Horse Illustrated Magazine

In an exciting first day of individual show jumping competition, two of the three U.S. riders qualified to move on to the Paris 2024 Olympics individual jumping finals tomorrow. Seventy-three riders attempted the course co-designed by Santiago Varela from Spain and Grégory Bodo from France today. View the order of go here.

The course included 14 numbered obstacles and 17 jumping efforts. The time allowed was 79 seconds, and the course was 525 meters long with a prescribed speed of 400 meters per minute. Included in the track were a water jump, and one double and one triple combination.

◆ Course Map
◆ Fence Description

Leading the way for the USA, in both the order of go and in the standings, was Karl Cook riding Caracole de la Roque. They entered the ring 11th in the order and blazed around, jumping clear and within the time (76.97).

Entering the arena 35th in the order for the USA was Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, who jumped well, but had an unfortunate rail and rattled a few others. They finished on a quick time (73.22), however, which in the end allowed them to qualify to move on to the final as one of the faster four-fault rounds.

The final rider for the USA and 60th to enter the ring, McLain Ward riding Ilex, jumped a gorgeous round, but had the most unlucky twist of fate when the top rail of the final fence fell. Their time was slower than 12 other four-fault rounds (75.50) so they just missed the cut to compete in tomorrow’s final, finishing in 34th today.

There were 20 clear rounds posted today, including Cook’s and Caracole de la Roque’s. One horse and rider combo accrued only one time fault. Nine riders who had four penalty points qualified, including Kraut. Finishing first in the standings today as the fastest clear round was Julien Epaillard of France with Dubai du Cedre. To see the final results and who else qualified for the individual final, go here.

The top 30 horse and rider combinations move on to the final tomorrow. Riders in tomorrow’s individual jumper final will start again on a zero score, so it really could be anyone’s day.

The individual final and medal ceremony are tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Central European Time (4:00 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

◆ Individual Final Order of Go
◆ Individual Final Course Map
◆ Individual Final Fence Description

For more coverage, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

For broadcast information, go to NBCOlympics.com. All equestrian coverage is streamed live and available for replays on Peacock.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.