This week last year all eyes were on Versailles for the eventing at Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the first equestrian discipline taking place at the stunning venue just outside of Paris. So of course, we had to have a look back and bring you some of the highlights of the biggest event of 2024. Just click on the links if you want to delve in deeper to each day's report or view all coverage from Paris 2024 here
A drizzly dressage day at Versailles
It all kicked off with the first horse inspection on Friday followed by just one long day of dressage on Saturday, with Laura Collett and Team GB leading the way after some drizzly dressage!
Laura and London 52 entered the stunning Paris 2024 Olympic arena shortly after the end of the lunch break Saturday with massive expectations on their shoulders and they duly over-delivered.
With the Palace of Versailles as a backdrop, and the rain pouring down, their test smashed David O’Connor’s long held Olympic record of 19.3 achieved in Sydney with a breathtaking final score of 17.5, and unsurprisingly it was an international personal best for Laura.
Cross country day
Cross country day for the Paris 2024 Olympics in the Parc De Versailles was a great day for the sport exactly when we needed it. Incredible shots of top-class horses in prime condition galloping in front of the palace, across pontoons and through the historic grounds, soaring over beautifully presented jumps that were in fact works of art. Riders making it look effortless and yet Herculean. Cheering crowds lining the entire course five or six deep. This was Eventing at its best - this was the Olympics.
Going into Sunday’s competition, the dressage leaders Laura Collett and London 52 (GBR) had only a 0.3 penalty advantage over second placed Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH, which didn’t translate to even a second’s worth of time penalties in hand. Finishing just two seconds over the optimum time to add 0.8 to her first phase score opened the door a chink and that was all the German former World, Olympic and European champion needed to barge through and take pole position going into the final day.
Time (naturally!) was not a problem for Australia’s Chris Burton who positively cruised round the track on Shadow Man, settling into a relentless rhythm early on and stopping the clock with a couple of seconds to spare. Adding nothing to their dressage score, Chris and Shadow Man finished cross country in individual bronze medal position overnight, although sadly the Australian team was no longer likely to fare so well. Shane Rose added a few time penalties to his score on Virgil early in the day and sadly Kevin McNab retired Don Quidam on course.
The French team, buoyed surely by the mighty roar of the home crowd that must have carried them along lay within striking distance of the Brits in second place ahead of the final day. The Japanese team also had a banner day to be in bronze medal position overnight with three clear rounds, two of them inside the time allowed. It was a fantastic day of cross country!
Soaring to record wins in the showjumping
All too soon, it was all over!
The second Horse Inspection on Monday morning proved influential, not least for the Japanese team, in bronze medal position overnight, when Ryuzo Kitajima’s Cekatinka, was withdrawn from the Hold Box while Toshiyuki Tanaka and Jefferson were subbed in with 20-penalties added. Australia also had a new team member in Shenae Lowings and Bold Venture, brought in following Kevin McNab’s retirement of Don Quidam on cross country.
The individual riders jumped first, followed by three rounds of team riders in reverse order of merit with the substitute combinations jumping in the first rotation. As expected, there was plenty of movement up and down and back again throughout the morning but ultimately Great Britain were once again Olympic Eventing Champions for a record fifth time, crowning them as the most successful team in Eventing History.
France was ecstatic to clinch the team silver medal on home soil and Japan, who had moved down to fifth after the Final Horse Inspection produced three clear jumping rounds to soar back up the team standings and claim bronze, their first eventing medal,
Temperatures rose in the afternoon and so did the pressure for the Individual honours. But Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH rose to the occasion and delivered a stunning clear round to clinch the gold medal for his rider, adding it to the two he won on La Biosthetique Sam in London 2012 and Rio 2016. His final score of 21.8 was the lowest Olympic finishing score in history.
Australia’s Chris Burton couldn’t have done more with his new ride Shadow Man, jumping superbly clear inside the time this afternoon and adding just 0.4 time penalty in the morning session to his dressage score, but he had to settle for silver while Laura Collett added individual bronze to her team gold.
It was a fantastic finale - the stands at the beautiful venue of Versailles were completely jam packed with rowdy fans, cheering loudly, waving flags and making their enthusiasm and appreciation well known for their heroes of the sport, human and equine, that have carved their names in the Olympic history books and had the medals to prove it.
We can’t wait for LA2028!
