympics equestrian competition with the individual qualifier (75 starters) on Monday, August 5, 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CET (8:00 a.m. – Noon U.S. ET) with the individual final (30 riders) and medal ceremony on Tuesday, August 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CET (4:00 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. U.S. ET).

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Scores Climb Higher On Final Day of Dressage Grand Prix Qualifiers

As the calendar closed on July 2024, so did the Paris 2024 Olympics schedule for Grand Prix Dressage. Day two of competition saw more international stars enter the ring at the Château de Versailles and the level of energy ramped up even further as did the scores. Luckily the day wasn’t quite as hot as yesterday, but after a grey start this morning, the sun did reappear and temperatures soared near 88.

Three more groups (D, E, and F) of ten horse and rider combinations took their turn performing the FEI Grand Prix Test, which serves as both a team and individual qualifier. The team medals will be decided by the Grand Prix Special (top ten teams including any ties for tenth place qualified from today) on Saturday, August 3. Then, the top 18 horse and rider combinations (including any ties) after today will return to contest individual medals in the Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday, August 4.

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Dressage Grand Prix Day 2

Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and the Trakehner mare TSF Dalera BB wowed the judges again today, scoring 82.065 percent for the best Grand Prix score of both days of dressage competition here at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Not only did this put them in good stead going into the individual medal competition in next Sunday’s Grand Prix Freestyle competition, but it boosted the German dressage team past Denmark in the team standings. The Germans sit on 237.546 going into the team medal finals, the Grand Prix Special Test, on Saturday.

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Dressage Grand Prix Day 1

On day one of Grand Prix Dressage at the 2024 Paris Olympics, thirty horse and rider combinations from 19 countries took their turns performing the FEI Grand Prix test in the arena, including two from the USA, Marcus Orlob and Jane and Adrienne Lyle and Helix. The riders competed in three groups of 10 each with each group being assigned a letter (A, B, C). Other countries represented today were: Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Denmark; France; Finland; Great Britain; Germany; Ireland; Lithuania; the Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Singapore; Sweden, and Venezuela.

Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Zepter topped the leaderboard.

With the elimination of U.S. rider Marcus Orlob aboard Jane, the U.S. team has also been eliminated. Now, Adrienne Lyle (Helix) and Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) will compete as individuals only.

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Eventing Wraps Today; Dressage Takes Center Stage Tomorrow

Olympic eventing’s final phase, show jumping, took place today at the 2024 Paris Olympics. With sunny skies above and the stunning backdrop of the Grand Canal and the Palace of Versailles behind, it couldn’t have been a better setting for the roughly 16,000 people who filled the stands for two rounds in the arena today.

Great Britain took team gold in eventing for the second Olympics in a row. In individual competition, Michael Jung made history by becoming the first eventer to ever win three individual gold medals.

As the eventers go home, the dressage specialists will take center stage tomorrow, July 30, in the first of two days of Grand Prix tests.

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Eventing Individual Final Results

Germany’s superstar equestrian Michael Jung etched his name into the record books again today by winning his third Olympic individual eventing gold medal, the first person in Olympic history to do so. His three gold medals came riding only two horses, first La Biosthetique-Sam FBW (London 2012 and Rio 2016), then this year on Chipmunk FRH.

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Eventing Team Final Results & Riders To Jump For Individual Medals

Great Britain held on to win gold in team eventing this afternoon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning by 12.3 points (91.3) over France in silver position (103.6). Tom McEwen and JL Dublin jumped double clear for Great Britain to finish on their dressage score of 25.8, while their overall scoring top rider, Laura Collett aboard London 52, dropped one rail and added 0.8 time faults to finish on 23.1. Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo dropped one rail, but jumped within the time to finish on 42.4.

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Eventing Cross-Country Summary & Show Jumping

After two days of rain here in the Île-de-France at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it was sunny and cool-ish with temps beginning in the high 50s and ending the day near 80 degrees (Fahrenheit) yesterday during the cross-country phase of eventing. Although there was plenty of mud in the walking paths for the estimated over 40,000 spectators arriving here, the galloping track on course looked to be fairly nice―not too hard, not too muddy, but perhaps sticky in a couple of spots.

