Rio de Janeiro (BRA), 16 August 2016 – Two horse/rider combinations were disqualified from Tuesday’s combined Jumping Individual 2nd Qualifier and Jumping Team Round 1 after blood was found on the horses’ flanks.
Cassio Rivetti (UKR), with Fine Fleur du Marais, and Stephan De Freitas Barcha (BRA), riding Landpeter Do Feroleto, will not be eligible to participate in the second round of the competition Wednesday, the Jumping Individual 3rd Qualifier and Team Round 2 (Team Final).
Stephan Ellenbruch, President of the Rio 2016 Equestrian Olympic Ground Jury, stated: “Horse Welfare is the most important element of equestrian sport. Disqualification under this rule does not imply that there was intent to injure the horse, but it is essential that the rules are enforced in order to ensure that horse welfare is protected.”
*Please see FEI rule below:
Article 242.3.1 Horses bleeding on the flank(s), in the mouth or nose or marks indicating excessive use of spurs or of the whip anywhere on the Horse (in minor cases of blood in the mouth, such as where a Horse appears to have bitten its tongue or lip, Officials may authorize the rinsing or wiping of the mouth and allow the Athlete to continue; any further evidence of blood in the mouth will result in Disqualification.)
“Stephan used the spurs during the competition to encourage the horse but unfortunately broke the skin, resulting in mandatory disqualification, which is clearly set out in the rules of our sport,” Brazilian team Veterinarian Rogério Saito said.
The Brazilian team filed a protest to the Ground Jury against Stephan de Freitas Barcha’s disqualification. The Ground Jury issued their decision confirming the disqualification. An appeal against the decision of the Ground Jury was subsequently lodged with the Appeals Committee, which also confirmed the disqualification.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team has withdrawn Beezie Madden and Cortes ‘C’ from competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Cortes ‘C’ sustained an injury during Round One of the Team competition on Tuesday and in the best interest of the horse’s welfare, the decision has been made to withdraw Cortes ‘C’.
The U.S. will head into Wednesday’s team final in a four-way tie for first. As a three-member team, the U.S. will not have a drop-score to utilize in Round Two.
Beezie and John Madden made the following statement:
“We are heartbroken to announce that Cortes ‘C’ sustained a tendon injury in yesterday’s competition and will be unable to compete for Team USA today. We are confident that he will make a full recovery. While we had hoped to do everything we could to help the USA towards a medal today, Tiny’s [Cortes ‘C’] best interests must come first. We are so thankful to our teammates, sponsors, and most importantly, his owner, Abigail Wexner, for understanding that in this sport, sometimes winning means doing right by your best friend. We will be there today on the sidelines doing everything we can to support Kent, Lucy, and McLain.”
Kent Farrington and Voyeur (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The equestrian venue at Deodoro Olympic Park was filled with excitement Tuesday for the second day of show jumping at the 2016 Olympic Games. A total of 69 athlete-and-horse combinations representing 24 countries, including 15 teams, competed in the first half of the two-round team competition, which also served as the second qualifier for the individual finals. The U.S. team produced three clear rounds which put them in a four-way tie for first place with The Netherlands, Germany, and Brazil, each with zero faults. France is hot on their heels with one fault, followed by Canada with four.
Guilherme Jorge’s course was less technical than what he had set for Sunday’s first individual qualifier. He included added dimensions with long approaches to the fences for a time allowed of 81 seconds that proved to be a challenge for some riders. Power, speed, and accuracy proved to be the winning formula to complete Jorge’s second course clear.
The trailblazer for the U.S. was Farrington (Wellington, Fla.) and Amalaya Investments’ 14-year-old KWPN gelding, Voyeur. Repeating their foot-perfect performance from Sunday, this dynamic duo produced the second clear round of the day to get the U.S. off to a great start.
“I wouldn’t say it’s massive in size yet, but I am sure that’s to come,” Farrington said of the round one course. “I think tomorrow will be significantly bigger. It’s exactly what you would expect at a championship level. The time allowed is quite short, which I think is going to be a factor either through time faults or rails down because of people worrying about the time. Obviously, I am thrilled with my horse. It was a great start for Team USA.”
The second rider for the U.S. was Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.), piloting Old Oaks Farm’s Barron, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding. Davis and Barron were poised and ready, matching Farrington’s performance with a second clean round for the U.S. team.
