Four days ago, we looked back at where we were 16 years ago. Today, we look back at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
The year 2000 marked the first time that Equestrian sport took place in Australia. Due to strict quarantine restrictions at the last Games, held in Melbourne in 1956, horses were not allowed to compete; *instead, equestrian sports were held in Stockholm, Sweden.
Eventing
For David’s cross-country ride, start at 8:30
I remember being 12 years old, and watching Custom Made’s dressage test. Literally, that’s what I think of when I think of Eventing at the 2000 Olympics. Well, that and the absolutely crazy water combinations on the cross-country course. Hey, feel like going through two 7’ drops in a row? Hey, feel like bouncing down into water then maneuvering a skinny corner? Not your choice, you’re going to do it. Riding the individual test as well? Lets do a bounce up an island in the middle, and make half of you fall on your face.
When David O’Connor won the Gold medal, it really said something about where American eventing was going, and where it had been. The last time an American stood at the top of the podium was in 1976. Then, it was Tad Coffin, who rode the incomparable Bally Cor to gold medal glory.
The team didn’t perform too shabby either. They finished in bronze medal position behind Australia and Great Britain, who battled it out the entire week for the gold medal. The rest of the team consisted of Nina Fout, with her great OTTB 3 Magic Beans, Karen O’Connor with Rolex winner Prince Panache, Linden Weisman with Anderoo, and David O’Connor with Olympic veteran Giltedge.
Show Jumping:
Definitely an Olympics the USA will want to forget in terms of Show Jumping. The all lady team of Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut, Margie Engle, and Nona Garson could only manage a sixth place team finish, and Margie Engle finished highest individually, placing 10th with Perin.
Saudi Arabia won their first Equestrian medal through Khaled Al Eid, who rode Khashm Al Aan to an individual bronze medal.
Dressage:
The US repeated its team bronze from 1996, with teammates Robert Dover and Guenter Seidel working together again. This time they were joined by Sue Blinks and Flim Flam, and Christine Traurig and Etienne.
The real star of the 2000 Olympics Dressage was Anky van Grunsven, and her horse Bonfire. If you’re wondering how big of a deal Bonfire was, lets just say I owned the Breyer before I even knew what dressage was. The horse medaled in THREE Olympic Games.
Their freestyle:
–
2000 Olympics Facts and Figures:
-The cost to construct the Equestrian facilities was around $46 million USD
-42 of the 82 horses competing in Eventing were Thoroughbreds
-12 of the 15 medalists were Thoroughbreds, and the other 3 were 7/8 Thoroughbred
-Equestrian competition didn’t begin until Sept 9, 2 weeks after horses arrived in quarantine
-Rodrigo Pessoa completed 3 clear rounds for Brazil, then was eliminated in the individual jump-off with Baloubet de Rouet
-The top 2 placed horses in Dressage, Bonfire and Gigolo (ridden by Isabell Werth) were 17 years old
-Blyth Tait’s gold winning mount from Atlanta, Ready Teddy, was eliminated in the second horse inspection. This eliminated the entire NZ team, which gave USA the bronze