As always in this sport, especially with the current super-intense format of Olympic eventing, the story of the day boiled down to “it was the best of times and worst of times” to paraphrase Charles Dickens. There were some spectacular rounds, the current leader Germany’s Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH among them; they pulled ahead of Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 by 0.5 going double clear when Collett and London had 0.8 time penalties.

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Eventing Cross-Country Photo Gallery and Results

With the stunning backdrop of the Palace of Versailles, eventers took to the cross-country course for the second day of eventing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Two-time Olympic individual gold medalist Michael Jung (GER), riding Chipmunk FRH, now tops the individual leaderboard as Great Britain holds onto its lead in team rankings. The U.S. Eventing Team is now ninth, with Boyd Martin aboard Fedarman B the top-ranked American rider in 17th.

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Olympic Records Broken & Team Standings After Eventing Dressage

Olympic records were broken during the team and individual eventing dressage competition today at the Palace of Versailles, located about half an hour southwest of Paris, during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Home to several generations of French kings, and now the venue for equestrian sports in the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, the iconic chateau and manicured gardens served as a beautiful backdrop behind letter A of the dressage arena. Though rain fell the entire day, crowds still mostly filled the stands by midday and few left early.

For the first time in recent memory, and perhaps ever, the eventing dressage competition was completed all on one day. Sixty-four horse and rider combinations from 27 different countries cantered down centerline from 9:30 a.m. until just after 6 p.m.

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Eventing Dressage Recap

The day was soggy and grey, but the competition today in the 2024 Paris Olympics eventing dressage phase was as hotly contested as it gets. Two horse and rider combinations, Laura Collett (GBR) on London 52, and Michael Jung (GER) on Chipmunk FRH, bested the Olympic record score set in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games by gold medalists David O’Connor and Custom Made (USA).

Team USA sits in sixth with a 88.9. The top rider for the USA was Elisabeth Halliday on Nutcracker; they currently stand in 19th place (28.0). Second best scorers for the USA were Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake in 25th (30.4). Boyd Martin and Federman B scored (30.5) for 26th.

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After Roster Shuffle, U.S. Eventing Team Ready to Roll in Paris Olympics

The good news is that all of the U.S. Olympic Eventing Team horses (including their reserve horse) presented this morning at the Olympic equestrian venue in Versailles passed the first inspection today. The bad news is that the last two days here in France have been a roller coaster of ups and downs for the members of the U.S. Olympic Eventing Team, with Will Coleman having to withdraw. Traveling reserve pair Liz Halliday and Cooley Nutcracker have now moved onto the team, and Sydney Elliot and QC Diamantaire will now become the traveling reserve combination.

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US Equestrian Announces Changes for U.S. Olympic Eventing Team Before Start of Paris 2024

US Equestrian has announced a change to the U.S. Olympic Eventing Team prior to the start of competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Traveling reserve combination Liz Halliday and Cooley Nutcracker will move into the three-member team, replacing Will Coleman and Diabolo.

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2024 Paris Olympics: Equestrian Schedule

Check out the full schedule of equestrian sports at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Find times listed in Central European Time (Paris local time) and then converted to U.S. Eastern Time. Equestrian competition will take place July 27 through August 6.

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2024 Paris Olympics: Equestrian Preview

The Olympic torch is currently winding its way through France on the way to the “City of Lights” to ignite the cauldron on the evening of July 26 during the opening of the 33rd Modern Olympiad in Paris. Meanwhile, in national equestrian federation offices and training stables around the world, strategies are being formed for the best possible performances at the Olympics. It’s all about representing one’s country, achieving personal bests, and Olympic dreams now. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games take place July 26-August 11 (with equestrian events July 26-August 6).

Read on to find out who’s representing Team USA, which competitors to watch, schedule details, how to watch, and more.

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US Equestrian Announces U.S. Olympic Jumping Team for Paris 2024 Olympic Games

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the athlete-and-horses combinations selected to represent the U.S. Olympic Jumping Team as a part of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, to be held in Versailles, France, from July 27 – August 9, 2024. The jumping competition will begin on August 1, 2024, and continue through August 6, 2024, at the equestrian grounds of Versailles.