“I’m very relieved now that it’s over. After yesterday’s rail I hoped that it would set me up well for today and it definitely did,” Davis said. “He was incredibly sharp and with me. I was maybe a little more tense than usual. I really wanted this for the team. I think tomorrow I will be a bit more relaxed after seeing how well he handled this day and how confident everyone on the team is. It’s nice in my position. I can really count on them [my teammates]. I am pretty lucky, especially for the Olympics, to be on a mount like Barron. He makes it easy.”
Riding with his trademark textbook style, Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) with Double H Farm and Francois Mathy’s Azur, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, cruised around the ring and turned in the third fault-free performance for the U.S.
“Once I jumped through the triple I kind of settled in,” said Ward. “I knew the team was in a good position. Obviously, we needed to be clear today to be in a good position for tomorrow. We are a good team. So far we didn’t lose it. I think tomorrow will go up another level.”
Beezie Madden and Cortes ‘C’ (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Riding anchor for the U.S. team, Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) entered the ring on Abigail Wexner’s Cortes ‘C’ knowing that the U.S. had three clear rounds they would not need her score. Still needing a score for the individual competition, Madden and the 14-year-old Belgium Warmblood gelding experienced an unfortunate rub at fence three and a misplaced foot at the water jump to accumulate eight penalties.
“It was a short seven up the first line, and maybe I was a little casual about the back rail, and then he clipped that,” Madden said. “The water has been riding difficult all day. I just didn’t quite get across. I think he actually finished better than he started in the course, so hopefully tomorrow we’re in good shape.”
Madden and Cortes ‘C’ will continue Wednesday in the team competition; however, with a total of 12 faults after two days of competition, they will not move forward to Friday’s individual final.
Action continues Wednesday as the top eight teams from round one return for the final round of the team competition. Riders who qualify will advance to the two-round individual final on Friday.
Keep up-to-date on equestrian competition at the Rio Olympic Games on the USEFNetwork.com. Coverage includes links to live streams and TV coverage, athlete bios, behind-the-scenes photos, and more.
Classic Communications/USEF Communications Department
Rio de Janeiro (BRA), 16 August 2016 – Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands and USA all tied for the lead on a zero score after the first round of Team Jumping at Deodoro Olympic Park, with France trailing by just a single time fault going into Wednesday’s second-round medal decider.
Canada lies sixth on a four-fault tally, and the top-eight qualifying group is completed by Sweden and Switzerland, each carrying eight faults. A total of 15 nations competed in the first round, and amongst the seven teams that did not make the cut were the defending Olympic champions from Great Britain.
Once again the open water proved the bogey fence on the Guilherme Jorge’s course, and London 2012 team gold medallist Nick Skelton was penalised here with Big Star in an otherwise copybook tour of the new track. And when his team-mates Ben Maher (Tic Tac) and Michael Whitaker (Cassionato) posted five-fault results when leaving a fence on the floor and also exceeding the 81 seconds time-allowed, and then John Whitaker had a nightmare round for an uncharacteristic 23 faults with the mare Ornellaia, it was all over for the British contingent.
Spectrum
On the other end of the spectrum the Americans, Dutch and Germans all posted three clears in a row. Kent Farrington (Voyeur) and Lucy Davis (Barron) are both Olympic first-timers, and when their colleague and double Olympic team gold medallist McLain Ward also kept a clean sheet with Azur the Americans were done and dusted. Farrington wasn’t getting too carried away, however. “Quite clearly our hopes are to be in contention for the top, but you never know what to expect – we take it one round at a time,” he said wisely.
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and her fabulous grey, Fibonacci, were only called up from the reserve bench at the last minute but are showing they are perfectly entitled to their spot in the German side when posting another spectacular clear along with Christian Ahlmann (Taloubet Z) and Daniel Deusser (First Class). And world and European double-champion, The Netherlands’ Jeroen Dubbeldam (Zenith) who took individual gold at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, was backed up by great performances from both Maikel van der Vleuten (Verdi) and Harrie Smolders (Emerald).
