The Olympic Games are all about the coming together of the best of the best and the human and equine athletes have been meticulously prepared for the occasion. An essential part of that preparation is shoeing, and just as with human athletes, a horse can only perform at its best if the shoes fit perfectly.

This is where Olympic lead farrier from London 2012 and Rio 2016, Ben Benson (GBR) comes into play here at Baji Koen Equestrian Park. Benson is working together with a hand-picked international team and 18 Japanese farriers to provide an all-round shoeing service to the onsite horses.

While many teams bring their own horseshoes, the equine shoe shop – officially known as the farriery – is stocked with 10 to 12 different styles of shoes in eight different sizes. And Ben Benson and his team can copy any type of shoe, the goal being to change as little as possible.

As well as being able to analyse the biomechanics and balance of a horse, it is equally important for the farriers to know exactly what type of shoe is needed for each of the three Olympic Equestrian disciplines here in Tokyo – Dressage, Eventing and Show Jumping. For horses competing on sand, a shoe with a light grip is preferable to keep their feet on top of the surface, whereas on grass a firmer grip is required.

“It’s all about traction and support”, Benson explains, “but a set of shoes is only as good as the person who puts them on.”

Shoes for Dressage horses should have a degree of flexibility, allowing them to perform set patterns of movements on the flat. For the Cross Country, Eventers need a more concave shoe, which can cut into the grass footing and provide stability. The Jumpers will look for a something in between the two and, as for the Eventers, will need the option of customising with studs for extra grip when needed.

As with so many things in life, the devil is in the details. Every extra centimetre on a hoof adds 50 kilograms to the horse’s back, potentially leading to imbalance and emphasising the importance of re-shoeing horses on average every four to five weeks. In an ideal world, horses arrive at the Olympics having been shod just before leaving for the Games, and head back home in time for their next shoeing. But the quarantine period horses had to undergo prior to arrival in Tokyo meant many horses have reached their shoeing deadline onsite, so Benson and his team have been kept busy.

To be selected to be part of an Olympic farriery team is a career highlight, and Benson is always eager to share his incredible depth of knowledge and has provided invaluable know-how to numerous farriers over the years.

Being lead farrier at multiple Olympic Games comes with a lot of responsibility. It requires building a relationship of trust with the athletes and their support personnel, as well as excellent communication within the farrier team.

“It’s not always easy when the stakes are this high”, Ben Benson says, “but it is clear that everyone at the Olympic Games is an expert in their field. Despite the immense pressure, athletes need to trust that the team is made up of the best farriers in the world and that their horses are in the best possible hands.” And they are!

Arena surfaces

But the farriers are not the only ones with a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. Those in charge of the arena surfaces, or footing, also have a big role to play.

As with human athletes, the leg and hoof of the horse withstand great forces when the hoof makes contact with the ground, especially as horses weigh over half a tonne. And when the horse is moving at speed or turning, those forces increase, whether they’re competing on grass or an all-weather sand surface.

Creating the perfect sand footing for the arena-based Equestrian sports has now become an exact science, with a complex layering system that ensures the best surfaces for the horses to perform on, whether that’s for Dressage or Jumping.

The Olympic footing at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park here in Tokyo – with exactly the same composition on the main field of play and all the training arenas – is top quality sand mixed with roughly 1.5% of polyester textile fibres. The sand provides impact firmness and grip, and the fibres provide cushioning, elasticity and responsiveness.

“Sand is the most important ingredient in footing, and then the textiles and fibres are like the spices in your soup”, Oliver Hoberg (GER), the man in charge of the arena surfaces says.

Keeping that mix right, and maintaining the footing is all part of his daily routine, which involves dragging (raking) and watering, but the balance needs to be expertly monitored so that the surface allows horses to produce optimal performances.

Hoberg works in extremely close cooperation with the FEI Footing expert, Professor Lars Roepstorff (SWE), the scientific brain in the partnership who conducts daily checks on all the Equestrian Park arenas with a “mechanical hoof” originally created for testing racetrack surfaces. The hoof, which has now been adapted for the different equestrian sports disciplines, mimics the load placed on the horse’s leg and hoof when performing a Dressage test or landing over a fence, whether that’s on sand or on grass.

“Special sensors measure both horizontal and vertical forces as the mechanical hoof hits the ground and those sensors measure the response from the ground so we can actually measure what the horse feels when it jumps on the surface”, Professor Roepstorff says. “The footing is absolutely crucial, both to performance and to the health of the horse, and the different functional properties of the footing will affect how the horse performs.”

Those different functional properties allow for “tuning” of the surface, depending on the sport. But the only way to produce perfect footing is through perfect maintenance to ensure uniformity on all parts of the arenas.

“The footing is only as good as the level of maintenance”, Oliver Hoberg says. “In fact maintenance is just as important as the type of surface used in the arena.”

With the correct level of maintenance, modern all-weather footing lasts up to 20 years, so there’s a great post-Games legacy plan, as all the arenas will remain in-situ when the venue is handed back post-Paralympics to its owners, the Japan Racing Association, so that they can continue to be used for equestrian sport for many years to come.

But for Games time, the right blend of footing, monitoring and maintenance will provide the supremely fit Olympic equine athletes with the optimal stage on which to produce their peak performance. And they’ll be wearing their best shoes too!

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES - Eventing Team and Individual Final 

Tokyo (JPN), 2 August 2021

 

Photo Caption: Germany’s Julia Krajewski has entered the equestrian history books as the very first female athlete to take the Individual Olympic Eventing title following victory with Amande de B’Neville at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Baji Koen tonight. (FEI/EFE)

 

Britain’s Oliver Townend, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen were in a league of their own when cruising to Eventing team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Baji Koen Equestrian Park tonight. This was their country’s fourth team title but it’s been a very long wait since Richard Meade, Mary Gordon-Watson, Bridget Parker and Mark Phillips stood top of the podium a full 49 years ago in Munich in 1972. Australia took the silver tonight, while the defending champions from France claimed the bronze.

And Germany’s Julia Krajewski has entered the equestrian history books as the very first female athlete to take the Individual Olympic Eventing title. When the Games last took place in Tokyo back in 1964 the USA’s Lana du Pont was the first woman to compete in the three-day event, so female firsts and the Tokyo Olympics seem to be intrinsically linked.

In the battle for the remaining Individual podium places it was Britain’s Tom McEwen who took the silver while Australia’s Andrew Hoy clinched the bronze. Hoy’s result is nothing short of sensational because the three-time team gold medallist has a staggering record of participation at eight Olympic Games dating all the way back to Los Angeles in 1984. He was only 25 years old back then, and today at the age of 62 he’s as competitive as ever.

Team

Tom McEwen paved the path to Britain’s team victory with a superb round from Toledo de Kresker over the first of Santiago Varela’s beautifully decorated tracks tonight. And he was filled with confidence that his team-mates would do the rest of the work without difficulty.

A four-fence advantage and more after the previous day’s cross-country test had left his side sitting comfortably ahead, and as it turned out his confidence was not mis-placed. 

“He was incredible”, he said of his 14-year-old horse, “I just put him on the spot and he was up and away. Everyone that follows Eventing knows he’s a great jumper so it’s just up to me on top”, he added.

However team-mate Laura Collett had a scary moment when London 52 baulked at the water tray at fence four and scattered poles everywhere before regaining his equilibrium. “He started like his normal self but just as I came around the corner the light shone on the water and he suddenly started to draw back and I was quite far off it and he just went up and paddled. I was lucky he’s such a great jumper and it didn’t faze him and he got it back together and finished really nicely. I’m gutted and it’s a shame but I think it could have been a whole lot worse! I just hope I haven’t put too much pressure on Oliver”, she said.

Pressure

However it’s difficult to put too much pressure on Oliver Townend who was heading the Individual rankings going into today’s closing stages after a sensational run in both Dressage and Cross-Country with Ballaghmor Class. The first element of the double at fence nine, four fences from home, hit the floor but that still left Team GB finishing on a score of 86.30 and under no threat from their closest rivals.

The real battle was played out between Australia and France, Kevin McNab opening the Aussie account with a foot-perfect run with Don Quidam before Shane Rose’s Virgil also fell victim to the first element of fence nine. Meanwhile Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold who were part of the gold medal winning French side at the Rio 2016 Games returned with just 0.4 for time, while second-line rider Karim Florent Laghouag faulted only at the first element of the triple combination at fence five.

The two sides had the started the day with a hair’s breadth between them, and even though Frenchman Christopher Six was clear and clean with Totem de Brecey, Andrew Hoy made no mistake with Vassily de Lassos to bag the silver when last to go, the two sides separated by just 1.3 penalties.

IOC Vice-President and Chair of the Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020 John Coates was on hand to see Australia take team silver and offered his congratulations to the three team members.

Individual

The Individual finale was truly gripping as the top-25 slogged it out. Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto collected just 0.4 penalties when seventh-last to go with the lovely Vinci de la Vigne, and when France’s Christopher Six faulted at the last of the triple combination on the new course Tomoto began to move up the order.

Colletts’s bay gelding left the last two fences on the floor but when Hoy followed with a clear the top three had absolutely no breathing space. McEwen didn’t need any when executing yet another regal tour of the track but Townend’s luck ran out, his 4.8 penalties pushing him off the podium.

Last in, Krajewski could have been completely overwhelmed but held her nerve to deliver a fabulous round from the mare she calls Mandy. She would take the top step of the podium and her place in equestrian history, ahead of McEwen and Hoy in silver and bronze.

