Pierre Le Goupil’s cross-country course at the 2024 Paris Olympics exerted its influence on the individual and team standings on Sunday, revealing Germany’s Michael Jung as the new individual leader and putting pressure on Great Britain in team competition.
After setting a new Olympic record in eventing dressage on Saturday with a score of 17.5, British rider Laura Collett and 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding London 52 (Landos – Vernante, by Quinar) delivered a fast and clear cross-country round as the second rider in the team rotation. But a mere two seconds opened the door for just one rider to overtake her. A lost shoe early on likely contributed to the extra time, as Collett had to be cautious on several turns to ensure the problem didn’t escalate.
“I’m not sure where he lost the shoe. I think quite early because we were slipping all over the place, so I had to be quite careful on those turns and had to really kill the speed a bit to get around the trees without doing anything stupid,” said Collett, who co-cowns London 52 with Keith Scott and Karen Bartlett. “[The time] is gettable, but it’s tight. It was also a front shoe, which is a bit annoying. Not ideal, but it just shows what a good horse he is.”
Collett remains on a competitive score of 18.3 and in individual silver position after cross country. But later on in the day, she slipped out of the individual gold medal position when Jung and Chipmunk FRH (Contendro I – Havanna, by Heraldik) left the start box.
Jung and Chipmunk Connect to Take Lead
World-renowned for his efficiency on cross country, Jung demonstrated his skill today after stopping the clock seven seconds under the optimum time of 9:02 to remain on his dressage score of 17.8. Switzerland’s Felix Vogg and Dao de l’Ocean, who are currently in 4th for individual competition, were the fastest round of the day with a time of 8:52.
“Today was quite a lot of moments to enjoy,” Jung, who pumped his fist as he crossed the finish line to cheers from throngs of German fans clustered on the sidelines, said. “Chipmunk made it very easy for me. Every time, the jump was easy. He was listening so well and connected to me. And he was so powerful galloping. I checked the time and said, ‘OK, we have more time on the next fence. Slow down, slow down.’ It was an unbelievable feeling. I’m so thankful to have such good horses and to be in my fourth Olympic Games. It’s a dream, and it’s always a special feeling.”
With his clear round today, Jung puts to bed 11 penalties from a controversial activated MIM pin on cross country in Tokyo that likely prevented him from winning a historic third individual Olympic medal. Should he clinch the individual title on Monday following two rounds of show jumping, Jung would become the first three-time individual Olympic gold medalist in eventing since 1912.
As he looks ahead to tomorrow’s test, historical data is on Jung’s side. In Tokyo, Jung and Chipmunk delivered two clear rounds inside the time. The pair did, however, lower two rails at the FEI World Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy in 2022. Generally, though, Chipmunk FRH, who is owned by Deutsches Olympiade-Komitee für Reiterei e.V., Klaus & Sabine Fischer and Joachim Jung, is a dependable show jumper. And for his part, Jung spends a large amount of time in the show jumping ring with his string of jumpers.
Hua Tian and Chris Burton Produced Strong Rounds
After starting cross country tied with China’s Alex Hua Tian, Australian rider Chris Burton continued an emphatic return to eventing. He secured a clear round inside the optimum time to remain on his initiating score of 22.0 with Guy Bloodstock Ltd.’s Shadow Man (Fidjy of Colors – Favorite van de Keezerswinning, by WInningmood van de Arenberg). Hua Tian was assessed 15 penalties for a flag and collected substantial time to drop into 32nd individually.
“You always worry. It’s hard. You worry that they get a bit tired and hope you have them ready and fit enough. But the crowd really sort of picks them up,” Burton said about the 40,000-strong, sold-out crowd that flocked to the galloping lanes and around each fence.
Burton’s extensive show jumping experience will no doubt give him a jolt of confidence ahead of the final rounds tomorrow. But he noted that eventing is a different and often unpredictable sport. “Eventing is its own sport; show jumping is its own sport,” he said. “They’re different animals and it’s a different game. I’m not going to compare them.”