Pulled it back
Brazil’s Eduardo Menezes (Quintol) kicked off with a great clear before Stephan de Freitas Barcha (Landpeter do Feroleto) racked up eight faults, but then Doda de Miranda pulled it back for the host team with a brilliant run with Cornetto K. As Pedro Veniss set off, however, he had the entire population of Brazil sitting at the back of his saddle, but his 12-year-old stallion Quabri d’Elle didn’t let him down. “I spoke a lot with Rodrigo (Pessoa) and he told me to relax and concentrate,” Veniss said. And clearly the Brazilians have a podium placing in their sights. “I was here in 2007 when we won the Pan-American gold medal. We are really focused on doing the same tomorrow,” he pointed out. However, they will only have a three-man side when the action resumes in the morning, as Barcha has been disqualified along with Ukraine’s Cassio Rivetti for a rule infringement.
Hot pursuit
The French are in hot pursuit despite a difficult start to the Games. “Since we arrived here in Rio we had the injury to Ryan (the horse of Simon Delestre who was withdrawn) and then the small problem during the night, five days ago, with Flora (Penelope Leprevost’s mare Flora de Mariposa). And then Penelope had a fall (in the opening competition on Sunday). But maybe it helps us to fight more!” said team member Kevin Staut.
A total of 49 horse-and-rider combinations go through to Wednesday, including defending individual Olympic champion and Swiss team member Steve Guerdat who had a double error with Nino des Buissonnets. “I rode energetically to the water jump because there were a lot of mistakes there and perhaps I over-motivated him and it led to the mistake at the next fence. But tomorrow is another day and a new course, and anything can happen,” he said.
Pedro Veniss BRA: “It’s a pleasure to work with George (Morris, Brazilian team coach). He told me he’s been to 15 Olympic Games so that’s some experience! He’s helping us a lot.”
Eric Lamaze CAN: “I was told I had to go clear. My mare is in fantastic form; she didn’t feel like a horse that was going to make a lazy mistake.”
Maikel van der Vleuten NED: “I’m riding this horse for ten or eleven years and we’ve had him since he was four. I knew when I sat on him the first time that he was something special. You dream your horse is going to do this stuff but you don’t know how it’s going to develop over time. He’s a great horse; the closer he gets to the ring the more he likes it”!
Peder Fredricson SWE: “I did my first Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona as a three-day eventer! We bought All In as a seven-year-old from Ludo Philippaerts and he was already a good horse then; he went well for Nicola (Philippaerts) and the owner decided to buy the horse for me. He’s a really small horse, but when I took my first jump on him I knew this was a horse I would like. He used to be really hot but he has calmed down now. He has changed character a lot.”
Kent Farrington USA: “It is never easy to be the lead-off rider. But it helps the others to put in a clear round. That was my duty. Mission accomplished. I have Voyeur for four years and I know him well. When I walked the course today I knew it would suit him.”
Kevin Staut FRA: “London was the first Olympics for all of us and we could not imagine the atmosphere, and how it is different from other championships. So, I think it was a really bad experience, but a really good one to get us ready for Rio. This time we arrived for the opening ceremonies and we have been here for 10 days. It is hard to be away from our stables for a long time, but it was our choice to be really in the Olympic spirit. We know we have to fight ten times harder than for another show. Each day is a new day and we have to do something to qualify for the next day. It is hard, but this time we know how it is. In London, we were children!”
Equestrian in the Olympics
Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic Games since 1912. Team and individual medals are awarded in three disciplines – Dressage, Eventing and Jumping. Uniquely across the Olympic Movement, men and women compete against each other for all the medals in equestrian sport.
Laura Graves and Verdades (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Excitement filled the air as the final day of dressage got underway at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center on Monday. The top 18 competitors from eight nations competed in the Grand Prix Freestyle, the deciding competition for the Individual medals. Only three athletes from each nation were eligible to compete. After winning the Bronze medal with teammate Kasey Perry-Glass on Friday, Steffen Peters, Alison Brock, and Laura Graves entered the sun-filled stadium to perform the Freestyle set to personally-chosen music. All three had fantastic performances, with Graves coming in again as the highest-placed U.S. rider and finishing just outside the medals in fourth place.
