Through Stonehenge, Team USA’s McLain Ward and Antares, photo via SmartPak.
Team medals will be won in show jumping today, with the USA’s Fellers, Kessler, Madden and Ward still narrowly in the hunt. After yesterday’s round (Madden and Ward garnered 4 penalties apiece, Kessler brought two down for the 8-penalty drop score, and Fellers jumped clean), Team USA just made the 8-team cutoff for final-round team medal contention. Saudi Arabia are the current leaders with a single time penalty; Great Britain, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland are tied for second with 4 faults; Canada sits sixth with 5, and Teams Brazil and USA are tied for seventh with 8. Competition resumes today at 2pm local/9am EDT. [Results]
Sunday Show Jumping Recaps: [Kate] [COTH] [FEI] [USEF] [Equisearch]
The top 35 show jumpers compete Wednesday for individual medals. Fellers, the USA’s top-placed rider, is one of 12 atop the scoreboard without penalty. Confused about Olympic show jumping scoring, qualifications or format? Horse & Hound Show Jumping Editor Jennifer Donald will sort you out. [Horse & Hound]
After a tough showing cross-country and David Marcus’ elimination from the first round of Olympic Dressage, hard luck continued for Canada, currently sixth in Team Show Jumping, with the FEI’s disqualification of Victor, ridden by Tiffany Foster, 28, in her first Olympics, for apparent hypersensitivity. COTH was on the scene, reporting that HRH Princess Haya, FEI president, claimed “no accusation” of wrongdoing, Foster was visibly emotional, and teammate Eric Lamaze obviously incensed: ” ‘I think I can speak on behalf of [Foster], my chef d’equipe and my other teammates. This is a complete miscarriage of justice,’ he said. ‘We all know why they do the tests, and we all understand. [But] within a period of perhaps six minutes, five people poked at this horse’s leg 50 times.’ ” [COTH]
With Foster’s disqualification and Canada’s subsequent inability to drop a score, medal hopes rest upon the team’s three remaining riders. Luckily, those include defending Olympic individual gold medalist Eric Lamaze and record 10-time Olympian Ian Millar: “Millar is known as ‘Captain Canada’ in his home country, where he is a national sports hero. He twice won jumping’s World Cup but has only one Olympic medal — team silver in China in 2008. He contributed a clean round there to bolster his team despite riding with a broken hand.” [Washington Post]
Olympic Dressage riders had the weekend off, but team competition resumes with the Grand Prix Special tomorrow at 10 am local/5 am EDT. Can Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro top their already-Olympic-record-breaking 83.663 percent? [Results]
Horse & Hound Dressage Editor Alice Collins is a believer: “I can’t remember feeling more nervous in recent times than I was during Charlotte’s test — but I, along with the rest of the spectators, jumped up when she nailed her final halt. We screamed like Justin Bieber teens. We shouted, we cheered and then a noise like thunder swept round the stadium as 20,000 stamped their feet in appreciation of the coolest combo in dressage.” [Horse & Hound]
Meanwhile, in Eventing USA…
Buck and Phillip hung onto their leads in Millbrook’s two who’s-who advanced divisions, winning aboard Reggie and Young Man, respectively; Buck also won Open Intermediate-B on No More Rocks; Ariel Grald and Practically Perfect finished on a 29.6 to top Open Intermediate-A, and Caroline Martin impressively finished both of her horses on their dressage scores, winning the YROI with Petite Flower and placing second with Quantum Solace. [Results]
At the Area VII Young Rider Benefit H.T. in Centralia, Wash., Jordan Lindstedt piloted Revitavet Capato to the top of the OP, and Natalie Sakuma and The Supernova won wire to wire in the JR/YR-P. [Results]
Wanda Rodden and Miss Kate topped Snowfields’ solo training division; Jessica Champagne and CBT Frenchmistress won the OT/N, and Katie Murphy and Esccord RGS, Taylor Ginn and Sage Advice, Lakiesha Varney and My Red Neck Romeo, and Kimmy Cecere and Samson were novice victors. [Results]
The Economist’s fair/balanced look at Olympic horse sports: “Although in some ways equestrianism is considered one of the more elitist sports—it requires deep pockets to purchase and a look after good nag; horses are frustratingly prone to expensive injuries; ample land is required to house and exercise them; and the royals are keen on it (the queen’s granddaughter was on the British team)—in other ways it is one of the more egalitarian sports.” [Economist]
Mounted games players, behold: The USA’s Mackenzie Taylor took rescue pony Inkspot to the Mounted Games World Individual Championships in Chepstow, Wales, and won the Under 17 Championship–the first-ever American World Individual finalist. [Horsetalk]
Top of the Tweets: Reed Kessler: two rails with big mama today- Rich Fellers is my hero!!!! still in medal contention gotta bring it tomorrow!!!
McLain Ward and Antares, as seen from the Olympic stands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrtFSNpGs1c
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro’s 83.663 percent:
