Brits win record fifth Eventing team gold medal while U.S. finishes a disappointing seventh

Details: July 29, 2024; By SARA CAVANAGH

VERSAILLES, Fance--Great Britain made Eventing history by winning a record breaking fifth team gold medal and Japan made more history by winning the team bronze, the country's first ever Eventiing medal, while Germany's Michael Jung on Chipmunk set another record by winning his third individual gold.

Brits gold medal team L-R: Rosalind Canter, Tom McEwen and Laura Collett, winners of the Eventing Team Olympic Gold Medal at the Chateau de Versailles for the Paris Olympic Games (Photo by FEI Benjamin Clark)

Great Britain's team of Rosalind Canter on Lordships Graffalo, Tom McEwen on JL Dublin and Laura Collett on London 52 won on 91.3, France was second on 103.6, and Japan was third on 115.8, followed b Belgium,123.4, Switzerland, 128.4, Sweden, 130.5, and the U.S. 133.7.

Jung finished on 21.8 to win individually, with Christopher Burton of Australia on Shadow Man winning the silver on 22.4 and Collett of Great Britain on London 52 winning the bronze medal on 23.10.

“I tried to stay really focused and concentrated during the whole week and not thinking to the ceremony or the third gold medal," said Jung. “I tried to say to myself it’s just a normal show. I try to push my horse not too much, to give him the feeling it’s a normal show, although it’s not so easy with so many spectators. In the end I needed to look at the board to see that it’s really true (that he won gold again), and now I need a moment to realize what it means. It’s a very special moment for me.”

The U.S. finished a disappointing seventh, managing to climb up in stadium jumping from ninth in the bottom half of the 16 teams competing, but a dismal finish in a discipline that the U.S. dominated for many years.

FROM 1964 through 2004, when riders like Bruce Davidson, Mike Plumb, Michael Page, Jimmy Wofford, Karen Stives, Kerry Millikin, and Kim Severson were competing, the U.S. consistently medaled.

The U.S. hasn't won a team medal now n 20 years, since 2004, although Gina Miles in Hong Kong in 2008 and Phillip Dutton in Rio in 2016 did win individual medals.

It's even more disappointing when the dressage and jumping teams have pretty consistently medaled over the last three and four decades.

Certainly losing Will Coleman at the last minute contributed to the problem when Diabolo developed a hoof infection after the selectors had moved that horse up over Coleman's first choice of Off the Record.

The team's top finisher was Boyd Martin on Fedarman B who managed to just slip into the top 10 in the final Individual Jumping competition.

One problem certainly is dressage.

The team was sixth after dressage, so it was starting behind the eight ball.

Martin on Fedarman B added only 1.6 time faults cross country to his dressage score after two clean stadium jumping rounds, but even those stellar cross country and jumping rounds couldn't raise him higher than10th after two disastrous flying change problems left him starting the competition in 26th place.

"Bruno jumped like a super star," said Martin after the first round of jumping that decided the team medals. "I was blessed to have Peter Wylde in the warm-up. It was an amazing atmosphere as you walked down the tunnel to the arena, and Bruno didn't disappoint."

This is my fourth Olympics, and I'm probably in the second half of my career," said Martin. "It's deflating knowing that your dreams of wearing a medal are not going to happen."

Martin, however, has so far only improved as his career continues and he has a back-up of up-and-coming horses.

Beyond Martin and Coleman, there is clearly little depth in the field from which to draw top international competitors.

But there may be hope for the future.

The USEF has a developing rider program that seeks out and helps train up-and-coming riders and horses.

Caroline Pamukcu's HSH Blake is only a 9-year-old, and Liz Halliday's Nutcracker is only 10, so both those horses can improve and be better in future competitions.

Pamikcu had a glance-off stop on cross country and a rail in stadium jumping to finish 37th of the 51 that finished from the 59 that started.

"My rail down was my fault," said Pamukcu. "Blake is only 9, so I think he has a big, big future. All the faults were mine. I have to keep working harder, get more practice."

"I'm disappointed for the team and the country," she said. "They put so much resources into me. It's unbelievable what the Federation has done for me. I learned a lot here. I think the Federation is doing a good job of bringing up the next generation."

Halliday finished 19th, adding just six time faults cross country, a clean round with a .8 time fault in the first round of stadium jumping for the team medals and a rail down plus 1.2 time faults in the stadium jumping for individual medals to finish on 40 faults.

"I'm over the moon with Nutcracker," said Halliday after the first round of jumping. "I felt he jumped like it was a day at the World Equestrian Center in all that atmosphere. This has been a big learning experience for him. He'll be a better horse for it. I think he'll come back as a fabulous 11-year-old."

"I was drafted in so late, it was just put your head down and do it, and not let the enormity of it creep in," said Halliday after being moved up onto the team at the last minute when Coleman's Diabolo had a hoof infection.

“I really truly believe there were more positives than negatives this weekend," said Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello. "We didn’t compete in this format to a level that was going to get us a medal this weekend and that is really disappointing for everyone. I’m heartened when I look at the quality of the riders, we have here and the quality of horses. Each of these riders has a deep bench of horses coming along, but we still have much work to do if we have the expectation of ourselves to be on the podium in Los Angeles in four years.”