The pressure was on for Graves (Geneva, Fla.) and her own Verdades, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding. The combination was competing in its first Olympic Games, and turned in personal bests in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special, leading the U.S. to the Team Bronze medal. The pair was the penultimate combination to go in the Freestyle and produced a breath-taking performance to earn 85.196%, which put them in third place with Germany’s Isabell Werth left to go. Although Werth’s ride on Weihegold Old dropped Graves to fourth, it was a fabulous finish.
The pair executed many high-risk movements throughout the test, including two-tempi canter flying changes on a half-circle leading into one-tempi changes, which earned multiple 9s from the jury, as did their double canter pirouettes, harmony, degree of difficulty, and music.
“I’m thrilled with the score,” said a beaming Graves, who earned three personal-best scores while competing in Rio. “Because Verdades is really honest, the degree of difficulty is something that I can play with and so you have to highlight those moments. We did them twice, showing that it’s not just luck, and the judges obviously rewarded us for it today.”
In regards to how Verdades felt in the arena, Graves commented, “I don’t feel like I had quite as much horse as I’ve had over the past couple days. It’s very hot and we’ve been here just over two weeks, so it’s been a long time for us to keep our horses going like this, but he was ready. He stayed really honest, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
“I’m just so happy,” continued Graves. “I believe in a system, following a routine, and finding a trainer you trust and staying with them. I’m so blessed that both Robert [Dover] and my personal trainer, Debbie McDonald, have sacrificed so much of their time this summer to be over in Europe with the Team and it really has made a difference.”
Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Peters (San Diego, Calif.), competing in his fourth Olympic Games, and Legolas 92, a 14-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Four Winds Farm, were the first combination into the arena Monday morning. The pair set the bar high from the start. Opening with the well-known song “Under Pressure”, the pair’s well-executed and harmonious test captured the audience and seven judges’ attention. The jury gave the pair several 9s for their music, choreography, and degree of difficulty, and Peters earned a final score a 79.393% for a 12th-place finish.
“I’m super happy, and it’s super exciting!” said Peters with a grin from ear-to-ear. “I added a few extra degrees of difficulty to the test today. The double pirouette before the canter-piaffe transition is a new one, and I hadn’t done the piaffe-pirouette on center line in a while. I knew if I’d be slightly ahead of the music I would do a double pirouette after the extended canter. Since he did all the other piaffes very well, I thought we’d take a risk and see if he turns with the music and especially in the piaffe-pirouette to the left. He was dead-on with the music, and even there I already had a big smile on my face, and today was 99% less pressure than the previous days, so honestly I had a blast in there – I just loved it.”
“I hadn’t been first into the ring for years, so it was my time!” added Peters with a laugh. “I was hoping for a score of around 80% and the judges agreed with me, so I’m super happy! Legolas just had a fantastic three days at the Olympic Games. I wish I could put into words how much winning the [Team] Bronze medal means to me and also how much it means to me how well Legolas did here.”
Third into the arena was Brock (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and the 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion Rosevelt, owned by Claudine and Fritz Kundrun. They performed a lovely Freestyle to score 76.160% for 15th place in their first Olympic Games.
“I’m really happy with my test and Rosevelt was very good, bless his heart,” said Brock. “I just love that music – I think it really suits him very well. It’s a really beautiful compilation of music from a group called Tanghetto. The canter music is from ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’. It’s the type of music that doesn’t overwhelm the audience and it draws you into the horse. I’m really happy.”
Graves summed up all the U.S. riders’ feelings at the end, saying, “This has been an incredible experience to be here with this Team, and we have such a huge family of supporters who came this far just to be with us all. We sometimes forget that it’s more than just us and the horse. We have so many people around us who make this happen and to watch what they sacrifice for our dreams is something that is very emotional for everyone.”
Defending Olympic Champions Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain and her mount Valegro, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding, who are also World and European Champions, claimed their second consecutive Olympic Individual Gold medal, topping the field with an impressive score of 93.857%. Germany’s Isabell Werth and the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare Weihegold Old, claimed the Individual Silver with a score of 89.071%, making Werth the most decorated Olympic equestrian of all time with a record 10 Olympic medals (six Gold and four Silver). Teammate Kristina Broring-Sprehe and the 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion Desperados FRH took the Individual Bronze medal with a score of 87.142%.
Show jumping returns to action on Tuesday with the first half of the two-round team competition, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Watch live on NBCOlympics.com.
