Fence #1 offers a friendly welcome to the course, set against a dramatic backdrop that must have taken somebody forever to paint. Just kidding! It's real. We think.
Part CIC2* course, part wildlife safari, the unveiling of Pierre Michelet’s cross-country course at the site of the 2016 Olympic Games is everything we hoped it would be and more.
It manages to combine real-life elements of Rio culture — not-so-distant gunshots, random monkeys, razor wire as far as the eye can see — with all the trappings of a first-class international event: a sculpture garden of festively decorated, beautifully built jumps positioned just-so along a sandy, gently undulating track.
To give you guys a better idea of the lay of the land, I climbed up into this hilltop tower…
…not realizing that the plywood floor was rotten until it literally started cracking beneath my feet like thin ice. No kidding, I had to crawl out on my hands and knees — but I by-God got my photos. Panning from left to right, if you imagine them all connected:
And that was just the beginning. Let’s go for a stroll, shall we? For a narrated tour, click on the thumbnails.
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- Why does Chinch look so nervous? And what’s with the pepper spray? Guess we’re about to find out!
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- Fence #1 offers a friendly welcome to the course, set against a dramatic backdrop that must have taken somebody forever to paint. Just kidding! It’s real. We think.
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- Don’t worry: The cinder block wall topped by razor wire beyond fence #2 is not part of the course.
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- It’s to keep out the neighbors.
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- Kicking on up the hill to fence #3.
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- Photo by Leslie Wylie.
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- Fence #4 is an inviting bending line through the water…
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- …followed by a galloping trakehner.
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- And then, out of nowhere, the eighth natural wonder of the eventing world: an ABC combination whose centerpiece is a giant bamboo keyhole. Also out of nowhere, shouting and not-too-distant gunshots.
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- Beyond the keyhole, a skinny and more gunshots. Probably just the adjacent military base, right?
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- The softly rollling terrain gives the horses just enough work to do.
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- Scattered throughout the course are a few jumps and features like this that aren’t being used this weekend but presumably will show up on next year’s Olympic course.
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- Fence #7, immaculately decorated in South America chic.
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- Heading back down the hill toward fence #8 and some fake trees. Just kidding, again. Probably.
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- Chinch’s new Rio summer home, fence #9AB.
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- Either fireworks or some sort of automatic weaponry now echoing from the beyond the trees, but how about this scenery?
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- You know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby. And you’re gonna…
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- … run into some random monkeys chilling beside the galloping lane.
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- Hey monkey.
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- Don’t look into its eyes.
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- Phew! Back to civilization. #10 is a little wake-up call after your safari sightseeing tour.
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- Now approaching the main water complex.
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- Be sure to dodge the little islands on your way to #11B and C.
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- Looping around and over a table en route to our second pass through the water.
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- A drop down over 13A…
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- …and more islands to dodge. The baby sprout-y plants will be all grown up by the Games.
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- A panoramic view of the water, which you should definitely not drink.
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- Your reward for making it this far on course without being being shot by a drug lord or maimed by an evil monkey: fence #14, adorned with flowers and an assortment of tropical fruit.
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- Now turning toward the direction of home over fence #15AB, a line of angled brushes.
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- Followed by a corner at #16. That’s the backup plan to the left.
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- More photoshopped backdrop.
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- One last combination to go.
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- Lots of watering going on to quench the sandy footing’s thirst and trick the grass into a greener hue.
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- Just a couple jumps left.
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- Course complete! Now let’s get out of here.
There’s no telling how much obstacle crossover there will be between the test event and next year’s Olympic Games, and the CIC2* course is only about half the distance that competitors will face next year. Still, the track covers much of the same ground and everyone is looking forward to seeing how it rides.
The first rider leaves the box at 10 a.m. GMT-3, or 9 a.m. ET. The leader board following dressage:
![IMG_0509[1]](https://assets.eventingnation.com/eventingnation.com/images/2015/08/IMG_05091.jpg)
Go Eventing.
