In less than a month’s time, the world’s top para-dressage riders and horses, and their entourages, will once again fill the stadium during the Paralympics. After that, the task for Games organizers will be to restore the grounds to original condition―pristine parkland.
But for just one more moment, let’s savor the Paris 2024 Olympic Games equestrian action. Here’s a recap of what was.
Opening Ceremony
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place on a rainy Friday, July 26, not in a stadium this time, but on the River Seine. The athletes’ parade was staged on boats floating on the river with spectator stands lining the banks.
The Opening Ceremony was actually designed with television viewing in mind, however, and following the athletes’ parade, a visually appealing artistic show worthy of Broadway or Vegas floated down the Seine. That, coupled with performances by Lady Gaga and Celine Dion (who sang from the Eiffel Tower), made for an enjoyable show.
Equestrian fans, if you didn’t watch the Opening Ceremony, you might want to view a replay. The final bit of the show featured a galloping mechanical horse gliding at a good clip on the water’s surface along the Seine. Once the mechanical horse and his hooded rider reached the river’s banks, it magically transformed into a real horse, a lovely grey, and rider who climbed up the ramp and moved down the streets of Paris until they were out of view.
Another reason to watch a replay of the Opening Ceremony is to see if you can spot U.S. Equestrian Team members among those on the U.S. athletes’ boat during the parade. While the eventing athletes were presenting their horses for inspection on the 26th, some of the U.S. dressage and jumping riders decided to take part in the Ceremony. U.S. Dressage Team members Steffen Peters and Endel Ots (traveling reserve) donned Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms and joined U.S. Jumping Team member McLain Ward on the U.S. boat. It was the sixth Olympics for Peters and Ward and the first for Ots.
Eventing Up First
First up on the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian schedule, eventing took place July 26-29. Sixty-four horse and rider combinations from 27 different countries took part. The cross-country took place around the Grand Canal and through the parkland on the Palace of Versailles estate. The dressage and jumping phases were in the stadium, strategically positioned to use a view of the Palace as a backdrop.
The eventing dressage phase brought record-breaking scores for Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 (17.50) and Germany’s Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH (17.80), both eclipsing the USA’s David O’Connor and Custom Made’s 2000 Sydney Olympic score of 19.30 (converted to match the current scoring system).
After it was all said and done, the very strong British Team prevailed to capture gold and the home-country French Team silver. In another Olympic milestone, the Japanese Team took bronze, the first-ever Olympic medal for Japan in eventing. (The last Japanese equestrian to win an Olympic medal was Takeichi Nishi who won show jumping gold in 1932.)
The final individual standings showed Michael Jung winning his third consecutive Olympic individual gold medal, another Olympic record. (He rode La Biosthetique-Sam FBW to gold in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.) Australia’s Christopher Burton riding Shadow Man captured silver, and British rider Collett and London 52 bronze.
The U.S. Eventing Team (Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, Elisabeth Halliday and Nutcracker, Boyd Martin and Fedarman B) finished seventh overall. Individual placings for the U.S. riders: Martin and Fedarman B, 10th; Halliday and Nutcracker, 19th, and Pamukcu and HSH Blake, 37th.
While it was a disappointing finish for the U.S. Team, two of the three U.S. horses are quite young yet (HSH Blake is 9 and Nutcracker is 10), so high hopes for the future there. The final U.S. placings don’t really tell the entire story; there were some nice moments. Martin and Fedarman B only added 1.6 time penalties on cross-country and then nothing else to their dressage score (30.50) for a final score of 32.10. It was his best individual finish to date in four Olympics.
It was an Olympic debut for both Halliday and Pamukcu and their young horses. Halliday and Nutcracker had a good dressage score (28.0) and jumped clear on cross-country with only time penalties there, and then no rails in their first show jumping round and only one rail in the second. Were it not for an uncharacteristic stop (and the resulting time penalties) on cross-country, and one rail in the show jumping, Pamukcu and young HSH Blake’s performance showed promise as well.
◆ Full Eventing Recap
◆ Team Eventing Results
◆ Individual Eventing Results
Dressage Brings More Records
Second up on the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian docket was dressage. The Grand Prix Tests (which served as a qualifier for both team and individual competitions) were on July 30 and 31, then two days’ rest. Then, the Grand Prix Special Test on August 3 determined the team medals. Then finally, the Grand Prix Freestyle for individual medals was on August 4. Sixty horse and rider combinations representing 30 countries competed in dressage.
