Tokyo 2020: Horse inspection for Jumping horses

The first horse inspection for Jumping horses competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place at Baji Koen Equestrian Park this evening.

There were two sent to the Holding Box and they will be reinspected at 17.00 tomorrow. They were Argentina’s Cannavaro 9 (Matias Albarracin) and China’s Caesar (You Zhang).

The horses were beautifully turned out and so were the athletes, The Netherlands’ Willem Greve, Marc Houtzager, Harrie Smolders and Michael van der Vleuten really cutting a dash in suits that blended an “Our Man in Havana” look with a touch of Vaudeville.

Many of the horses were on their tippy-toes. Explosion, the ride of Great Britain’s Ben Maher, lived up to his name when unable to contain his excitement, and two of the Swedish steeds were in high spirits too.

Peder Fredricson looked like he was grappling with a tiger before All In settled and trotted up like the true professional he is. And team-mate Malin Baryard-Johnsson’s mare, Indiana, was a real handful after strutting her stuff before the Ground Jury.

But they can all look forward to familiarization and training over the next few days, taking in the sights and sounds of the fabulous Baji Koen stadium before the Jumping action gets underway next Tuesday.

Facts and Figures

The first Individual competition will take place on Tuesday 3 August and is a qualifier for the Individual Final on Wednesday 4 August.

The Individual Final is open to the 30 best-placed athletes from the first Individual competition and will be Table A, one round against the clock, with a jump-off for the medal placings if there is a tie on penalties. All athletes start on a zero score in the Individual Final and starting order will be in reverse order of merit following the first Individual competition.

The first Team competition is open to 20 teams of three athletes and all teams will start on a zero score. It will take place on 6 August and is a qualifier for the Team Final on 7 August.

The best 10 teams, including those tied for tenth place, will qualify for the Team Final.

Team France are the defending Olympic champions having clinched gold for only the second time in Olympic history at the Rio 2016 Games.

Germany however holds the record for the greatest number of Olympic gold medals, with 5 Individual and 8 team titles since Jumping joined the Olympic programme in 1900.

35 countries

19 teams

75 horse/athlete combinations

16 countries represented by individuals

Jumping Course Designer is Spain’s Santiago Varela.

Teams will consist of three athlete/horse combinations with all three scores counting for the result.