The 32-year-old rider who is based in Warendorf, Germany has had a really tough year, beginning with the passing of her father and then having to retire her top horse Samurai du Thot after he had his eye removed due to a lingering infection. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games seemed an impossible target after that, but when the young mare she calls Mandy won the CCI4* in Saumur, France and the pair took bronze at the German Championships in the spring, then suddenly the horizon was completely altered. And now she finds herself an Olympic champion.

A fairytale finish

“It’s the stuff that movies are made of, and yes I cried, because I was thinking of my family and my father and basically everyone who has been behind me. This is very much a fairytale finish for me!”, she said.

Silver medallist McEwen is 30 years of age and looks set on a long road of further success while Hoy was keen to declare that he’s not hanging up his boots anytime soon.  

“When I started in the sport I was really proud of being the youngest person in the team and now its just an absolute joy that I’m still here and so healthy. When people meet me in the Olympic Village they say, you are an official are you? And they look a bit surprised when I say no, I’m an athlete!”

He has enjoyed these Games as much as any and was full of praise for the organisation. “Without doubt the Japanese people, the country of Japan and the city of Tokyo deserve the biggest gold medal for putting these Games on. The effort they’ve gone to is incredible, and it’s a privilege to be here”, he concluded.

Quotes:

Julia Krajewski GER:  “I won my first Pony title 20 years ago and since then it’s been a roller-coaster really. It’s quite unreal.

Going in last tonight I wasn’t thinking about Olympic gold. I said we’re going to do a great round like jumping at home and that is all. 

Oliver Townend GBR: Talking about winning team gold - “It’s very unreal and hasn’t sunk in yet but at same time we were three riders on exceptional horses and that’s what’s been so special. All three of us have been on horses of a lifetime and we knew that coming here we had a very good chance.

Looking back at whole week I feel relieved and very proud of the whole team, not just the people here, but the whole team at home, people who put in the hard graft every day - they deserve this as well.

Laura Collett GBR: Talking about winning team gold - “Being on the podium was a completely surreal experience. I’m a bit lost for words, just to be here at an Olympics is a dream come true let alone win a gold medal. It’s going to take a few days, weeks, months for this to actually sink in. 

Andrew Hoy AUS: “We’ve got the most wonderful relationship, this horse and myself. He was so fresh he was having a little buck in the warm-up, it’s as if I did a dressage schooling exercise with him yesterday.  

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

Shane Rose AUS: “We’re all mates on this team so you ride everyone’s highs and lows with them, but we obviously think team first in Australia and how you perform individually affects your team-mates so you always want to give your best foot forward. So for me watching them do well is great, and if myself or them has a bad moment you feel  that with them. In Eventing we don’t get team opportunities very often, I’m basedin Australia and these guys are based in Europe so we only get to see each other every few years and when we do come together it’s amazing how quickly we bond. 

Karim Florent Laghouag FRA: “This team medal is very emotional. I miss having the public and would like to share this medal. All the team have received lots of messages and support and we are very grateful for the support and want to thank all the people that encouraged us. This medal belongs to them too!” 

Results here  

FEI Vaulting returned in great fashion over the weekend, as Boulerie Jump in Le Mans, France hosted the biennial FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors 2021.  An arena that has housed many momentous Vaulting moments once again provided the stage for Vaulting history, with Sam Dos Santos winning gold in the individual male competition, securing a first ever medal in Vaulting for The Netherlands.

Austria’s Anna Weidenauer took top honours in the female category, whilst Germany once again proved a Vaulting powerhouse taking two golds, with Arne Heers & Lily Warren untouchable in pas-de-deux and retaining the prestigious squad title.

Fifty-six competitors lined up at the start of the week in the female category showing an unprecedented standard. Coming into the final round it looked to be a two-way tussle between defending champion Mona Pavetic (GER) and Austria’s Anna Weidenauer.  Weidenauer, leader after the first round lost some of her 0.12 advantage to Pavetic in second round compulsories, resulting in a nail-biting finish.

Hailing from URC Wildegg, which has previously produced multiple female champions, Anna Weidenauer held her nerve to add her name to the history books. Alongside lunger Maria Lehrmann and Chivas 14, she took the top step of the podium on a combined score of 7.974, narrowly taking the title from the 2019 champion Mona Pavetic (7.931), with bronze going to Germany’s Gianna Ronca (7.820).

History was made in the individual male category as 15 year old Sam Dos Santos lead throughout all four rounds of the competition to secure the first ever medal for The Netherlands in Vaulting. Together with his lunger Rian Pierik and horse Chameur, his dynamic, expressive freestyle impressed both judges and audiences alike.  The Dutch trailblazer finished on a combined score of 8.360 marking a historic moment for Vaulting in The Netherlands.

The silver medal went to Germany’s Philip Goroncy (8.263), with his fellow compatriot Simon Stolz taking bronze (7.731).

