Countdown to the Pan American Games Begins

U.S. team members Lauren Kieffer and Boyd Martin try on their new Team USA vests at training camp today. Photo via Facebook. U.S. team members Lauren Kieffer and Boyd Martin try on their new Team USA vests at training camp today. Photo via Facebook.

We’re just over one week away from the start of the eventing competition at the 17th Pan American Games in Toronto, and 6,000 athletes from 41 delegations are currently making their way to Canada to compete in 48 different sports.

The U.S. eventing team of Phillip Dutton, Lauren Kieffer, Marilyn Little and Boyd Martin will look to qualify a spot for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by besting the other unqualified teams, as well as defend team gold, which the Americans have won for the past four installments of the Pan Ams.

The Canadian eventing team of Colleen Loach, Jessica Phoenix, Waylon Roberts and Kathryn Robinson will look to halt Team USA’s gold medal streak. Jessica Phoenix and Pavarotti return in the hopes of winning individual gold for the second Pan Am Games in a row. Fun fact: Jessica is one of seven Canadian athletes that won individual gold in Guadalajara in 2011 and will now defend their titles in Toronto.

Riders from 13 countries making up 11 total teams are slated to compete in eventing, including the Brazilians, who blocked the U.S. from winning team gold at the 1995 Pan Ams in Argentina and are now coached by Mark Todd. Karen O’Connor, who won individual gold at the 2007 Pan Ams, will make her championship debut as coach of the Mexican team, and a slew of other up-and-coming eventing nations will do battle with Wayne Copping’s cross country course.

How have the U.S. and Canadian eventing teams been preparing for Toronto? Team Canada started their training camp last week on home turf with Coach Clayton Fredericks and took some time off to attend the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack over the weekend to get in some team building time.

Team Canada attended the Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racetrack over the weekend. Photo via Jessica Phoenix.

Team Canada attended the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack over the weekend. Photo via Jessica Phoenix.

Team USA’s training camp started today at Morningside Training Farm in The Plains, Virginia. The riders will have lessons with Coach David O’Connor and show jumping coach Silvio Mazzoni this week before flying to Toronto early next week and getting settled in at Caledon Equestrian Park.

Definite entries for eventing will not be named until next Wednesday, July 14, which is the day before the first horse inspection. Seventy-seven combinations have been nominated to compete, but only 45 horses and riders will start the competition. Click here to see the full list of nominated entries.

The competition kicks off Thursday with the first horse inspection, with the rest of the schedule as follows:

Dressage 
First session: 9 a.m. EST, Friday, July 17
Second session: 2 p.m. EST, Friday, July 17

Cross country
11 a.m. EST, Saturday, July 18

Show jumping
First session: 1 p.m. EST, Sunday, July 19
Second session: 2:30 p.m. EST, Sunday, July 19

Danielle Santos helps Jennie Brannigan with the fit on her new team vest. Photo via Facebook.

Danielle Santos helps U.S. traveling reserve Jennie Brannigan with the fit on her new vest. Photo via Facebook.

Tickets to watch the eventing sold out at the end of May, with equestrian tickets reportedly being sold for prices as high as $600 on scalping websites. The Pan Am committee released a new block of equestrian tickets for sale on Monday, but those seem to have quickly sold out, too. It’s possible more tickets will become available within the next week. You can keep checking this link for equestrian tickets.

The USEF’s Eventing Department does have extra tickets available for purchase and would like to get them into the hands of U.S. fans who can travel to Canada to cheer on Team USA. If you’d like to buy tickets to watch the competition, please email Joanie Morris at [email protected].

Be sure to follow the USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook page for behind-the-scenes photos from Team USA’s training camp at Morningside this week. I’ll be your boots on the ground next week, and EN’s live coverage of the Pan American Games will begin next Thursday morning.

Stay tuned for much more from the #PanAmGames, and click here to catch up on all our pre-coverage of the Games. Go Eventing.