At the culmination of equestrian competition in Tokyo, the top three show jumping teams were awarded their respective medals. Sweden and USA went head-to-head in an exciting jump-off for the team gold medal, which Sweden ultimately walked away with. All three riders from both teams went fast and clear for zero faults, therefore, the gold medal was decided on time. The last in the ring, Peder Fredricson, who won individual silver just days before, crushed the eight-obstacle jump-off to boost Sweden to team gold by a margin of 1.3 seconds. USA followed close behind for the silver medal and Belgium rounded out the top three for the bronze.
Prior to team competition, two days of individual show jumping competition decided the top three show jumpers in the world. Standing proudly in the middle of the podium was Great Britain’s Ben Maher. Going into the individual final, Maher held the first place position with a fast and clear trip from the qualifying round. Maher and his 12-year-old KWPN gelding, Explosion W, rose to the occasion in the final jump-off to secure the individual gold medal with a speedy time of 37.85 seconds.
Behind Maher for the silver medal was Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and his mount, All In, who tripped the timers at 38.02 seconds to secure the second podium spot. Rounding out the top three in individual show jumping in Tokyo was The Netherlands’ Mikael van der Vleuten aboard Beauville Z with a time of 38.90 seconds.
Take a look at the gallery below for a photo recap of the four days of show jumping competition in Tokyo.
For more exclusive updates with Vita Flex (http://bit.ly/vita-flex-pro_tokyo) leading up to and including the Games, visit practicalhorsemanmag.com/summer-games-2021.