In the pas-de-deux category Arne Heers and Lily Warren were in a league of their own.  Together with their horse Capitano 59 and lunger Sven Henze, they scored a spectacular 8.732 in the final round to finish on a combined total of 8.578, an impressive 0.5 ahead of their nearest competitors. 

Anna Weidenauer secured her second medal of the day as she partnered with Paul Ruttkovsky to take the second step on the podium (8.083).  Whilst having only secured their first ever Vaulting medal mere hours earlier, Sam Dos Santos & Elise Van De Ven took The Netherland’s medal tally to two, taking bronze (8.037).

In the squad competition Germany triumphed taking top honours on a score of 7.805.  With Michelle Arcori on the lunge and horse Elias 75, the highly decorated team from Ingelsberg fought off tough competition from the field who were all vying for the much sought-after squad title.  It was a fight to the end with the United States of America taking silver (7.669) and Switzerland bronze (7.655).

This week marked Vaulting’s triumphant return on the world stage, with the emergence of new stars and another nation staking a claim on the medals, for National Coach of the Netherlands Claire De Ridder the momentous achievements of Sam Dos Santos, Elise Van De Ven and the depth of talent they have coming through, she hopes can inspire the next generation.

“It is really incredible, we knew before he (Dos Santos) came here how talented he was, but he didn’t have competition experience.

“I hope from the achievements here this weekend that the sport will evolve more in The Netherlands. I hope it inspires younger Vaulters and shows them that it is possible to win medals and have these successes.  I am excited for the future, we have so much talent coming through.

“To see everyone here, united, it really brings people together and that is what Vaulting is all about.”

After yesterday’s thrilling day of action at the Cross-Country course at Sea Forest, the Eventing horses at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games came before the Ground Jury this morning for the second Horse Inspection at Baji Koen Equestrian Park. 

A total of 61 were presented, including 11 reserve horses that can be substituted under the new format rules. All the medal contenders were looking extremely sprightly and well, but one of the Polish team horses, Joanna Pawlak’s 12-year-old mare Fantastic Frieda, was sent to the holding box and then not accepted on reinspection.

Heading into the closing stages of the Team competition Great Britain sits in gold medal position ahead of Australia in silver and France in bronze. Britain also dominates the Individual rankings, with Oliver Townend (Ballaghmor Class) in gold medal spot and Laura Collett (London 52) in bronze, separated by Germany’s Julia Krajewski (Amande de B’Neville) in silver.

The medals will be decided in this evening’s Jumping phase. The Team Final and Individual Qualifier starts at 17.00, with 12 teams still in contention for medals. The top 25 will then go through to the Individual Final, which begins at 20.45 local time.

Standings here  

World number one, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend, regained the individual lead he established on the first day of the Dressage phase with a perfect ride on Ballaghmor Class on Cross Country day of Equestrian Eventing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 at Sea Forest today. And with foot-perfect performances from team-mates Laura Collett (London 52) and Tom McEwen (Toledo de Kresker), the British team go into tomorrow’s final Jumping phase with four fences in hand over their nearest rivals.

Oozing confidence, and riding at the top of their game, they look unstoppable for gold. But Townend wasn’t taking anything for granted this afternoon. With the second horse inspection still ahead in the morning, and a course of coloured poles to be tackled later in the day, he voiced a note of caution.

“This is a three-day sport, and you never know what you’ve got until you’re in the ring on the last day”, he said.

Snatched away

His individual lead had been snatched away by Germany’s Michael Jung yesterday morning as the Dressage phase drew to a close, but the double Olympic champion lost his grip on the top spot today when triggering the frangible device at the corner element of fence 14, the Lone Tree Moguls, on an otherwise faultless tour of the track with Chipmunk. The German National Federation lodged a protest against the resulting 11 penalties immediately after the cross country, but the protest was dismissed by the Ground Jury. 

Compatriot Sandra Auffarth’s gelding, Viamant du Matz, had a glance-off at the final element of fence nine, a left-hand corner that followed a bank out of water for 22.4. 

“It came up very quickly at the beginning of course, he was super fresh and I turned a little bit too early to the step”, Auffarth said. “He’s so quick in his turns, and I came too much to the inside of the line and I think he just was not seeing the question at the corner.” 

German pathfinder Julia Krajewski made no mistake with Amande de B’Neville, however, and goes into tomorrow’s final phase in silver medal spot. But the German team have dropped from second to sixth and look well out of medal contention.

Contrast

In stark contrast, both Australia and France enjoyed a superb day with spectacular performances that lifted them into silver and bronze medal spots. Lying sixth after Dressage, the Australians added just the 2.8 time penalties picked up by Kevin McNab and Don Quidam when both Shane Rose (Virgil) and Andrew Hoy (Vassily de Lassos) both kept a clean sheet.