The athlete-and-horse combinations are Kent Farrington and Greya; Laura Kraut and Baloutinue; McLain Ward and Ilex; and the traveling reserves, Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque.

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US Equestrian Announces U.S. Olympic Dressage Team for Paris 2024 Olympic Games

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the four athlete-and-horse combinations selected to represent the United States as a part of Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games hosted from July 26 – August 11, 2024. The dressage competition will begin on July 30, 2024, and continue through August 4, 2024, at the equestrian grounds of Versailles.

The athlete-and-horse combinations are Adrienne Lyle and Helix; Marcus Orlob and Jane; Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper; and the traveling reserves, Endel Ots and Bohemian.

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US Equestrian Announces U.S. Olympic Eventing Team Ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic Games

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the athlete-and-horse combinations selected to represent the U.S. Olympic Eventing Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games hosted from July 26 – August 11, 2024. Eventing competition will be the first equestrian discipline on the overall Paris 2024 sporting schedule and held at the equestrian grounds of Versailles, beginning on Saturday, July 27, and concluding on Monday, July 29.

The athlete-and-horse combinations are William Coleman and Off The Record (direct reserve Diabolo); Boyd Martin and Fedarman B (direct reserve Commando 3); Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake; traveling reserve Elisabeth Halliday and Cooley Nutcracker; and various team alternates.

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Olympic Extras

Olympic Equestrian Trivia and Fun Facts

Get ready for the Games with these Olympic equestrian fun facts and trivia. You’ll enjoy interesting tidbits of history about equestrian sports at the Olympic Games, from the early days of modern Games to more recent years of competition.

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The Paris 2024 Equestrian Venue

The Olympic equestrian competition, as well as the pentathlon, will all take place at the iconic Château de Versailles estate (Palace of Versailles). Not since the London 2012 Olympics, when the Queen’s House and Greenwich Park hosted equestrian sports, has an Olympic venue backdrop been so breathtaking. Learn more about the venue and its history.

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Q&A with Hallye Griffin, US Equestrian Chef de Mission

A member of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) team since 2011, Hallye Griffin was appointed as the Director of FEI Sport in March 2023. With that role, she assumed position as Chef de Mission at the Olympic, Paralympic, and Pan American Games, as well as the FEI World Championships. In taking this post, Griffin has made history as the first female US Equestrian Chef de Mission.

Horse Illustrated had a quick chat with Griffin ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics to discuss this year’s Games and what her role as Chef de Mission entails.

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Equestrian Sports’ Close Ties With Paris

The 33rd modern Olympics being hosted by Paris is fitting since the city will host the Games for a third time in 2024. Paris first hosted the Olympics in 1900, then again 100 years ago in 1924 and both years have significant ties to equestrian sports. Hosting for the third time ties Paris with London at the top of the list in number of times a city has hosted the Games. Dive deeper to Olympic history’s ties to both Paris and horse sports.

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Q&A with Adrienne Lyle of the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team

Making her third Olympic appearance for the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team, Adrienne Lyle will arrive in Paris with two new additions: her new mount, Helix, and her 9-month-old daughter, Bailey. A 2012 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center and cared for by Marina Lemay, Helix was purchased with the Olympics in mind for Lyle in late 2023. The horse and rider team competed together on just a handful of occasions in spring 2024, but quickly made it clear that they make for an impressive duo.

Horse Illustrated had a quick chat with Lyle ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics to discuss this year’s Games.

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Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Latest News appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The 2024 Paris Olympics equestrian competition closed with the Show Jumping Individual Final today, a dramatic end to 11 days of equestrian competition here at the Château de Versailles southwest of Paris. The huge course, co-designed by Santiago Varela Ullastres from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France, was higher, wider, longer and required a faster pace than previous courses in the last week.

Jumping Course Specs

The course included 15 numbered obstacles with 19 jumping efforts, with fence heights ranging from one at 0.95 meters up to several at the 1.65-meter maximum height allowed. The fence spreads were also quite challenging, with oxer spreads ranging from 1.35 meters up to a massive 1.90 meters and the water spanning 4 meters. The track was 555 meters long and the prescribed speed 400 meters/minute. The time allowed was 84 seconds. View the course map here.

