Horse Illustrated Magazine

The 2024 Paris Olympics equestrian competition closed with the Show Jumping Individual Final today, a dramatic end to 11 days of equestrian competition here at the Château de Versailles southwest of Paris. The huge course, co-designed by Santiago Varela Ullastres from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France, was higher, wider, longer and required a faster pace than previous courses in the last week.

Jumping Course Specs

The course included 15 numbered obstacles with 19 jumping efforts, with fence heights ranging from one at 0.95 meters up to several at the 1.65-meter maximum height allowed. The fence spreads were also quite challenging, with oxer spreads ranging from 1.35 meters up to a massive 1.90 meters and the water spanning 4 meters. The track was 555 meters long and the prescribed speed 400 meters/minute. The time allowed was 84 seconds. View the course map here.

In the jump-off for medals, there were eight jumps total (fences 1, 2, 16, 7, 10b, 10c, 12b and 17 were reused from the original course with fence 16 becoming an oxer for the jump-off) with a time allowed of 47 seconds. View the jump-off course map here.

The Challengers

The lineup of 30 horse and rider combinations returning to compete in the individual final changed slightly overnight as Harry Charles of Great Britain bowed out of contention, moving Canada’s Mario Deslauriers and the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding Emerson up to the start list. Mario is quite familiar to U.S. jumping fans, as he competed for the USA for many years before changing back to compete for his native Canada again a few years ago.

Competing for the USA were Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Balou du Rouet owned by St. Bride’s Farm and cared for by Margo Thomas, and Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque, a 12-year-old Selle Français mare by Zandor Z owned by Signe Ostby and groomed by Tessa Falanga. Also in the lineup were the current World Champions Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward, who were also part of the Olympic Champion team in Tokyo, among other big names.

Riders from these countries competed: Argentina (1); Austria (1); Belgium (2); Brazil (2); Canada (1); France (2); Germany (2); Great Britain (2); Ireland (2); Italy (1); Japan (1); the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2); Mexico (1); the Netherlands (3); Norway (1); Sweden (1); Switzerland (2); United Arab Emirates (1), and the USA (2). View the full order of go here.

Competition Summary

In the end, the course would prove quite a formidable challenge with only three double-clear rounds out of 30 first competing (ten percent of the riders). Thus, a jump-off was required to determine the medals.

First in the ring in the jump-off was Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker 47, who completed the jump-off course with no faults in 38.34 seconds. Second to go was the pair from the Netherlands, Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z (who won individual bronze in the last Olympics in Tokyo); they had an unfortunate rail at the fifth fence and finished in the time of 39.12. The final horse and rider to go in the jump off, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on Dynamix de Belheme, also grabbed one rail (at the second-to-last fence), but finished in a quicker time of 38.38. The medals were set: Kukuk gold, Guerdat silver and van der Vleuten, bronze.

Kukuk, 34, who rides for German Olympic rider Ludger Beerbaum, was riding in his second Olympic Games, having been on the German Team in Tokyo in 2021 as well. Kukuk said that knowing he already had locked in a medal going into the jump-off, he wasn’t too nervous: “I knew it doesn’t matter what happens; I have a medal, and that’s already a really huge thing. But, I also I knew what my horse is able to do. I knew what I am able to do. We won already two Grand Prix [classes] this year, so we are very competitive.”

There was some drama today during the first round when two riders fell, although everyone is reported to be OK. Mexico’s Andres Azcarraga fell when his horse, Contendros 2, refused after a very tight turn to the water. Then, later in the class going 24th in the order, World Champions Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward parted ways after a miscommunication between rider and horse as to which way they were going to turn next. As von Eckermann fell, he pulled off King Edward’s bridle, but the horse’s groom was nearby and the horse was caught and haltered easily. Von Eckermann walked his longtime equine partner out of the ring after giving the horse an appreciative kiss on the forehead.

In addition to the three clear rounds, there were eight four-fault rounds in today’s final. Three other riders chose to retire their horses on course and save them for another competition after incurring enough faults it was obvious they were out of contention for medals: Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa riding Major Tom; Ireland’s Daniel Coyle riding Legacy, and Japan’s Takashi Haase Shibayama riding Karamell M & M.

For the full results from the Paris 2024 Olympics individual show jumping competition, click here.

With Kukuk’s win in individual show jumping, this gave Germany a lock on individual gold in all three Olympic equestrian sports here in France, since Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH won in eventing and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl took gold dressage.

U.S. Performances

While not quite the day that the riders and U.S. fans were hoping for, the two U.S. horse and rider pairs performed admirably. Going out into the ring first (fifth in the order) for the USA was Kraut and Baloutinue. They had a beautiful round going until they tipped the top rail on the final fence for four faults, finishing in a time of 81.61, good enough for eighth place overall.

“It was heartbreaking. My horse was on it today. He didn’t deserve that,” said Kraut about their round and the fence they had down, “Unfortunately I was a little worried for the time; I knew I’d taken a couple of places. I felt like I was on the border with the time. So, when I jumped the second last, I thought [I would] just let him just come right on to the last. Unfortunately, the minute I did that, he kind of dropped in and looked at it. The angle that the last fence sits at, if it were a little bit straighter, it would have been fine. But I was almost parallel as I was going to it and then I just couldn’t get [to it correctly].”

On the strength of their clear round in the individual qualifier yesterday, Cook and Caracole de la Roque entered the ring as 16th to go today. The pair had jumped clear in all of their previous rounds in both the team and the individual competition here in France. They started out beautifully for the first half of the course, but then presented awkwardly to fence 12, the “Jeu de Cartes Française” double and took both 12a and 12b down to accrue 8 faults and finish in a fast time of 79.72. They finished 16th. This was the first Olympic appearance for Cook and he was full of emotion as they finished, leaning down to kiss Caracole on the crest of her neck.

Cook commented on their round today, “As far as I’m aware, she was the best horse in the class. You just have to find your distances. We made a mistake around the turn; I probably cut the turn too sharply and took my first distance. I needed to be more patient. She was jumping amazing before.”

Catch Up On Olympic Action

If you’ve missed out enjoying your favorite sports in real time over the last two weeks or just want to re-live some of the action, you may be able to watch replays of all of the exciting Olympic equestrian action here in France. Go to NBCOlympics.com or Peacock for on-demand replay information.

Plus, find all of our Olympic equestrian coverage on our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

Paralympics Next Up

As the Olympic Games come to an end with the Closing Ceremony on August 11, thoughts turn to the Paralympics which run August 28-September 8 (with equestrian competition on September 3, 4, 6 and 7). The USA will be sending a talented squad of para-dressage riders with high hopes for medals. Go to NBCOlympics.com for Paralympic broadcast information.

Stay tuned to our 2024 Paris Paralympics main page for updates and coverage.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.