Hoy was stopped on course when Swiss athlete Robin Godel’s Jet Set pulled up very lame after jumping the Mt Fuji water complex five from home. (See statement here)

The Sydney 2000 Olympic team gold medallist was grateful for the cooling facilities that kept his 12-year-old gelding safe while they waited on course. “It was excellent because until I got under the tent I could feel his temperature rising all the time. When you are galloping you have wind in your face and on your body so you stay very cool. But as soon as you stop you don’t have that so your temperature rises. Vasilly’s temperature went up half a degree from when it was first taken in the cooling area but it was still very low and his heart-rate was back to 100. He’s phenomenally fit”, said the man who is competing in his eighth Olympic Games.

Defending

The French are defending the Olympic team title, but things hadn’t been going their way until today when Christopher Six (Totem de Brecey) added just 1.6 time penalties to his scoreline, Nicolas Touzaint (Absolut Gold) were just over the time-allowed of 7.45 minutes to add 0.4 and anchorman Karim Florent Laghouag (Triton Fontaine) was clear inside the time. On a running score of 97.10, they are just over a single penalty point adrift of the Australians when the action resumes tomorrow, trailed by New Zealand (104.00) in fourth, USA in fifth (109.40) and Germany in sixth (114.20).

With just their combined Dressage marks of 78.90 however, the British look well in command. Laura Collett lies in bronze medal spot individually after a great round with London 52, and feels today’s result has confounded her critics. 

“I always said he’s a superstar and he just went out and proved to everyone just how good he is. I’m so relieved I did my job and to be selected on this team this year, I know everyone at home will understand this, we’ve had to fight for our place and he’s proved to everybody he well and truly deserved it, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of him!”, she said.

The margins are small on the Individual leaderboard however. Townend’s 23.60 leaves him just two penalty points ahead of Krajewski, and Collett is only 0.2 further adrift, with New Zealand’s Tim Price (Vitali) snapping at her heels carrying 26.80. Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto (Vinci de la Vigne) is on 27.50 and the third British team-member Tom McEwen on 28.90, only fractionally ahead of Australia’s Hoy in seventh spot.

Facts and Figures:

60 horse-and-athlete combinations started in today’s Cross-Country phase of Eventing.

49 completed the course. 

2 Retired and 9 were Eliminated.

Sara Algotsson was announced as replacement for Ludwig Svennerstal on the Swedish team before today’s cross-country phase but withdrew when the team was no longer viable due to elimination for Therese Viklund after a fall from Viscera at fence 18B.

The most influential obstacle on the 23-fence course was 14C, a left-handed corner that followed a large oxer, where there were two refusals and the frangible device was triggered seven times.

Quotes:

Oliver Townend (GBR): “Once I got into the course I started to pick up very good quick fast distances, almost racing distances, to the straightforward fences and he answered beautifully. 

“The earlier distances didn’t happen quite the way I imagined, like the first two waters, having said that they were very comfortable distances, and I have a lot of trust in Derek di Grazia’s courses. I think the man is one of, if not the best in the world in what he’s doing and even when I think a distance is going to be a certain way, I know even if it isn’t it’s going to be a safe distance.”

Michael Jung (GER) – “I’m very happy, he was very good. I had a little mistake there (at fence 14), I didn’t realise it fell down but when I galloped away from the fence I heard the sound. It was quite a surprise for me. Everything else was really nice.”

Tim Price NZL - When asked what the course felt like: “It felt fast and furious, with lots of big jumps just around the corner! They come up the hill and even though they’ve warmed up over some fences it sort of dawns on them that it’s actually another cross country day and not another training day, and it looks like it’s a fairly seriously day at the office and they have to absorb all that in about two minutes. Particularly on a young horse you want to get them out on the track and let them find themselves, the rhythm, the breathing, the jump, the scope, and out here you don’t have time to give them an easy couple of minutes so it’s asking quite a lot of a young horse.”

Andrew Hoy AUS - “As those that have seen Vassily run before, he’s just the most phenomenal horse cross-country. I had a really nice ride, up until the time I was stopped it was really good, just fingertips and I ride him in the same bridle and bit in all three phases, he’s just so on the ball and so focused.”

Results here  

It is with great sadness that we announce that the Swiss horse Jet Set, ridden by Robin Godel has had to be euthanised after pulling up extremely lame on the Sea Forest Cross Country Course during Equestrian Eventing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on 1 August 2021.

Clear to this point, the 14-year-old gelding, pulled up extremely lame after jumping the final Mt Fuji water complex (fence 20) on the Sea Forest Cross Country Course today.

The horse received immediate veterinary attention at the fence and, after an initial assessment, was transferred by horse ambulance to the onsite Veterinary Clinic.

Sadly, ultrasound scans revealed an irreparable ligament rupture in the lower right limb, just above the hoof, and on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and athlete, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep.

