Chris Burton on his way to a double clear round on cross country
Competition Time
When-ever and where-ever a horse was outside the stables compound, there was a vet. Each training arena had a vet. The gallop track had a vet. The grass schooling area had a vet. Even the grazing area had a vet. You might ask why? Doesn’t that seem a little excessive? Well, yes… kind of. But this is the Olympics – no expense is spared to provide the very best for every horse. And when all of your vets are volunteers – it doesn’t cost you much (pay=$0) to have vets here, there and everywhere. And also to a certain extent, when you have so many vets wanting to be involved, why not let them be a part of the whole Olympic Games experience.
I personally didn’t spend too much time on arena duty, because I had so many night shifts looking after flight arrivals and departures. The few scheduled days shifts I actually had were mostly spent out at the gallop track which was quite fun – mainly because I got to see some of the best event horses in the world doing their gallop work, but also because there was a big screen out near the track so I could watch all of the dressage phase in the comfort of my vet tent with an esky of cold drinks next to me 
Cross Country Day
When it comes to Olympic Eventing, cross country day is the absolute jewel in the crown – and Rio 2016 certainly did not disappoint! Wonderfully designed and amazingly picturesque the course by all reports was “the toughest Olympic cross country since Sydney”. I was lucky enough to be able to walk the course several days prior to anyone else, and I certainly was in agreement with the consensus of how tough the course was.
Bearing this in mind, and considering the delicate position eventing holds in regards to its Olympic future, it was crucial that we the veterinary team did everything possible to ensure the health and welfare of every horses stepping foot onto that cross country course. Under the guidance of our Vet Services Manager Juliana Freitas and the watchful eye of our XC vet controller Jenny Hall (Vet Services Manager London 2012) absolutely no stone was left unturned to ensure the very best of veterinary care was provided out on cross country course.
The Rio 2016 cross country vet team
Considering the course consisted of 31 jumps and only 64 horses started, our vet team on cross country day comprised:
- 24 vets out on course
- 2 vets in control
- 1 roving orthopaedic specialist
- 3 roving anaesthesia specialists
- 8 vets in the finish area
- 6 mobile veterinary cooling teams
- 8 vets at the clinic including 3 specialists
- 4 FEI veterinary commission members
- 1 FEI veterinary Director
That’s a total of 57 vets!!!
Thankfully very few of those 57 vets were actually needed on the day. The weather was kind to us and despite the complexity of the course we had very few horse falls and only a couple of minor issues to deal with out on course.
I was positioned right in the middle of the course at Sector 4 HQ right next to jump 15. It was a fantastic spot as I could see the riders come over the Amazon Log at fence 13, gallop down the edge of the bushland leading to the narrow wood piles at 14ab, then loop around me before jumping 15 and heading off towards the main water complex. And then on their way home I could see them enter the water complex again at jumps 25ab prior to galloping past towards the bamboo vertical at 26. I honestly had the best seat in the house! It was such an amazing day!!!
Apart from the normal responsibilities of being a vet out on cross country, I was also given the responsibility of allocating “tiredness grading scores” to each and every horse as they entered my sector, and as they came past for a second time. We used a 1-4 grading system whereby (in brief) 1 = normal/looking good, 2 = little tired but still responsive to rider and travelling fine, 3 = tired, showing signs of fatigue and 4 = exhausted. It was great being given this extra job as it made me focus more critically on each horse that came by. Thankfully with the mild weather I saw very few tired horses. There were certainly lots of 2s the second time they came past me, but I think I only gave one horse a score of 3 and it retired a couple of fences past my sector.
Stuart Tinney and Pluto Mio (above)
Penny Dow listening to Jenny Hall during the pre cross country vet briefing (left) and close to the action out on course
The genius of Michael Jung
Bronzed Aussies
When I initially read my roster and saw that I wasn’t rostered to work on eventing showjumping day I was a bit miffed… Why? But that’s when medals are won and lost. I want to be there! So I enquired as to why I wasn’t rostered and I was promptly informed “Chris, it’s because you have worked the last 16 days in a row” Oh, I replied. Fair enough. I was still a bit annoyed – but it was a blessing in disguise.
Instead of being kitted out in my volunteer uniform standing on the edge of a distant arena, I took a seat in the athletes stand proudly wearing my green and gold t-shirt, golden cap and Aussie flag around my shoulders. It was fantastic being right there in the stands watching our boys bring home such a hard-earned and well deserved Bronze medal. We can all spend hours talking about “what-if” and “if-only”, but a Bronze is still great. It will secure the team funding for another four years. And in all honestly, as much as it pains me to say it; the French team jumped fantastically. And nobody can deny Jung is an absolute genius!
The Aussie team go in for their medals
Non Horsey Stuff
Just in case you went aware, the Olympics actually have a whole bunch of other non-horse sports. As a result of my many night shifts I managed to get to several other sports during my days off including Athletics and Waterpolo , as well as heading out to see a few night sessions of the Rugby 7s and the Beach Volleyball. It was fantastic to be able to get to see so many different sports and really experience the whole Olympic atmosphere.
At the rugby and athletics
On Reflection
I don’t think it really sunk in that I had actually achieved a life goal by working at the Olympics until my last day at the games – competition had ended, we had already sent all but 30 of the 200 plus horses home. I was one of the last few people left at the venue. I was lounging around on a couch in the grooms’ village watching a highlights package of the Games and it suddenly hit me…
HOLY S&*T
I'm at the Olympics!
I’m at Vet…
At the Olympics…
I’ve done it!!!
I’ve actually achieved what I set out to do 16 years ago
HOLY S&*T
I think I just sat there for a good hour or so, pinching myself every so often just to confirm it was all real.
#Tokyo2020
If you didn’t see the closing ceremony of Rio2016 you completely missed out seeing Tokyo 2020 totally steal the show. Honestly – go google it. If you did see the Tokyo 2020 section of the ceremony, you’ll understand what I mean when I say : Shinzo Arbe is my new hero!
Tokyo will be everything Rio was not. It will be slick, efficient, teched-up, amazingly well organised and super flash with massive crowds and crazy passionate fans. Let’s hope Tokyo can match how fantastically awesome the Rio 2016 vet team was.
A new goal has been set.
The countdown has begun.
Bring on Tokyo 2020!!!
As always,
Stay safe out there
Please bring you and your horse home safe and sound
Chris