The team competition (which included the top ten teams based on rankings from the Grand Prix Test) was hotly contested between Germany and Denmark, with Great Britain breathing down their necks as well. Germany won gold by super-small margin of 0.121 (235.790) with Denmark silver (235.669) and Great Britain bronze (232.492). It was a record 15th Olympic dressage team gold for Germany.
The top 18 horse and rider combinations (representing 10 countries) based on scores from the Grand Prix Test moved on to the individual finals in the Freestyle. The crowd was treated to an enjoyable day of music and dancing. The individual medal winners were: TSF Dalera BB ridden by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, Germany, gold; Wendy ridden by Isabell Werth, Germany, silver, and Glamourdale ridden by Charlotte Fry, Great Britain, bronze.
This was the second consecutive Olympic gold medal for von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera since they also won in Tokyo in 2021. The silver for Werth was her 14th Olympic medal (eight gold and six silver); she continues to be the most decorated Olympic equestrian of all time thus far.
The U.S. Dressage Team members were Adrienne Lyle and Helix, Marcus Orlob and Jane and Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper. They encountered huge disappointment with the elimination of Marcus Orlob and Jane during the Grand Prix Test on the first day (due to a small amount of blood from a tiny cut on Jane’s right hind fetlock, which is cause for elimination under FEI’s rules). This also resulted in the elimination of the U.S. Team and meant that Lyle and Peters and their horses would only compete as individuals going forward.
Lyle and Helix scored 72.593 percent in their Grand Prix Test on the first day to finish 20th in the overall standings. They just missed qualification for the individual finals by just 0.823.
Peters and Suppenkasper competed on the second day of Grand Prix. As they worked in their test, Suppenkasper became more and more tense, evidentially spotting something outside the ring that spooked him. Peters did a good job of keeping the lid on the situation until the final line when Suppenkasper stopped in the piaffe and resisted going forward. They did finish, but the incident cost them and they scored 66.491 percent, much lower than their normal. It wasn’t their day, proving once again that horses each have their own mind and things can happen even to the most experienced riders.
The U.S. Dressage Team will now focus on building toward the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany, and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. Dressage fans will, no doubt, be there to cheer on the team’s riders at these events.
A fun surprise that shined a light on the U.S. Equestrian Team was the visit of celebrities Snoop Dogg (who was an Olympic commentator for NBC) and his buddy Martha Stewart to the equestrian venue. They arrived in shadbelly riding coats and visited with U.S. riders Steffen Peters and Endel Ots and their horses Suppenkasper and Bohemian, respectively. They talked with the riders and fed carrots to the horses. U.S. show jumping riders Karl Cook, Laura Kraut, and McLain Ward also had their photos taken with Snoop and Stewart. During the visit Snoop admitted that he was afraid of horses, but in the video he seemed to genuinely want to overcome that fear. Watch Snoop Dogg’s equestrian segment here.
◆ Full Dressage Recap
◆ Team Dressage Results
◆ Individual Dressage Results
Jumping Closes Paris Olympic Equestrian Schedule
Show jumping was the final sport on the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian schedule. Thirty-five countries were represented, 20 teams of three riders each and an additional 15 riders competing as individuals for their countries. There were two days of team competition (a team qualifier on August 1 and team final on August 2) and then, two days of individual competition (a qualifier on August 5 and a final on August 6).
Throughout the team competition, the U.S. riders (Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, Karl Cook on Caracole de la Roque, and McLain Ward on Ilex) performed very well with two clear rounds from Kraut and Cook, and Ward with only one rail (four faults) and two time faults in the qualifier. Then, in the final, Cook and Ward each jumped clear rounds with Kraut having only one rail. That earned them team silver behind Great Britain, who won gold with only two penalties. The home country, France, took bronze with seven penalties. It was the third consecutive team jumping silver for the USA, having also earned one in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021.
In the individual qualifier, the U.S. riders again jumped very well, with team rookies Cook and Caracole de la Roque producing another clear round and Kraut and Baloutinue dropping one rail, but in a fast enough time to qualify to move on the next day. Ward and Ilex also had only one unlucky rail at the last fence, but their time was slower and they did not qualify to move on.
On individual final day, there were a number of unexpected happenings, among them the reigning World Champions Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward parting ways during their round, eliminating them from the competition. Of the 30 horse and rider combinations competing in the final, only three jumped clean. This forced a jump-off for the medals between Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker 47, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme and the Netherland’s Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z.