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

The first horse inspection for Jumping horses competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place at Baji Koen Equestrian Park this evening. 

There were two sent to the Holding Box and they will be reinspected at 17.00 tomorrow. They were Argentina’s Cannavaro 9 (Matias Albarracin) and China’s Caesar (You Zhang).

The horses were beautifully turned out and so were the athletes, The Netherlands’ Willem Greve, Marc Houtzager, Harrie Smolders and Michael van der Vleuten really cutting a dash in suits that blended an “Our Man in Havana” look with a touch of Vaudeville. 

Many of the horses were on their tippy-toes. Explosion, the ride of Great Britain’s Ben Maher, lived up to his name when unable to contain his excitement, and two of the Swedish steeds were in high spirits too.

Peder Fredricson looked like he was grappling with a tiger before All In settled and trotted up like the true professional he is. And team-mate Malin Baryard-Johnsson’s mare, Indiana, was a real handful after strutting her stuff.

But they can all look forward to familiarisation and training over the next few days, taking in the sights and sounds of the fabulous Baji Koen stadium before the Jumping action gets underway next Tuesday.  

Facts and Figures

The first Individual competition will take place on Tuesday 3 August and is a qualifier for the Individual Final on Wednesday 4 August.

The Individual Final is open to the 30 best-placed athletes from the first Individual competition and will be Table A, one round against the clock, with a jump-off for the medal placings if there is a tie on penalties. All athletes start on a zero score in the Individual Final and starting order will be in reverse order of merit following the first Individual competition. 

The first Team competition is open to 20 teams of three athletes and all teams will start on a zero score. It will take place on 6 August and is a qualifier for the Team Final on 7 August.

The best 10 teams, including those tied for tenth place, will qualify for the Team Final.

Team France are the defending Olympic champions having clinched gold for only the second time in Olympic history at the Rio 2016 Games.

Germany however holds the record for the greatest number of Olympic gold medals, with 5 Individual and 8 team titles since Jumping joined the Olympic programme in 1900. 

35 countries 

19 teams

75 horse/athlete combinations

16 countries represented by individuals

Jumping Course Designer is Spain’s Santiago Varela.

Teams will consist of three athlete/horse combinations with all three scores counting for the result. 

The leaderboard began to look a bit more familiar after the final session of Eventing dressage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Baji Koen today. Great Britain remains at the head of affairs, but it is now Team Germany that sits second ahead of New Zealand in third, while the host nation of Japan continues to shine in fourth place going into tomorrow’s cross country phase.

An amazing score of 21.10 from defending double-champion, Michael Jung, lifted Germany from overnight fifth to just over two points behind the British leaders, whose position at the top of the leaderboard was bolstered by a solid test from Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser with a mark of 28.90. 

Jung was really pleased with his 13-year-old gelding Chipmunk. “We had a very good partnership today, everything worked like I wished. Since the European Championships in 2019, I’ve had more time to train with him. We had a long winter to work more and have had many more competitions this year, so everything is going much better”, he said.

He may not have realised it, but he was being watched by IOC Member HSH Prince Albert II, who paid a visit to the Equestrian Park today to watch some Eventing Dressage, including the start of Jung’s Olympic title defence. After a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the Olympic Family Lounge together with fellow IOC Member and FEI President Ingmar De Vos, the Prince was taken on a full tour of the venue, including a visit to the stables and the onsite veterinary clinic.

Dramatic improvement

Meanwhile world number two, Tim Price, was responsible for the dramatic improvement for Team New Zealand, who rose from sixth to third. His score of 25.60 with Vitali puts his side – that includes his wife Jonelle – on a tally of 86.40, exactly six penalty points behind Germany and just over eight points off pole position. “That’s good, that’s what we want!”, Price said when he realised his result had made such a big difference. “We just want to be a solid team, we’re only a little nation with a few riders to choose from!”

Sweden dropped from overnight second to fifth, but Australia was another to rise meteorically thanks to a classic ride from the oldest competitor in Eventing at these Olympic Games. Andrew Hoy (62) and Vassily de Lassos posted 29.60, and all scores below 30 proved highly influential.

“I believe it is the maximum (score) we could have had from today”, Hoy said. “There were tiny little things that I can always improve. The joy I get from riding this horse is unbelievable, and I use one word to describe what I’m trying to achieve - harmony…when you see the great riders with harmony then it is poetry in motion!”

Chinese team

The Chinese team slipped from fourth to seventh, but pathfinder Alex Hua Tian is sitting in individual bronze spot with Don Geniro going into cross country day. The 31-year-old made history when becoming the first Chinese athlete to compete in Olympic Eventing at the Beijing Games in 2008 at the age of 18. And, based in Cheshire in England since 2013, he took individual silver at the Asian Games in Incheon (KOR) in 2014 before finishing eighth individually at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

He’ll be hoping to hang on to that bronze medal spot at the end of tomorrow’s cross country contest. As today’s dressage phase came to an end, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend was in silver medal position behind Jung who is chasing down his third consecutive individual gold. 

