And they're off! Eventing kicks off today in Tokyo (Thursday, July 29 – 7:30 p.m. ET), with the first of three Olympic dressage sessions. Competitors from 29 nations will go head to head, vying for a spot on the coveted Olympic podium.
The Field:
The Officials:
New Format Explanation:
This year, there is a new eventing format, and only three riders will compete for a team. There is no drop score. However, there is an opportunity to substitute a horse and rider.
With the new format, the traveling reserve must pass both horse inspections, and they can be subbed into the competition up to two hours before the dressage phase begins, with no penalty to the team. The horse that the reserve replaces then becomes the new team reserve. So what happens next?
If all of the combinations make it through all three phases, their scores are combined, and they get a team score.
If a combination doesn't complete the dressage phase, 100 penalty points are added to the overall team score.
If a combination doesn't complete the cross-country phase, 200 penalty points are added to the overall team score.
At this point, the team has a few choices:
1. They can bring the reserve combination in and keep the penalties acquired from the incompletion, plus 20 more penalties for bringing in the reserve. Whatever penalties that reserve accumulates will also be added to the team's final score.
2. OR, the team can bypass the substitution and bring the eliminated or retired pair back into the competition with the non-completion penalties added to the score. There are exceptions to this if the horse suffers from an injury, disqualification, horse fall, or if the rider gets penalized because of unsafe or abusive riding. At this point, a substitution is also not allowed.
Only one substitution can be made per team, and it must be both horse AND rider. Substitutes made overnight between phases will only inquire 20 penalties. Only riders that compete in all three phases are eligible for individual medals.
Helpful Links:
The Full Schedule:
*(Note that days and times are provided in Eastern Daylight Time first and Japanese Standard Time second.)
Click here to view the official Olympic schedule.
Eventing Dressage Team and Individual Day 1 – Session 1
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM (EDT)
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 8:30 AM – 11:00 AM (JST)
Eventing Dressage Team and Individual Day 1 – Session 2
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 4:30 AM – 7:10 AM (EDT)
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 5:30 PM – 8:10 PM (JST)
Eventing Dressage Team and Individual Day 2 – Session 3
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM (EDT)
SATURDAY, JULY 31, 8:30 AM – 11:00 AM (JST)
Eventing Cross-Country Team and Individual
SATURDAY, JULY 31, 6:45 PM – 10:10 PM (EDT)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 7:45 AM – 11:10 AM (JST)
Eventing Jumping Team Final and Individual Qualifier
Eventing Jumping Individual Final
Eventing Team Victory Ceremony
Eventing Individual Victory Ceremony
MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 4:00 AM – 9:25 AM (EDT)
MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 5:00 PM – 10:25 PM (JST)
It's time to get down to business at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Across both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions riders have echoed two of the same sentiments: this won't be a dressage competition and Derek di Grazia's courses might look easier than they ride this year.
With the Paris Olympics on the horizon this summer, riders from the top eventing nations are gunning for a coveted team spot, and British team selection is particularly tough due to a plethora of talent. Tom McEwen came to the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event to prove he’s on form with James and Joe Lambert and Deirdre Johnston’s JL Dublin, and he’s out in front after two days of dressage.
Derek di Grazia’s name is legend at the Kentucky Horse Park as the designer of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event cross-country course for over a decade, in addition to countless other influential tracks around the world. Now with the inclusion of the Cosequin CCI4*-S division, which runs alongside the famed five-star, riders at both the four- and five-star levels get to experience one of the iconic di Grazia Kentucky tracks while competing in the bluegrass. The USEA caught up with riders of both levels to get their feedback on this year’s courses.
Two riders will share the top spot on the leaderboard in the Cosequin CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event upon the conclusion of dressage on Friday. Early in the morning, Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo found herself launching up the scoreboard after a beautiful test with Dyri earned them a score of 26.0. While no other pair could top their performance, one team did match it perfectly near the end of the day– Liz Halliday (USA) and her 2023 Pan American Games silver medal mount Miks Master C.