Only one of the three pairs jumped double clear in the individual final jump-off, Kukuk and Checker 47, to earn gold. Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme took the individual silver with van der Vleuten and Beauville Z bronze (each dropped one rail, but Guerdat had the quicker time). U.S. riders Kraut on Baloutinue took down one rail to finish eighth, and Cook on Caracole De La Roque dropped two to finish 16th.
◆ Full Team Show Jumping Recap
◆ Full Individual Show Jumping Recap
◆ Team Show Jumping Results
◆ Individual Show Jumping Results
Final Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Medal Count
In the overall equestrian venue medal count, Germany and Great Britain tied with five each (four gold and one silver for Germany and two gold and three bronze for Great Britain). Second in medals won was France with two (one silver and one bronze). Australia, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA all garnered one medal each.
Germany left its mark on these Games by winning individual gold in all three equestrian sports (Jung in eventing, von Bredow-Werndl in dressage and Kukuk in jumping) in addition to their team gold and individual silver in dressage. Great Britain, too, made a statement with their team gold and individual bronze in eventing, team and individual bronze in dressage, and team gold in jumping.
The Amazing Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Venue
Riders had nothing but praise for the amenities offered at the Olympic equestrian venue at the Palace of Versailles estate. And, the views from the grandstands were nothing short of one-of-a-kind spectacular.
Many spectators, and some competitors, also took the opportunity to tour the Palace and its stables and grounds. There was also a special exhibit of equestrian art at the Palace, “Horses in Majesty at the Heart of a Civilization”. Everywhere you looked, the horse figured conspicuously into the architecture, art and history of Versailles.
Celebrity Sightings
The equestrian venue attracted its fair share of celebrities who came to watch the action. In addition to Snoop Dogg and Stewart, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was there for show jumping and Great Britain’s Princess Anne for eventing (she was a medal presenter). Then, actors and spouses Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes were spotted watching on dressage freestyle day.
Looking Toward Los Angeles 2028
The Olympic Games return to U.S. soil in 2028 when Los Angeles is scheduled to host for a third time. The equestrian venue is set for Galway Downs, an equestrian facility in Temecula, California. While it was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October 2023 that all three equestrian sports were to be included in the 2028 Olympics, a conflicting statement was issued in January 2024 that a format for eventing had yet to be accepted for the 2028 Games.
Rumors of one of the three equestrian sports being in danger of not being included in 2028 are circulating now too, but it remains to be seen what will ultimately happen. Possible reasons run the gamut from the costs and logistical challenges of including equestrian sports to recent reports of animal welfare issues surfacing. Fans of equestrian sports should consider providing positive feedback to the IOC and the television networks to make them aware of how much interest there is for these competitions to continue in the Olympics and Paralympics.
In a statement during the Olympic Games, Isabell Werth called on all equestrians and horse lovers to step up and lead by example by providing a good life for horses, “We need to establish a culture of respecting the horse as a creature. Education is important, but this senseless violence must not happen, because otherwise, we’ll have a hard time making our case to the rest of the world.”
Paris 2024 Paralympics Para-Dressage
The stadium at the Palace of Versailles will fill with fans one last time September 3, 4, 6 and 7 when the para-dressage competition will take place. Thirty countries are expected to send athletes to compete. The U.S. Para-Dressage Team was named on July 11. They are:
◆ Rebecca Hart (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Floratina, a 2008 Hanoverian mare (Fidertanz 2 x Rubin Royal OLD) owned by Rowan O’Riley and cared for by Mackenzie Young
◆ Fiona Howard (Boston, Mass.) and Diamond Dunes, a 2013 Hanoverian gelding (De L’Or x Wolkentanz) owned by Dressage Family LLC and Hof Kasselmann and cared for by Helen Claire McNulty
◆ Kate Shoemaker (Wellington, Fla.) and Vianne, a 2016 Hanoverian mare (Vitalis x Ramiro’s Bube) owned by Nocordia USA and cared for by Katherine Barrett
◆ Roxanne Trunnell (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Fan Tastico H, a 2017 Oldenburg gelding (Fuersentaball OLD x Weltmeyer) owned by Karin Flint and cared for by Rafael Hernandez-Carillo
Helpful Links
◆ Horse Illustrated’s Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Main Page
◆ Overall Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Results Book
◆ Final Equestrian Medal Standings
Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.
