Paris Olympics 2024 - Equestrian

A Brief History

Competitive Equestrian horse riding is believed to have been started in Ancient Greece - it was seen as a method of training horses for the violent and hectic conditions of war prominent for the period. The games centered around violet and dangerous chariot racing, with the premise being teams of horses dragging along two-wheeled carts around an oval-shaped track in a huge stadium of spectators.

Modern Equestrian was introduced into the newly formed modern Olympics (1896 onwards) in 1900 and by 1912 the three most prominent Olympic disciplines had been implemented and remain to this day. Thus, the 1912 Stockholm games heralded a new era, where amongst the first winners were Frenchmen Jean Cariou and home nation hero Carl Bonde, who won the jumping and dressage events respectively. In 1954, women started to compete in newly formed mixed dressage events, and later in 1964, were able to compete across all disciplines, making it the first all-mixed Olympic sport.

Statistically, the most successful equestrian Olympian is dressage rider Isabell Werth with six gold medals and a total of twelve medals, with the 2024 Paris Games being her last as she heads for retirement. For Britain, Richard Meade OBE is to date Britain’s most successful equestrian competitor, winning three gold medals including the individual event in 1972.

Paris 2024

The Equestrian events will take place from the 27th of July and run through to the 6th of August at the Palace de Versailles with both team and individual events for dressage, jumping, and eventing.

Jumping

The jumping event is a timed event where riders must jump over a series of obstacles specially designed for each course - mistakes are punished with a time penalty. Horse and rider must therefore be in perfect sync, with the margin for error for those who want to compete for the medal positions almost zero.

Taking place over two days, the Individual Jumping competition begins with a qualifying round where 75 athletes start, competing on the same 12-14 obstacle course. Only the top 30 will advance to the Individual Jumping final, with medal positions being decided on a different 12-15 numbered obstacle course – any tie-in points for medal positions result in a jump-off. The Team Jumping event similarly will have a qualifying round with 20 teams, where three riders accumulate points based on time and penalties. 10 teams will qualify for the final on a different course from the qualifying round, medal positions cannot be tied and, in such case, will result in a jump-off.

Whats On & When?

• Thu 1st Aug – Team Jumping Qualifier (20 teams)
• Fri 2nd Aug – Team Jumping Final (10 teams)
• Mon 5th Aug – Individual Jumping Qualifier (75 riders)
• Tue 6th Aug – Individual Jumping Final (30 riders)

Dressage

The dressage event is a showcase of control and artistic elegance, demonstrating how well a horse is trained, requiring impeccable feel, touch and communicative skills between horse and rider. Judged by the fluidity and complexity of movements to the tune of music, dressage at the highest level is challenging and staggering to behold at its best.

Scores are accumulated by adding up individual scores within the team – the top eight ranked teams will move on to the team final, the Grand Prix Special, while the two top athletes from each heat will be entered into the Grand Prix Freestyle, the individual final, accompanied by the next six best ranked competitors.

The Grand Prix Special acts as a final for team competition, only scores accumulated in the Special will count towards medal ranking positions. The Grand Prix Freestyle is the final determining factor for medals in individual competition, open to 18 athletes, who design their own test, set to music with 16 moves compulsory and like the Special, only scores from the Freestyle will count towards medal rankings.

Whats On & When?

• Tue 30th July – Grand Prix – Individual & Team (30 riders)
• Wed 31st July – Grand Prix – Individual & Team (30 riders)
• Sat 3rd Aug – Grand Prix Special (Team Final) (8 teams)
• Sun 4th Aug – Grand Prix Freestyle (Individual Final) (18 riders)

Eventing

Equestrian eventing is a multi-stage discipline that includes a test of dressage, cross-country and jumping. Eventing therefore requires a well-balanced repertoire and is often tackled strategically to combat weaknesses and elevate strengths.

The team and individual events run together, with the dressage and cross-country phases taking place on days one and two respectively. On the third and final day, teams will take part in the jumping phase – the team who has accumulated the least amount of penalty points over the three days will take the gold medal. To decide the individual medals, the top-ranked 25 individual competitors will take part in a final jumping phase.

Whats On & When?

• Sat 27th July – Eventing - Dressage Phase (65 riders)
• Sun 28th July – Eventing – Cross-Country Phase (65 riders)
• Mon 29th July – Eventing – Jumping Phase (65 riders)
• Mon 29th July – Eventing – Jumping Phase – Individual Final (25 riders)

Britain enjoyed a successful equestrian campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, claiming the most medals out of any nation, with the eventing team winning gold and Ben Maher winning gold for the individual jumping event. Germany took home gold for the dressage team event while Sweden won gold for the jumping team event. With 18 medals up for grabs this year, here’s hoping for a similarly successful British campaign in Paris!

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