In the jump-off for medals, there were eight jumps total (fences 1, 2, 16, 7, 10b, 10c, 12b and 17 were reused from the original course with fence 16 becoming an oxer for the jump-off) with a time allowed of 47 seconds. View the jump-off course map here.

The Challengers

The lineup of 30 horse and rider combinations returning to compete in the individual final changed slightly overnight as Harry Charles of Great Britain bowed out of contention, moving Canada’s Mario Deslauriers and the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding Emerson up to the start list. Mario is quite familiar to U.S. jumping fans, as he competed for the USA for many years before changing back to compete for his native Canada again a few years ago.

Competing for the USA were Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Balou du Rouet owned by St. Bride’s Farm and cared for by Margo Thomas, and Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque, a 12-year-old Selle Français mare by Zandor Z owned by Signe Ostby and groomed by Tessa Falanga. Also in the lineup were the current World Champions Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward, who were also part of the Olympic Champion team in Tokyo, among other big names.

Riders from these countries competed: Argentina (1); Austria (1); Belgium (2); Brazil (2); Canada (1); France (2); Germany (2); Great Britain (2); Ireland (2); Italy (1); Japan (1); the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2); Mexico (1); the Netherlands (3); Norway (1); Sweden (1); Switzerland (2); United Arab Emirates (1), and the USA (2). View the full order of go here.

Competition Summary

In the end, the course would prove quite a formidable challenge with only three double-clear rounds out of 30 first competing (ten percent of the riders). Thus, a jump-off was required to determine the medals.

First in the ring in the jump-off was Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker 47, who completed the jump-off course with no faults in 38.34 seconds. Second to go was the pair from the Netherlands, Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z (who won individual bronze in the last Olympics in Tokyo); they had an unfortunate rail at the fifth fence and finished in the time of 39.12. The final horse and rider to go in the jump off, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on Dynamix de Belheme, also grabbed one rail (at the second-to-last fence), but finished in a quicker time of 38.38. The medals were set: Kukuk gold, Guerdat silver and van der Vleuten, bronze.

Kukuk, 34, who rides for German Olympic rider Ludger Beerbaum, was riding in his second Olympic Games, having been on the German Team in Tokyo in 2021 as well. Kukuk said that knowing he already had locked in a medal going into the jump-off, he wasn’t too nervous: “I knew it doesn’t matter what happens; I have a medal, and that’s already a really huge thing. But, I also I knew what my horse is able to do. I knew what I am able to do. We won already two Grand Prix [classes] this year, so we are very competitive.”

There was some drama today during the first round when two riders fell, although everyone is reported to be OK. Mexico’s Andres Azcarraga fell when his horse, Contendros 2, refused after a very tight turn to the water. Then, later in the class going 24th in the order, World Champions Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward parted ways after a miscommunication between rider and horse as to which way they were going to turn next. As von Eckermann fell, he pulled off King Edward’s bridle, but the horse’s groom was nearby and the horse was caught and haltered easily. Von Eckermann walked his longtime equine partner out of the ring after giving the horse an appreciative kiss on the forehead.

In addition to the three clear rounds, there were eight four-fault rounds in today’s final. Three other riders chose to retire their horses on course and save them for another competition after incurring enough faults it was obvious they were out of contention for medals: Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa riding Major Tom; Ireland’s Daniel Coyle riding Legacy, and Japan’s Takashi Haase Shibayama riding Karamell M & M.

For the full results from the Paris 2024 Olympics individual show jumping competition, click here.

With Kukuk’s win in individual show jumping, this gave Germany a lock on individual gold in all three Olympic equestrian sports here in France, since Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH won in eventing and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl took gold dressage.

U.S. Performances

While not quite the day that the riders and U.S. fans were hoping for, the two U.S. horse and rider pairs performed admirably. Going out into the ring first (fifth in the order) for the USA was Kraut and Baloutinue. They had a beautiful round going until they tipped the top rail on the final fence for four faults, finishing in a time of 81.61, good enough for eighth place overall.