Keep up-to-date on equestrian competition at the Rio Olympic Games on the USEFNetwork.com. Coverage includes links to live streams and TV coverage, athlete bios, behind-the-scenes photos, and more.
Classic Communications/USEF Communications Department
Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. (Dirk Caremans/FEI)
Rio de Janeiro (BRA), 15 August 2016 – Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin (31) and the fabulous 14-year-old gelding, Valegro, were in a class of their own when posting an Olympic Dressage record score of 93.857 in the Grand Prix Freestyle to claim their second successive individual title. The double-gold medallist at London 2012 is the first British woman to retain an individual Olympic title, and she now matches the British record of three gold medals for a female athlete set by cyclist Laura Trott Sunday.
On an afternoon of high emotion in Deodoro Olympic Park, it was two members of Friday’s gold-medal-winning German team who took silver and bronze, the multi-medalled Isabell Werth (47) and Weihegold scoring 89.071 to finish ahead of world no. 1 Kristina Broring-Sprehe (29) and Desperados on a mark of 87.142.
Emotions
Dujardin could hardly contain her emotions after securing the victory. “He couldn’t have done any more,” she said of the much-loved horse who is known at home as Blueberry. “I was thinking this could be the last time,” she added before bursting into tears. The British partnership hold all the world records in their sport, and the result was just short of the Freestyle record of 94.30 per cent they set at Olympia Horse Show in London (GBR) in 2014.
The scores really began to soar as the final six combinations took their turn, and IOC President, Thomas Bach, arrived just in time to see Broring-Sprehe set the new standard before Dujardin and Valegro blew that away when rocketing into the lead by a margin of more than six points. America’s Laura Graves produced the performance of her career with Verdades to finish just off the podium on 85.196, her third personal-best result posted at these Games.
Record books
Werth already entered the record books when her team gold on Friday gave her the edge over the previously most-medalled German Olympic equestrian, Dr Reiner Klimke. Monday’s silver brings her tally to a massive 10 Olympic medals during an extraordinary career but, last to go, she was realistic in her expectations. “I knew Charlotte had 93 or 94 per cent, and Germany already won team gold, so with silver today I couldn’t ask for more. I really enjoy competing against the best; that’s what makes us all better, and Charlotte and Valegro really deserve this,” she said.
Dujardin talked about her own expectations. “We set the world record at 94 so I knew it was possible, but to come and do it again here at the Olympics is quite special. Today was magic; in London there was no pressure to take gold but today I was nervous because I felt the expectation to deliver. But trotting around the arena before the start, Blueberry felt so good it just put a smile on my face and I just knew it was going to be okay. I felt he knew what I was thinking in there and he looked after me; he did his very best. I have a partnership, a connection with this horse that nothing is going to break; he has a heart of gold,” she said.
Lit up
The pair has lit up the sport since coming together in 2011. “To think what he has achieved in the last four or five years, it seems almost impossible,” the British rider said, admitting that retirement is “on the cards” for Valegro now. “We’ll discuss it when we get home, and he definitely won’t be doing another Olympic Games or a big championship. I owe it to him to finish at the top,” she pointed out.
As for her own plans, marriage is at last on the horizon. Her partner, Dean Wyatt Golding, proposed to her during the London 2012 Games “and I said yes,” she explained. “Bless him, he’s been waiting a long time; we’ve been together nine years but it’s definitely going to happen now!” Somehow it seems very likely that a horse with three Olympic gold medals around his neck could be a prominent member of the wedding party.
Patrick Kittel SWE: “I only heard a couple of days ago that I couldn’t use my Stevie Wonder music. We asked a long time ago about using it for the Olympic Games and we only heard back at the very last minute so this music is an old one and Deja isn’t used to it and I think she felt lost in it, and I did too! I’m happy overall; this is an amazing horse; she needs more experience competing over three days but she’s going to be great!”
Carl Hester GBR: “I felt the mark matched my test; sometimes you go in there and think you should have gotten more, but not today. We got five more marks than Friday and he was so much more relaxed. He was so quiet I could just let him walk for the last five minutes before we came in.”
Charlotte Dujardin GBR: “I’ve only ridden that floorplan once, at Hartpury, and we’ve changed it a few times since. There were things I hadn’t even tried before today and that’s why he is so magical!”
