The equestrian events at the 2012 London Olympics will get underway with the eventing competition on Saturday, July 28. The three equestrian events are dressage, jumping and eventing. Each event has its own unique team of riders and horses that will be competing for team and individual medals. The equestrian events take place on 183 acres at Greenwich Park, a Royal Park that dates back to 1433, located 20 minutes from central London.
The Dressage Team competes at the Grand Prix level, the highest level of dressage competition. Each horse and rider will perform a Grand Prix dressage test, which is a written test committed to memory by the rider, and performed in a rectangular area marked with letters to indicate where each movement is to occur. The judges sit at several vantage points around the arena and award the horse and rider combination with a score from 1 to 10 on each movement they perform. The best score wins which has a numeric total and is often expressed as a percentage of the total points possible. For example, Stephen Peters in January of this year won a Grand Prix test in Florida with 81.468%, an incredibly high score, and his personal best at the time. He will be representing the United States in London with his dressage partner, Ravel, a Dutch Warmblood gelding.
The Jumping Team will compete in an arena negotiating a difficult course of up to 14 obstacles set at a maximum height of 1.6 meters, or 5 foot, 2.99 inches. The obstacles vary in height and width in varying combinations that challenge the rider on how to best negotiate them. The best score - the fewest penalties with the fastest time - wins. It demands jumping high fences combined with speed and precision. The youngest rider ever to represent the United States in an equestrian event, Reed Kessler, who turned 18 years old on July 9, will be jumping in London for a possible US medal on her young mare, Cylana.
The Eventing Team will combine the skills of dressage and jumping with their forté - the cross country course. The eventing competition is made up of three parts. The dressage test comes first. It is not as difficult as the Grand Prix test the Dressage Team will perform, but equates to a 3rd level dressage test. (There is 4th, Prix St George, Intermediare I and Intermedieare II levels before you get to the Grand Prix level.) Next comes phase two - it's what eventing is all about - the cross country course. The horse and riders gallop and jump a 3.5 mile course of solid obstacles - banks, drops, water, and ditches and is a testament to the guts and athleticism of both horse and rider. The third phase, stadium jumping, is a course of fences inside an arena, but not as high or as difficult as the Jumping Team's course. All three phases' scores are combined to determine the winner. The US Eventing Team member Karen O'Connor at 54 years old is the oldest rider to represent the United States in London.
Seven men and six women will compete on the dressage, jumping and eventing teams. They are riding eight geldings, three mares, and two stallions. The smallest horse, Coral Reef Via Volo, stands 15.2 hands and is on the Jumping Team ridden by veteran Olympian rider, Beezie Madden. The tallest horse is Ravel, over 17 hands, ridden by Stephen Peters on the Dressage Team. Visit http://www.London2012.com/equestrian for schedules, team members and up to date information.
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