“It was heartbreaking. My horse was on it today. He didn’t deserve that,” said Kraut about their round and the fence they had down, “Unfortunately I was a little worried for the time; I knew I’d taken a couple of places. I felt like I was on the border with the time. So, when I jumped the second last, I thought [I would] just let him just come right on to the last. Unfortunately, the minute I did that, he kind of dropped in and looked at it. The angle that the last fence sits at, if it were a little bit straighter, it would have been fine. But I was almost parallel as I was going to it and then I just couldn’t get [to it correctly].”

On the strength of their clear round in the individual qualifier yesterday, Cook and Caracole de la Roque entered the ring as 16th to go today. The pair had jumped clear in all of their previous rounds in both the team and the individual competition here in France. They started out beautifully for the first half of the course, but then presented awkwardly to fence 12, the “Jeu de Cartes Française” double and took both 12a and 12b down to accrue 8 faults and finish in a fast time of 79.72. They finished 16th. This was the first Olympic appearance for Cook and he was full of emotion as they finished, leaning down to kiss Caracole on the crest of her neck.

Cook commented on their round today, “As far as I’m aware, she was the best horse in the class. You just have to find your distances. We made a mistake around the turn; I probably cut the turn too sharply and took my first distance. I needed to be more patient. She was jumping amazing before.”

Catch Up On Olympic Action

If you’ve missed out enjoying your favorite sports in real time over the last two weeks or just want to re-live some of the action, you may be able to watch replays of all of the exciting Olympic equestrian action here in France. Go to NBCOlympics.com or Peacock for on-demand replay information.

Plus, find all of our Olympic equestrian coverage on our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

Paralympics Next Up

As the Olympic Games come to an end with the Closing Ceremony on August 11, thoughts turn to the Paralympics which run August 28-September 8 (with equestrian competition on September 3, 4, 6 and 7). The USA will be sending a talented squad of para-dressage riders with high hopes for medals. Go to NBCOlympics.com for Paralympic broadcast information.

Stay tuned to our 2024 Paris Paralympics main page for updates and coverage.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Dramatic End To Show Jumping Individual Final appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The 30 riders returning for the 2024 Paris Olympics individual jumping final today faced a really tough track co-designed by Santiago Varela from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France―higher, wider, longer and requiring a faster pace. Only three went double clear in the first round, requiring a jump-off for medals: Germany’s Christian Kukuk on Checker 47; the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten on Beauville Z, and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on Dynamix de Belheme.

When the last fence of the jump-off had been jumped, the medals were set: Kukuk gold, Guerdat silver, and van der Vleuten bronze. The USA’s Laura Kraut was eighth with Baloutinue and Karl Cook was 16th with Caracole de la Roque.

◆ Final Results
◆ First Round Fence-by-Fence Analysis
◆ Jump-Off Fence-by-Fence Analysis

For more coverage, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

For broadcast information, go to NBCOlympics.com. All equestrian coverage is streamed live and available for replays on Peacock.

Thanks to CareCredit for our 2024 equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Show Jumping Individual Final Results appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

In an exciting first day of individual show jumping competition, two of the three U.S. riders qualified to move on to the Paris 2024 Olympics individual jumping finals tomorrow. Seventy-three riders attempted the course co-designed by Santiago Varela from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France today. View the order of go here.

The course included 14 numbered obstacles and 17 jumping efforts. The time allowed was 79 seconds, and the course was 525 meters long with a prescribed speed of 400 meters per minute. Included in the track were a water jump, and one double and one triple combination.

◆ Course Map
◆ Fence Description

Leading the way for the USA, in both the order of go and in the standings, was Karl Cook riding Caracole de la Roque. They entered the ring 11th in the order and blazed around, jumping clear and within the time (76.97).

Entering the arena 35th in the order for the USA was Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, who jumped well, but had an unfortunate rail and rattled a few others. They finished on a quick time (73.22), however, which in the end allowed them to qualify to move on to the final as one of the faster four-fault rounds.

The final rider for the USA and 60th to enter the ring, McLain Ward riding Ilex, jumped a gorgeous round, but had the most unlucky twist of fate when the top rail of the final fence fell. Their time was slower than 12 other four-fault rounds (75.50) so they just missed the cut to compete in tomorrow’s final, finishing in 34th today.