Laura Graves USA: “I’m thrilled with this score. I didn’t feel like I had quite as much horse as I had in the last couple of days; it’s obviously very hot; we’ve been here now for a day over two weeks, so it’s been a long time to keep our horses going like this.
“It was another personal best for me, by three percent or something like that, so that’s three personal bests at the Olympic Games!”
Equestrian in the Olympics
Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic Games since 1912. Team and individual medals are awarded in three disciplines – Dressage, Eventing and Jumping. Uniquely across the Olympic Movement, men and women compete against each other for all the medals in equestrian sport.
Rio de Janeiro (BRA), 14 August 2016 – Stephan Ellenbruch, President of the Rio 2016 Equestrian Olympic Ground Jury, said: “We can confirm that Jur Vrieling has been disqualified from today’s individual Jumping competition.
“The FEI’s rules are very specific – if any blood is found on the flank of a horse, the Athlete/Horse combination is automatically disqualified from the competition.
“The veterinarians on site have examined the horse, Zirocco Blue, and will continue to monitor to ensure he is fit to compete on Tuesday, 16 August for the Jumping Team Round 1 qualifier event.”
*Please see FEI rule below:
Article 242.3.1 of the FEI Jumping Rules: Horses bleeding on the flank(s), in the mouth or nose or marks indicating excessive use of spurs or of the whip anywhere on the Horse (in minor cases of blood in the mouth, such as where a Horse appears to have bitten its tongue or lip, Officials may authorize the rinsing or wiping of the mouth and allow the Athlete to continue; any further evidence of blood in the mouth will result in Disqualification.)
*Please see statements below from the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation:
Rob Ehrens, Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation national coach: “I’ve been a professional rider for 27 years and I know the feeling when everything goes wrong. But this should not happen and will not happen again. While Jur and Zirocco Blue are chasing medals, this has to be handled professionally. We will use tomorrow to relax Zirocco Blue.”
Jur Vrieling: “I was encouraging him, saying ‘come on boy, don’t do this again’. I should not have given him these extra pushes. It is stupid, this happened in the heat of the moment, and it will not happen again.”
Kent Farrington and Voyeur (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The show jumping competition, the third and final equestrian discipline at the 2016 Olympic Games, got underway at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center, on Sunday, showcasing 75 athlete-and-horse combinations from 27 nations. In addition to serving as the first individual qualifier, Sunday’s results determined the starting order for the Team Competition. Kent Farrington produced a clear round for the U.S., while teammates Lucy Davis, McLain Ward, and Beezie Madden each had four-fault rounds. All four athletes sit in the top 30 and are qualified to continue in the individual competition. As a team, the U.S. finished in a four-way tie for eighth and will go sixth in the order of 15 nations in round one of team competition on Tuesday. All nations will begin round one of team competition on a clean slate of zero faults.
Guilherme Jorge’s show jumping course was technical and challenging. Riders faced a forward-riding course with a time allowed of 82 seconds. Many competitors had trouble at fence 7, the liverpool, and at fence 11a-b, a wide square oxer to an airy musically-designed vertical plank. Out of the 75 starters, only 24 combinations went clear. First to enter the ring for the U.S. was Farrington (Wellington, Fla.), and Amalaya Investments’ 2002 KWPN gelding, Voyeur. Providing the second clear round of the day, Farrington and Voyeur made light work of the course setting the stage for the U.S. team.
“We are off on the right foot so that always feels good in terms of confidence and is a boost for the team,” said Farrington. “It’s a great technical course for the first day. The last line is very technical and bending. Being the lead-off rider, I know my horse very well, and one of my strengths is that I know what I want to do with him.”
Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Old Oak Farm’s Barron, a 2004 Belgian Warmblood gelding, entered the ring calm and composed. Looking to repeat Farrington’s clear round, they jumped beautifully. However, Barron’s back feet tapped the top rail on the last jump, fence 12, resulting in an unlucky rail for four penalties.
“My horse is jumping incredibly, and we had an unfortunate rail at the last jump,” said Davis. “My trainer told me before I went in to enjoy the moment and that was the perfect thing to say. We all worked hard to get here, and it’s a pretty special moment. I just went in really calm, and my horse was jumping out of his skin.”
