Don’t know much about the Olympics this year in Beijing? Have no idea what the venue is like? Not sure which countries are competing? Neither do I! Luckily, freelancer Katherine Walcott has compiled some helpful websites to acquaint us with the venues as well as get us all the information we’ll need to know as spectators (whether it be from afar, or perhaps you’re lucky enough to travel and attend the Games firsthand!).
The Official Website of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has tons of valuable information including:
* Competition rules for all phases (brief and easy to understand, this is perfect for explaining to your non-horsey great-aunt, or well-meaning friend who thinks “dress-AGE” is some sort of silly dance where riders wear their finest gowns and prance around… which isn’t too far off base… only kidding!)
* Times and Venues: Not exactly up to date quite yet, but hopefully it will be once we get a bit closer to the Games… you know, so we all know when to set our TIVO, because I’m sure eventing will be televised at 3AM or some other unfortunate hour.
* Ticket Info: If you are lucky enough to attend, then I’m sure you’ve already booked your plane/hotel, and bought tickets long ago. Need someone to carry your bags, supply free neck massages during the bazillion-hour long flight, and spritz you lightly with water during the sweltering heat of the competition? Call me.
All right, let’s get down to brass tacks here… and discuss the various countries that our U.S. team will be up against (nine teams total, including the U.S.):
Australia – Boasting
a talented squad with such elite riders as
Clayton & Lucinda Fredericks, Andrew Hoy, Wendy Schaeffer, Stuart Tinney, and our very own Boyd Martin, these guys are sure to be a strong contingent. They weren’t in the medals in ’04, but the home field advantage worked at the
Sydney Olympics in 2000, and they proudly brought home the team gold and the individual silver (Andrew Hoy/Swizzle In). Oh yeah…they also won team gold in Atlanta in ’96. What a record! Here
Brazil – I’m completely lost. I have NO clue how to translate their website… Sorry! While, they’re probably most well-known for their famous show jumpers (such as Rodrigo Pessoa), I’m not familiar with their eventing team members, and though they didn’t finish so hot the past, perhaps they’ll have a good time this year.
Canada – As of right this second, I don’t believe that the Canadian team has been announced. If you check out the Equine Canada page here, you can find the
2008 Talent Squad – this will give you a better idea of who to expect. Under the guidance of Team Technical Advisor David O’Connor, the Canadians have gotten stronger and stronger in the tough FEI events lately. With Lesley Grant-Law, Diana Burnett, Mike Winter, Penny Rowland, Kyle Carter, and many more excellent riders as possible candidates, they’re sure to have quite a team.
France – I’ve had to translate their hoempage – hopefully it makes sense (hooray for Google Translator!). I’m having a tough time translating the rest of their site, but it looks as if they have not yet announced their team either. I think that
this is the list of people in contention… simply because I recognize a few eventing names, such as Nicolas Touzaint (Young phenomenon – in May was the 1st French man to win Badminton). Team France won the gold
four years ago in Athens… could they come back to claim the title?
Germany – Always a powerful contention in any of the equestrian disciplines! Here is the
short list for their eventing team so far. Looks like a powerhouse team to me! Bettina Hoy very nearly came home with a gold medal in Athens, but after a bit of controversy over a crossed path in show jumping, she was stripped of the honor. She’s back with the same mount, Ringwood Cockatoo to try and re-claim the title. Also on the team is Ingrid Klimke/FRH Butts Abraxxas (should put forth a good dressage score…her father was the incredibly talented dressage rider
Reiner Klimke) who’s had great results the past few years at the top levels, including a 2nd place finish at Badminton in ’06. Frank Ostholt/Mr. Medicott are included – they were on the ’04 team and also the ’06 gold medal winning WEG team in Aachen. Hinrich Romeike/Marius Voigt – Logistic are back after finishing 5th in 2004 (also on the ’06 WEG team as well as Hoy & Klimke). Last but not least is Peter Thomsen with The Ghost of Hamish, who’s also had some pretty impressive top placings lately. This team will be tough!