There were 20 clear rounds posted today, including Cook’s and Caracole de la Roque’s. One horse and rider combo accrued only one time fault. Nine riders who had four penalty points qualified, including Kraut. Finishing first in the standings today as the fastest clear round was Julien Epaillard of France with Dubai du Cedre. To see the final results and who else qualified for the individual final, go here.

The top 30 horse and rider combinations move on to the final tomorrow. Riders in tomorrow’s individual jumper final will start again on a zero score, so it really could be anyone’s day.

The individual final and medal ceremony are tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Central European Time (4:00 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

◆ Individual Final Order of Go
◆ Individual Final Course Map
◆ Individual Final Fence Description

For more coverage, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

For broadcast information, go to NBCOlympics.com. All equestrian coverage is streamed live and available for replays on Peacock.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Show Jumping Individual Qualifier appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The U.S. Jumping Team captured their third consecutive Olympic silver medal today in the Show Jumping Team Final here at the Château de Versailles in France. In addition to Paris 2024, they also won silver in the Tokyo 2020/21 Olympics Games and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. Great Britain won gold today with a total of two penalties (their last Olympic jumping team medal was gold in 2012 in London). Home country France took the bronze on a score of seven penalties (their last Olympic show jumping medal was gold in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro).

About the Course

Co-designed by Santiago Varela from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France, the course today was a bit more technically challenging today according to some of the riders. It was a bit longer in length too, yet the time allowed was the same as yesterday. There were 14 obstacles with 18 jumping efforts, including two doubles (which was one more than yesterday) and one triple combination. Time allowed was 79 seconds, the course length was 310 meters, and the prescribed speed was 400 meters/minute. Fence heights ranged from 0.9 meters to 1.65 meters. There was no water jump today, but there were liverpool jumps (essentially a “pan” of water under or behind a set of standards and rails). Many French landmarks and cultural items were incorporated into the design of the jumps again; there was one jump that looked like the base of the Eiffel Tower and one with standards that looked like the Arc de Triomphe, for instance.

Olympic Show Jumping Team Final Summary

For today’s Team Final, the qualified teams (9 teams, 3 riders each) started this morning with a clean slate. (There were supposed to be 10 teams, but at the very last minute the Mexican team had to withdraw due to a “veterinary issue” for one of their horses, Carlos Hank Guerreiro’s horse Porthos Maestro WH Z, leaving nine teams and 27 riders on the start list). Any jumping or time faults a rider incurred were added to their team’s cumulative score and the lowest score won. The teams competing today were: Belgium; France; Germany; Great Britain; Ireland; Israel; the Netherlands; Sweden, and the USA.

After two riders for each team took their turn around the course and the scores were tallied during a ring grooming break, the final rider from each country jumped the course in reverse order of the standings (so, the top teams’ riders went toward the end in the final group). That put riders from the Netherlands, Ireland, USA, France, Sweden and Great Britain as the final countries to go in the last group.

When others dropped rails, but the USA’s McLain Ward and Ilex and Great Britain’s Scott Brash and Jefferson left them up, the medals were finally decided. Even though Brash and Jefferson had a time fault, they carried Great Britain to a two-point victory. France’s Julien Epaillard and Dubai Du Cedre took one rail down, but no more, so their team had the bronze in front of a very appreciative crowd.

U.S. Team Steps Up

Team members Karl Cook (making his Olympic debut riding Caracole de la Roque), Laura Kraut (four-time Olympian—plus a year as an alternate—riding Baloutinue) and McLain Ward (six-time Olympian riding Ilex) earned their red, white and blue stripes by laying down two days of stellar team jumping rounds. They carried on a long tradition of U.S. show jumpers winning Olympic hardware.

Yesterday, the U.S. team finished on only six faults in the qualifier class, which easily put them into today’s team final. Today, starting on zero again, they only had four penalties to take the silver. Each day, two of the USA’s team riders jumped clear and within time, with the third rider only having one rail down. In the qualifier class yesterday, McLain Ward had one rail and two time faults for the total of six. Today, Laura Kraut and Baloutinue pulled one rail, but finished well within the time allowed.

