The final fence ‘The Hellenic Omega’ was positioned at the end of the course to tie in with it being the final letter of the Greek Alphabet. It would end the course to then look forward’ to the 2004 Greek Olympics. It still stands at the entrance to the Sydney Equestrian Centre. There were a few refusals at this imposing fence.
September 2025 marks the 25th Anniversary of the iconic 2000 Sydney Olympics; an event CrossCountry App co-founder Jose Diacono, was lucky to attend as a volunteer herself. To celebrate the anniversary, you can relive the cross country action by taking a tour of CrossCountry App’s recreation of this remarkable course.
Inside, Stuart Tinney, Mary King, Blyth Tait and Amanda Ross reflect on their first-hand experience of the course and how it felt to ride their wonderful horses. Our thanks to the many officials, photographers Kit Houghton and Julie Wilson and volunteers who contributed photos and memories.
Below, you’ll find a full look at the track (you can also view it here). Be sure to click on the featured questions to hear reflections from some of the people who experienced this track for themselves!
The venue selected for the Games is now more commonly known as SEIC (Sydney International Equestiran Centre). The venue was built from scratch for the Olympics specifically; a tasking project for Course Designer Mike Etherington Smith and his team. The work commenced 3 years ahead of the Olympic kick-off.
Mike notes how the land allocated for the xc course was ‘Snake City’. The local residents weren’t the only hurdles Mike and his team faced; the venue was undulating; the footing was challenging and arenas needed to be built. With only two growing seasons before the test event, the pressure was on to have the groundworks complete.
Fence 3 – Darug Bulada. The name meaning ‘snake’ originates from the local Darug Bulada clan, which
gave Mike inspiration for design and creation of this fence. This was a bold and imposing jump featuring early on in the course. The fences were inspired by people and events from Australia’s history and First Nations people.
The climate also came into play with Mike’s planning. Being held towards late spring/early summer. Mike had to factor in the potential heat, so tried to avoid making the course too punishing if the weather was extreme. The course was set to run a 13-minute completion time; which is a lot of gallop even without the heat intensity.
[Hear from Mike on the building of this track]
The legacy of this World Class venue continues 25 years after it’s debut. Blyth Tait gives the venue the credit is rightfully deserves, outlining how SEIC now ‘contributes to the preparation for Australian teams when going overseas. The Sydney International Equestrian Centre regularly hosts eventing competitions where riders from 60cm to 4* now experience the thrill of riding over the same terrain and galloping through the (albeit modified) Olympic water jumps.
The course gave quite an ‘open’ feel, offering plenty of galloping opportunities with testing combinations in between. Stuart, Blyth, Mary and Amanda reminisce on some the most notable fences from the course.
In the Teams competition Gold went to Australia, Silver to Great Britain and Bronze to the United States. David O’Connor of the USA won the individual Gold, Andrew Hoy Silver and Mark Todd Bronze.
