The Olympic Equestrian Events of 2008: Eventing

Despite the 2008 Olympic Games being one of Britain’s less successful championships for the eventing team, the competition was packed full of drama and this DVD of all the highlights would be a welcome addition to any eventing enthusiasts’ Christmas list.

The DVD begins with highlights from the dressage, with supporting commentary from Lucinda Green and Jamie Hawksfield. None of the tests are show in full but the producers have been intelligent with their editing and have shown enough of the important tests to avoid the viewer feeling short changed.

Personally I would have liked to have seen all the British riders’ tests in full, but at least there is a considerable amount of both Tina Cook and Mary King’s tests.

On to the cross-country, which is the longest section of the coverage. We kick off with Mark Todd’s impressive round as pathfinder and all of the influential rounds are covered. As the day unfolds the challenges facing horse and rider become clear, with the rain playing an influential role as the competition comes to its conclusion. Lucinda Green’s insightful comments add to the footage in this section.

Finally it’s time for the two show jumping rounds, and once again the editors’ have been clever with their choice of footage. There is plenty here to capture the incredible atmosphere in Sha Tin as the team and individual competitions unfold. And even though I knew the outcome, it still had me on the edge of my seat.