Great Britain – Always a strong contender for a good medal, and in fact, in ’04 Athens, they won
team silver, and Leslie Law/Shear l’Eau took home the
individual gold and Pippa Funnel/Primmore’s Pride won bronze. The G.B. team also took home the team silver back in 2000 (on a side note, what a great year for the U.S. winning team bronze and David O’ Connor winning the individual gold – remember when he almost went off course in show jumping and we all held our breath? Eek, what a moment!!) Back to Great Britain…
their team this year will be fabulous as usual: William Fox-Pitt, Sharon Hunt, Mary King, Lucy Wiegersma, etc. A few names you won’t see are Jeanette Brakewell & Over To You (who’d competed on the team in ’04 & ’00 – the gelding had a well-earned retirement in ’07) or Zara Phillips & Toytown (who won the
World Championships in ’02). Toytown unfortunately suffered an injury and the pair dropped off the list. Here’s some more
team info if you’d like to brush up on your knowledge.
Ireland – Apparently the Irish team will be announced in the next day or so. If you scroll down this page, you’ll see the list of Senior Members on the Team (by the way, how great is it that they list the horse’s breeding?). We’ll update you as soon as we know the final tally. As far as I know, the Irish have yet to win an Olympic medal, though they’ve certainly been strong contenders in upper-level competition. And with experienced eventer
Ginny Elliot as their coach, they’re sure to have a fighting chance.
Italy – Once again, here’s the translated site. Katherine tells me that it appears that Fabio Magni, Roberto Rotatori, Vittoria Panizzon, Francesco Zaza are the team members. Italy hasn’t been in the medals for quite some time, perhaps their luck will change?
New Zealand – This seems to be the big story of the summer –
the beloved Mark Todd is back for his sixth Olympics! Hooray! He’ll be joined by Joe Meyer, Caroline Powell and Heelan Tompkins, so it’s sure to be quite a team. Our Kiwi Friends have always been one of the Top Dogs at the Games – having won the team bronze (and individual gold – Blyth Tait/Reddy Teddy) in ’96, team silver in ’92 (and individual bronze – Blyth again, this time with Messiah), team bronze in ’88 (and individual gold with Mark Todd/Charisma…who also won the individual gold the previous Olympics with Charisma as well… WOW. Can you tell I’m rooting for Toddy this year?)
USA – Last but certainly not least. Here’s the
short list so far – it’ll be whittled down to the final team by July 14. Interested in what happens until then? Check out this
schedule. That’s quite an agenda… I’ll be interested to see who’s named to the team – I’m fond of so many of the riders, it’ll be hard to pick favorites. Since the tragic death of Super Pony
Theodore O’Connor a few weeks ago, Jennifer Wooten/The Good Witch & Clark Montgomery/Up Spirit have been bumped up from alternates. Here’s my speculation: Phillip Dutton with one of his three mounts, most likely The Foreman; Stephen Bradley with Brandenburg’s Joshua; Heidi White with Northern Spy. I’m crossing my fingers for Becky & Comet, as well as Gina & McKinlaigh. The top three I picked, however, all have several things in common: they have consistent low-scoring dressage tests (important, duh), they all have international experience, and they all tend to show jump relatively well. Since the Olympics isn’t a true four-star event, the cross-country course may not play as much into the final results as posting a solid dressage score and a clean show jumping round. Keep in mind the conditions…the weather will be HOT and HUMID, so the team will want horses who can warm up quickly and efficiently and still perform their best. Heavier horses, such as Kim Severson’s Tipperary Liadhnan or McKinlaigh or any of the other Irish-bred horses could have a bit harder time in the heat than a lighter Thoroughbred. But that’s just my two cents – when it comes down to it, the soundest and most healthy horses of the bunch will be chosen to represent the U.S.
So that’s it for the teams…but what about individuals?
Here’s the list of countries with qualified individuals (20 individuals total): Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, China, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Jamaica, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. Whew! Quite a list! I’ll delve a bit deeper into the individuals in a few weeks! (Here’s more news on this from the FEI)