But all the athletes are a little in awe of the cross country challenge that course designer Derek di Grazia (USA) has set for them.

Fantastic

“The ground is fantastic and the fences are beautiful, like at every Olympic Games the presentation you cannot question. It’s a proper challenge, and I don’t mean just with the height of the fences”, Andrew Hoy said. “The layout of the course, the flow - it’s going to be a challenge to get the time. But I’m sitting on one of the greatest cross country horses in the world and we’ve got a wonderful relationship and I believe it’s achievable, but only time will tell!”

“It feels like a proper three-phase test to us this time, mainly because of what Derek has done it’s going to be a good competition for us all”, Tim Price said.

Germany’s Michael Jung is feeling super-confident, partly because his team has such a good draw. “We have a very good start position”, he said. “Our first rider is number 14, so before she (Julia Krajewski) goes, some nice information will have come through which we can use. You need a lot of luck with the weather and other things you can’t control, but definitely it’s good if you start towards the end.”

As German anchorman he has a great draw himself, going second-last in the field of 61.   

Facts and Figures: 

There was one withdrawal from today’s second day of dressage - Katrin Khoddam-Hazrati from Austria.

Lara de Liedekerke-Meer from Belgium, who competed in yesterday’s first day of Eventing dressage, has also withdrawn.

61 horse-and-rider combinations will tackle Derek di Grazia’s cross country track at Sea Forest tomorrow morning.

Quotes:

Tim Price NZL - Talking about his horse Vitali - “He’s had to do everything right and he’s 95% done that since last year when I first sat on him to now, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I’m very confident in him but it’s a short time in terms of partnership, because that’s one of the key things on display at the Olympics is the partnership between horse and rider and how they can rely on each other. I’m very confident with him, he’s a very genuine guy and I feel very comfortable on him.”

Michael Jung GER - Talking about his horse Chipmunk - “He’s a very powerful horse but very nice to ride cross country, this helps a lot, you don’t need too much preparation before the fence. The time is very tough tomorrow so you need good communication with your horse. In the end they have to listen and you need to be focused and to concentrate.”. 

Andrew Hoy AUS - Talking about the evolution of the sport of Eventing - “We are light years ahead of where we were when I started out. I rode my first championship in 1978 and it’s changed immensely, I believe for the good. In my lifetime I’ve looked at some of the changes and totally disagreed, but now I’m at the stage - if there’s a change I think about what I have to do to be there. It’s not about fighting change, it’s about working with change.”

Boyd Martin USA - Talking about his test that didn’t go to plan - “Thomas (Tsetserleg TSF) has been so good in the dressage for years….some great moments and some disastrous. You come here hoping to give a personal best. Cross country tomorrow is so difficult it’s so hard to get the time but I think we (Team USA) are in with a chance if we can deliver three good rounds cross country with three good seasoned horses that are older and experienced. We’ve nothing to lose by going out there and giving it a crack!”

Results here  https://tokyo2020.live.fei.org/

 

World number one, Oliver Townend, gave the British team the best possible start when taking the individual lead as the Dressage phase kicked off equestrian Eventing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Baji Koen today.

Going second in the first of today’s two sessions, with a further 20 horse-and-rider combinations to go tomorrow morning, the 38-year-old athlete who is a triple European team gold medallist, produced what he described as “a very safe test” for a score of 23.6 with the Irish-bred grey, Ballaghmor Class.

Team-mate, Laura Collett, then backed that up with a score of 25.80 for overnight fourth place individually with London 52, but she wasn’t overly pleased with her own performance. “He’s been phenomenal all year and I was aiming for (a score of) 21/22. This year he’s been very close to Ballaghmor Class, but unfortunately it didn’t come off today”, said the rider who, with the same horse, won the CCI5*-L at Pau, France last October. 

However her result was plenty good enough to secure pole position for her country this evening.

Leaderboard

It’s a fascinating leaderboard with two-thirds of the dressage competitors now completed. Lying second are Team Sweden, with the hosts from Japan in third and China in fourth place. Few would have expected Germany to be lying fifth and New Zealand, France, Switzerland, USA and Australia stacking up behind them in the field of 15 nations.

A brilliant ride by China’s Alex Hua Tian with Don Geniro brought him closest to Townend’s leading score when putting 23.90 on the board for individual second place while Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Amande de B’Neville lie third on 25.20.