Yesterday Kraut admitted to being quite nervous before her ride, but today she felt more confident, “Today I’m great. I’m disappointed I had one down, but he performed beautifully. I’m surprised that he had that down, but he kind of looked at it a little bit and I had maybe too much momentum. But other than that, I mean, he didn’t put a foot wrong. He’s the best.”

Cook had been the traveling reserve rider for the U.S. team with Caracole de la Roque, but was called up to compete in the very early hours of yesterday when Kent Farrington’s mare Greya horse showed signs of an allergic reaction (Greya is reported to be doing well now). Cook and Caracole de la Roque stepped up beautifully, producing two double-clear rounds in two days and making it look easy in the process.

The pair had also been members of the U.S. team for the Santiago Pan American Games last fall. At that time, Caracole de la Roque was still a fairly new ride for Cook and he was still figuring out the best way to ride her. They have really gelled since then and he rides her in a hackamore in competition (although he uses a different bridle on her in the warm-up ring, then switches to the hackamore).

Cook talked about the course and his horse after his ride today, “It’s a really tough course out there, as it should be―longer, bigger, wider, more careful, more technical than yesterday. It requires you to ride on the track that suits the stride you have. She’s such an amazing horse [Caracole]. She stuck with me the whole time. I couldn’t be happier. I felt more confident today, starting with a bigger canter and not having that fear that I’m going to have no ride-ability.”

After the USA won silver, Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland reflected on their team’s Olympic performance, “Arguably we came here with the strongest U.S. team in the last three Olympics. We had a strong one in Rio, but this team was stronger and certainly a stronger team than we had in Tokyo. What they pulled off in Tokyo was great.”

“We have three of the greatest riders that have ever ridden for our country on this team, Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward,” Ridland continued. “And then we brought him, [Karl Cook]. But what that is, is that’s the present and the future. The first thing he [Karl] said when we talked about him travelling was, ‘I’m here to do whatever I need to do to help the other three do whatever is needed for the sport.’ Well, guess what? He did. Because that is, as McLain said, that’s one of the hardest things to do to get a last-minute [call up] two hours before.”

Ridland marveled at the venue and the crowd in the grandstands, “There’s not an empty seat in the house. This is the sport at its best. It was an amazing Games. I hear the President of France was here for the whole event. I mean, it just doesn’t get any better.”

◆ Show Jumping Team Medalists
◆ Full Show Jumping Team Results
◆ Show Jumping Final Course & Fence Description

Dressage Returns Tomorrow

Now the show jumpers will get some well-deserved rest for two days as the dressage horse and rider team pairs return to contest the Grand Prix Special Test to determine the Paris 2024 Olympic team medals. Thirty horses from 10 countries are slated to compete. The competition runs from 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Central European Time (4:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

◆ Grand Prix Special – Team Final Order of Go
◆ Grand Prix Special – Team Final Start List

For more coverage, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

For broadcast information, go to NBCOlympics.com. All equestrian coverage is streamed live and available for replays on Peacock.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Three Times Olympic Silver for U.S. Jumping Team appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

In an exciting finish to the 2024 Paris Olympics team show jumping final, Great Britain’s riders all jumped clear, but incurred two time penalties to grab the gold ahead of the U.S. team, who captured silver with only four penalties. The home nation, France, finished on seven penalties for bronze.

Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, the lead-off pair for the USA, brought down only one rail and stayed within the time allowed to start the U.S. team out with four faults. The USA’s Karl Cook riding Caracole de la Roque, the middle rider to go for the U.S. team this afternoon, jumped clear and was the fastest (75.88) for the team. Team anchor rider McLain Ward on Ilex jumped clear as well in 76.57 to add no penalties to the team’s score.

This is the USA’s third consecutive Olympic silver medal, with the other two being in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016 and in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021. Great Britain last won show jumping team gold in London in 2012. The last Olympic team show jumping medal for France was gold in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

◆ Show Jumping Team Medalists
◆ Full Show Jumping Team Results
◆ Show Jumping Final Course & Fence Description

For more coverage, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

For broadcast information, go to NBCOlympics.com. All equestrian coverage is streamed live and available for replays on Peacock.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Show Jumping Team Final Results, USA Wins Silver appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.