August 1, 2024—US Equestrian announced that reserve rider for the U.S. Olympic Jumping Team, Karl Cook, has replaced Kent Farrington in Thursday’s Olympic Jumping Team Qualifier. Team USA decided to have Cook and Caracole de la Roque ride in the competition after Farrington’s horse, Greya, had an issue with an allergy. Out of abundance of caution and factoring in the three-rider team format with no drop score, the team decided to bring in Cook.
“There is a small question mark with Greya, which is allergy related, and erring on the side of extreme caution and with no drop score in the format, we have made the decision to bring in Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque,” said Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, via US Equestrian’s Instagram page.
The USA will jump 13th in the team order out of 20 teams. Laura Kraut and Baloutinue will jump first as the 13th rider in the ring, followed by Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque as number 33, and finally anchored by McLain Ward and Ilex as the 53rd pair to go.
The team qualifier will get underway at 11:00 a.m. Paris time (5 a.m. EST) on Thursday, August 1.
First Horse Inspection
The show jumping horses moved into the stabling at the Chateau de Versailles on Tuesday. They then gathered early Wednesday morning for the First Horse Inspection to assess readiness to compete.
The show jumping inspections differed slightly from their eventing and dressage counterparts. If a horse is held in the inspection, they are given the opportunity to come back for re-inspection at a later time.
This was the case for two horses Wednesday. Andres Azcarraga (MEX) and Contendros 2 as well as Kevin Staut (FRA) and Viking d’la Rousserie returned for reinspection. The Ground Jury sent them to the holding box. This includes Frances Hesketh-Jones (ITA), Patrice Alvado (FRA), Harry Braspenning (NED), David Distler (USA) and Karoly Fugli (HUN).
The Ground Jury scheduled two re-inspections. But during the first re-inspection the two held horses were not accepted to continue on to competition.
This means a blow to the French team. That’s because Kevin Staut will now be replaced by reserve combination Olivier Perreau and Dorai d’Aiguilly. For Mexico, Federico Fernandez and Romeo replaced Andres Azcarraga and Contendros 2. In World of Show Jumping, Staut said a hematoma in the right front combined with the unique element of plastic shoes could have caused some discomfort during the inspection. However, he stated the horse did not ride unsoundly in his schooling ahead of the inspection.
A second Horse Inspection will also be held Saturday, August 3, at 2:00 p.m. EST.
For complete coverage of the Olympic competition, click here.
To see an individual order of go for Thursday’s jumping team qualifier, click here.
