JULY/AUGUST 2024 THE RIDER /31 Equestrian Sport at the Olympics
By Dr. Madison Ricard, DVM, DAVCP As Canada’s leader in
equine nutrition, Mad Barn thanks The Rider for featuring this story. To read the full ver- sion of the article, visit
https://madbarn.com/eques- t r i an- spor t -pa r i s -2024- olympics/. The 2024 Paris Olympics
and Paralympics are the next major sporting events on every equestrian’s calendar. These competitions, beginning July 27th and continuing until Sep- tember 7th, will bring together over 200 horse and rider com- binations to compete in the dis- ciplines of eventing, dressage, and show jumping, and the 2024 Paralympics will also host equestrian sport for para- athletes.
Eventing Eventing combines dres-
sage, cross-country and show jumping into one sport, similar to triathlon for humans. Horses and riders participate in three days of competition during the Olympics. The first day, dres- sage, uses a similar format to Olympic Dressage. However, the judges convert the percent score into penalties. The second day, cross-
country, sees horses and riders galloping over an 8-10 minute course of solid obstacles. Horses and riders can incur both jumping and time penal- ties.
The final day, show jump-
ing, is a course over moveable jumps, similar to Olympic Show Jumping. Knocking down a pole or refusing a fence during this phase adds more penalties to the score. At the end of the three
phases, the horse and rider
combination with the lowest penalty total wins. Horses and riders are only
asked to perform the dressage and cross-country phases once. The scores earned here count towards both the team and in- dividual competitions. How- ever, there are separate show jumping phases for the team and individual medals at the Olympic Games. After the team show
jumping round, the teams with the lowest combined scores re- ceive Olympic Medals. After the individual show jumping round, the individuals with the lowest scores receive Olympic medals.
Dressage Dressage is a sport based
on the movements expected of cavalry horses going to battle. Today, the sport reflects the pinnacle of equine training, with horses displaying strength, balance, and obedience. Dressage horses perform
complex movements in a set order, called a dressage test. Judges score the horses and rid- ers based on the movements’ harmony, precision, and fluid- ity. Each movement receives a score out of 10. At the end of the test, each judge adds the scores for each movement and calculates a percentage. The highest percent score wins. During the Olympics,
horses perform three dressage tests to earn scores towards two different competitions, one for a team medal and one for an in- dividual medal.
Show Jumping Show jumping competi-
tions test the horse’s ability to jump, with the highest level events asking horses to jump
up to 1.65 m (5’5″) high and 2.00 m (6’6″) wide. Judges score the competi-
tions based on faults, points ac- cumulated by knocking down poles or refusing (stopping at) a jump. Horses and riders also incur time faults for exceeding the time allowed. The horse and rider with
the lowest total faults wins. Horses and riders com-
pete in four jumping events during the Olympics. There are two sets of medals: one for team competition and one for individual competition.
Para Equestrian Para equestrian is rela-
tively new to Olympic sport compared to the other eques- trian events. Para equestrians compete
in dressage-based events, simi- lar to Olympic Dressage. [4] The competitors perform a dressage test and judges score them on harmony, obedience, and fluidity. The type of dres- sage test performed depends on the rider’s Grade, a categoriza- tion based on the impact of the rider’s impairment on their ability to ride. Similar
to the other
equestrian sports, the Para- lympics have individual and team competitions for their ath- letes. Each of the 5 Grades of rider receive their own set of individual Paralympic medals, with one set for Team competi- tion. A total of 11 sets of medals are distributed during the course of Paralympics.
National Teams The national teams partic-
ipating in the team events for the equestrian sports are at right.
Note: This schedule is current at the time of publication but is subject to change by the IOC
If you can’t make it to the Palace
of Versailles for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, you can watch the events online on NBC Olympics or CBC Sports.
About the Author: Dr. Madison Ricard graduated from the University of Cal- gary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2020 and is set to defend her PhD thesis in Anatomic Pathology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, SK. Madison’s veterinary health and research interests primarily focus on horses, particularly equine re- production. Currently, her herd consists of several retired show jumpers, two show jumping prospects, and two goats.
Schedule The schedule for the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events is as follows:
July 27th, 2024 July 28th, 2024 July 29th, 2024
July 30th, 2024 July 31st, 2024 August 1st, 2024 August 2nd, 2024 August 3rd, 2024 August 4th, 2024 August 5th, 2024 August 6th, 2024
Eventing: Dressage
Eventing: Cross Country Eventing: Jumping Team
Eventing: Jumping Individual Dressage: Grand Prix Dressage: Grand Prix Jumping: Team Qualifier Jumping: Team Final
Dressage: Grand Prix Special Dressage: Grand Prix Freestyle Jumping: Individual Qualifier Jumping: Individual Final
09:30 – 18:30 10:30 – 15:00 11:00 – 13:30 15:00 – 16:00 11:00 – 16:30 10:00 – 15:30 11:00 – 14:00 14:00 – 16:00 10:00 – 15:30 10:00 – 13:30 14:00 – 18:00 10:00 – 12:00
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