McLain Ward and Azur (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Putting in a professional ride, Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and Double H Farm and Francois Mathy’s Azur, also had a nearly faultless first round. Confident and careful throughout the first triple combination, and clear over the liverpool, Ward and Azur dropped the back rail when landing at the wide oxer at fence 11a collecting four faults.
“I was very happy with Azur. She jumped amazing as always. I purposely left her a little fresh today; it’s a long week and temperatures are going up,” said Ward. Looking forward to the rest of the competition and the position the U.S. currently holds, Ward stated, “It’s a great group; I think we look strong. It’s quite a good position we’re in, and things start to get a little more serious on Tuesday.”
The anchor for the U.S. team was Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and her famed partner, Cortes ‘C’, a 2002 Belgium Warmblood gelding owned by Abigail Wexner. Beezie and Cortes ‘C’ were on point in delivering a solid round. Sailing through the combinations that had been problematic throughout the day, Cortes ‘C’s back leg had an unlucky light tap on a block on the wall (fence 8) for four faults.
“The ride felt very good, always a good feeling to get the first round out of the way. I think on the whole it was a very good round,” said Madden. “He jumped very well, and I’m happy where he is right now. I had to ride the water a little strong. I think I took for granted that he’d back off on the wall; he clipped it coming down and stalled a little when I turned him in the air.”
Madden looks forward to Tuesday’s competition, saying, “Today, it’s important; we want good scores, but we are setting up a little for Tuesday and Wednesday. All of us are really happy with how everybody’s horses look and the rounds we had.”
Action continues on Tuesday with the first of two rounds of the team competition, which will conclude on Wednesday.
Keep up-to-date on equestrian competition at the Rio Olympic Games on the USEFNetwork.com. Coverage includes links to live streams and TV coverage, athlete bios, behind-the-scenes photos, and more.
Classic Communications/USEF Communications Department
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Fibonacci. (Dirk Caremans/FEI)
Rio de Janeiro (BRA), 14 August 2016 – The packed stadium at Deodoro Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) exploded into a wall of sound when Team Brazil matched the performance of a mighty side from Germany to post a zero score as Olympic Jumping got underway.
The first Jumping qualifier decides the starting order for the first round of the Team medal-decider on Tuesday, 16 August, and is taken into account for the individual rankings. Following the result, Brazil and Germany will get the best of the draw for the team event.
The world and European champions from The Netherlands collected just four faults along with Canada, France and Switzerland while Qatar collected five and the defending Olympic champions from Great Britain shared an eight-fault result along with USA, Spain and Sweden.
A total of 15 teams and 75 riders representing 27 countries have started the battle for the Jumping medals, and the first course designed by Brazil’s Guilherme Jorge was a tough one. German ace Ludger Beerbaum (52) said, “I wasn’t expecting it to be so big, and to have the water jump on the first day too!” after his horse, Casello, hit only the very last obstacle on the 12-fence track. However, all of his team-mates, including Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (46) who got a last-minute call-up with Fibonacci when Marcus Ehning’s Cornado “trotted up slightly irregularly”, kept a clean sheet.
Clear round
It was the clear round produced by 26-year-old Brazilian, Stephan de Freitas Barcha, that truly set the stadium alight, his brilliant horse Landpeter do Feroleto ensuring he joined the 24 others who finished fault-free on the day. “He’s a fighter, and as nice a person as you will ever meet!” Barcha said of his 14-year-old horse.
Not everyone had such a great day, with multiple eliminations including one for French star Penelope Leprevost (36) who was unseated when her mare, Flora de Mariposa, stumbled on landing over the big oxer at fence nine. The biggest trouble-spot, however, was the line of fences from the planks three from home, through the following Musical Instruments double, and then the final oxer. Just how much accuracy was required here was clearly evident from the outset, as defending team gold medallist Britain’s Nick Skelton (58) paid the price for missing his strike to the last when third into the ring.
In place
Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat (34) left all the poles in place with his London 2012 gold medal winning ride Nino des Buissonnets to kick off his campaign to become the first-ever Jumping athlete to win back-to-back individual Olympic titles. “The course is more massive than we are used to seeing on sand, and today was tough, so I wasn’t sure how Nino would respond to it but he actually felt confident, happy, fresh and powerful,” he said after jumping clear. “There was nothing to win today, but you can lose it!” he added, referring to the fact that the results also count towards the individual rankings.