The short action-packed dressage test, specially created for these Olympic Games, takes just 3.5 minutes to complete and, underlining the quality of the field, a total of seven combinations scored below 30 during this morning’s first session. Three more joined that elite group as the day progressed and amongst them was India’s Fouad Mirza riding the experienced 15-year-old gelding Seigneur that competed so successfully for Germany’s Bettina Hoy. “I’m so lucky to ride such a great horse, he’s a gentleman in every sense, kind and honest”, said the athlete who is only the third rider from his country to compete in Olympic Eventing.

Overnight there were some changes to the teams, with both Australia’s Stuart Tinney (Leporis) and Ireland’s Cathal Daniels (Rioghan Rua) withdrawing. Tinney has been replaced by Kevin McNab (Don Quidam) and Daniels by Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue).

Pressure

Townend said he wasn’t bothered by the pressure of being second into the arena and first to ride for his country. “It wouldn’t be my chosen job in life to be pathfinder but at the same time the first bit is out of the way and he’s (Ballaghmor Class) done a very commendable job. So fingers crossed we keep the work up over the next three or four days and see where we end up”.

There is a lot of talk about the course at Sea Forest where the cross-country phase will take place early on Sunday morning.

“It’s very intense”, Townend said about the track designed by America’s Derek di Grazia. “You’re always on the climb or camber or in the water, or in a combination. The questions are extremely fair, it’s very horse friendly, and if you took each fence individually there wouldn’t be too many problems but at the same time when you add the heat, the terrain, the Olympic pressure and then speed on top of that, it’s going to be causing a lot of trouble and it’s going to be very difficult to get the time.

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

Quotes: 

Doug Payne USA (lying 21st): “We prepped at Tryon and to me this course feels a lot like there, lots of turn backs…”

Germany’s Julia Krajewski (lying 3rd): Talking about her mare Amande de B’Neville  - “She’s a real galloping machine and a great jumper, she’s always willing to perform and especially this year after Sam (Samurai du Thot, her team silver medal winning horse at Rio 2016 Olympic Games) got seriously ill, it felt as if she really stepped up. Sometimes I think it’s when they feel they are the number one in the stable that they step up then!”

Philip Dutton USA (lying 12th) - Talking about Sunday’s cross-country course:  “I’ll spend tomorrow getting to know the course well so I can shave off every second I can and figure out how close I can get to the jumps before I steady up, really get to know it well. It’s a course you have to understand, you have to keep thinking ahead before the next combination comes up.

Kevin McNab AUS (lying 18th) - Kevin was called onto the Australian team when Stuart Tinney had to withdraw - “Unfortunately one of those sports where it does happen, I’m sorry for Stuart but it’s great to be here and there’s such a wealth of knowledge between the team that I’m lucky to be making my debut with them.”

Victoria Scott-Legendre RSA (lying 37th) - Talking about the challenges of competing in her home country - “We are lucky enough to have some really nice venues in South Africa that have wild animals on the property and I’ve had a dressage test where a herd of zebra have come through and there are a couple of places where some giraffe have popped over the trees - the horses really are quite spooky with that, they do a 360 and off we go!”

Results here  

 

The state-of-the-art Veterinary Clinic at Baji Koen Equestrian Park, specially built for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is fully equipped to ensure that all onsite equine athletes have access to world-class veterinary facilities.

The Japan Racing Association (JRA), owner of the Baji Koen facility, has invested in a complete refurbishment of the entire venue used for the Olympic equestrian events in 1964. This includes construction of the brand new Veterinary Clinic and stables, providing an unprecedented post-Games legacy for both the racing and equestrian sport community in Japan.

Staffed with a mix of domestic and international world leading professionals specialised in advanced veterinary medicine, the Clinic offers both routine and emergency services, treatment boxes for use by team veterinarians and physiotherapists, a clinical pathology laboratory for blood count and biochemistry analysis, a fully stocked pharmacy, radiography and ultrasound scanning, and – if needed – ultramodern hi-tech surgery facilities.

A veterinary ambulance service is accessible around the clock and emergency veterinary clinical services are available 24/7.

Stringent biosecurity measures to prevent any possible contamination are in place across the entire Equestrian venue, and are at an even higher level for all veterinary facilities, including the horse ambulances.

"In 2016 the JRA demolished the former veterinary clinic here at Baji Koen and built these fabulous facilities so that we can provide optimal care for the Olympic and Paralympic horses during the Games. And it has a double benefit as a great investment for the future”, said Tokyo 2020 Veterinary Service Manager Dr Hiroko Aida, who is also a leading veterinarian at the JRA. “The veterinary surgeons we have onsite are some of the best in the world and it is a real honour to be a part of this team."

Sea Forest Veterinary Clinic

A second Veterinary Clinic has been set up onsite at Sea Forest Cross Country Course (SFC). This temporary facility is in place especially for the cross country, the second of three tests in the Equestrian Eventing discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The SFC Veterinary Clinic will be fully operational throughout the stay of the Eventing horses at Sea Forest from the night of 31 July to post-competition on 1 August.