Burton, however, said devoting more time in the show jumping arena and working with show jumping Olympian Nelson Pessoa via the Australian High Performance program has helped his riding on a whole. Shadow Man, for his part, also has extensive experience in show jumping, having done two seasons of jumping with his former rider Ben Hobday of Great Britain.
For Jung and Others, Fitness is Key
Situated on the relatively flat grounds of the Chateau of Versailles, the cross-country course was’t rife with terrain, but the combination of so many jumping efforts in 9 minutes—and the intensive sections of track that demanded concentration from horse and rider—certainly required peak fitness from both parties. Eventing fitness programs share similarities across individual training programs. But riders still tailor their conditioning to individual horses’ needs as well as the climate in which they live.
“Chipmunk’s does a bit of everything for fitness,” individual leader Jung said. “He’s a bigger horse. He for sure needs endurance and muscle. The focus was absolutely the Olympic Games this year. So I was a bit quiet in the beginning of the season with the condition and everything.”
Other riders like current silver-placed Collett actually use competitions as fitness runs, as is the case for London 52. She noted that he tends to not take typical gallops very seriously. “He doesn’t have very much blood. So he’s had to build it up over the years and learn to go that extra distance,” she said. “We’ve learned over the years that it’s actually the runs that get him fit. He finds going up a gallop very, very easy. He did four four-star shorts this year to really get him extra fit.”
The French system also has some unique elements to it, Karim Laghouag explained of his horse, Triton Fontaine (Gentleman IV – Grenouil Fontaine, by Nightko), with whom he’s currently placed in individual 10th and team silver. Laghouag also made the optimum time on cross country. He finished with a time of 8:53 in demonstration of this fitness preparation.
“I don’t actually ride him a lot in big competitions. It’s really doing a lot of preparation work with him,” he said. “I run him along the beach quite a lot. It’s a lot of physical preparation together that we do, rather than being in big competitions all the time.”
Brits Still Top on Team Leaderboard but Under Pressure
The team competition will come down to the final moments in the first show jumping round. And Great Britain is not as far in the lead as they were before cross country. Great Britain has one rail in hand collectively with a team score of 82.5. Despite delivering three competitive rounds, reigning European Champions Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo were assessed 15 penalties. Missing a flag on course removed the substantial cushion they would’ve had.
The home nation France moved into silver medal position on a score of 87.2. They had a rail and some time in hand over bronze-placed Japan, who sits on a team score of 93.8.
In the show jumping team round, the individual riders will jump first. The team rotations will follow in reverse order of merit both by team and riders. After a short break, the top 25 (regardless of nation) will return for a second round to determine individual medals.
U.S., Canada Have Solid Rounds with Some Errors
The U.S. had a solid day on cross country, marred by just one error and 20 penalties assessed to pathfinders Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass, by Kannan). Teammates Liz Halliday and Nutcracker (Tolan R – Ballyshan Cleopatra, by Cobra) and Boyd Martin and Fedarman B (Eurocommerce Washington – Paulien B, by Fedor) successfully came home clear with small amounts of time. This put the U.S. on a score of 128.5 and in 9th position as a nation.
Canada also suffered some misfortune, with 20 penalties assessed to anchor rider Jessica Phoenix and Freedom GS (Humble GS – Friedel GS, by Fidertanz) at fence 7B. The obstacle included an upright rail following a steep bank, and Phoenix said her horse just didn’t see in time. Karl Slezak and Hot Bobo (Arkansas VDL – Taneys Leader xx, by Supreme Leader xx) as well as Mike Winter and El Mundo (Numero Uno – Calvaro’s Bria Z, by Calvaro Z) delivered clear rounds with time, putting Canada on a score of 158.0 and in 11th place overall.
Teams will jump in reverse order of individual standing first on Monday. The top 25 will then return to jump another, shorter round to determine medals. But it will be at 1.30 meter height versus 1.25 meter in the first round.
Written by Louise Parker
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