However, he is staying grounded in the knowledge that there is a long way to go before the Team medals are presented on Wednesday and the Individual title is decided on Friday (19 August). “Anything can happen, so I can only bring Nino here to Rio in the best possible shape, but there is always luck along the way. He will give me his best and I will give him my best; that’s all we can do!” he added.
Medal tables
Germany currently leads the medal tables in Olympic Jumping, with five individual and eight team titles since 1912, and if Sunday’s performances are anything to go by they look set to add to that.
Ludger Beerbaum admitted that his country is spoiled for choice when it comes to Olympic-standard horse-and-rider combinations. “We had to replace Marcus and that’s not nice, but there was no complaining or anything. It wasn’t easy for Meredith to know only three hours earlier that she would have to ride, but she did great. To have her as our reserve is kind of a luxury!”
Steve Guerdat SUI: “I’m very happy. I was a little bit nervous myself in the warm-up yesterday; some of the horses were tense and Nino was too, but he was fine today.”
Eric Lamaze CAN (talking about riding a very fast round): “Every competition we go to the first class is always a 1.50m Speed, so although I know this class wasn’t based on time, I made it like a speed competition. That helps her (Fine Lady) to be scopey and competitive. She felt so ‘on’ that I just let her go! That double at 11 comes up on a difficult angle. I didn’t expect to see all that trouble there when I walked it, but also there’s a crown (a rise) in the arena, so the distance is affected because you’re jumping up a slope. She has a round under her belt now. To be honest she speaks louder than me sometimes and today we just hit our stride and kept on going!”
Ludger Beerbaum GER: “I started a bit aggressive for the first part of the track and I rode the water a bit strong. There were a lot of problems on that last corner; horses were backing off – I think the brown wings made them look – but my horse was good and I’m not sure why we hit that last fence.”
Jerome Guery BEL: “My horse was a bit sharp at the beginning of the course and the first day is hard for him because he is a bit spooky, but he jumped great.”
Equestrian in the Olympics
Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic Games since 1912. Team and individual medals are awarded in three disciplines – Dressage, Eventing and Jumping. Uniquely across the Olympic Movement, men and women compete against each other for all the medals in equestrian sport.
Cornelissen and Parzival won a silver and a bronze medal at London 2012.
(CNN) A Dutch dressage rider’s Olympic dream is over after her horse fell victim to an insect bite at Rio 2016.
Adelinde Cornelissen shocked fans by quitting the Games mid-test after her horse Parzival contracted a fever the day before the event.
Cornelissen and Parzival, who won individual silver and team bronze together at London 2012, retired from the individual Grand Prix Wednesday after only a handful of movements.
And it’s likely to have been Parzival’s final Olympic performance because the Dutch warmblood gelding is 19 years old.
Cornelissen took to Facebook and explained she pulled out of the Games over concern for Parzival’s welfare.
The day before the event, she said her horse’s head was swollen and Parzival had developed a fever, the exact cause of which is still unknown.
Cornelissen said the Dutch team had asked to alter the starting positions of the team to give the horse another day to recover but the request was refused by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI).
On the day of the event, Parzival was deemed well enough to compete by FEI vets but during the test, Cornelissen realized something was not right.
“In the arena he felt totally empty and I decided not to continue. He did not deserve this,” she said.
“In order to protect him, I gave up… My buddy, my friend, the horse that has given everything for me his whole life does not deserve this… So I saluted and left the arena.”
“I am not much of a follower of sporting events so the Olympics fall under that umbrella of disinterest and of no concern (except it is difficult to live in the Greater Houston area and not hear about the local, gold winning Simones, hurrah). But this week I did sit up and take note of a particular competing duo that stepped up and stood above the crowd, not because of what they did but instead because of what they did not do. An Olympic rider decided NOT to compete for the safety and well-being of her sick horse. Now THAT was something that touched me all the way down to my toes and back again: an athlete with a heart that was by far, much bigger than any ego. I am forever moved.
“My hat is off to one of the biggest winners of the summer Olympics in Rio, Ms Adelinde Cornelissen – thank you for showing us what a REAL winner looks like and for reminding us to continue to act from the heart, even when it hurts. You will always be the biggest Olympic winner, ever!” ~ R. T. Fitch
