Tomorrow is one of the biggest days in horse sport, one that only comes round every four (well, three on this occasion) years – it’s Olympic cross-country day for the eventers.
So, if you’re tuning into the action from the Paris Games at home, what should you look out for? Read on, we’ve got you covered…
Olympic cross-country day: key things to watch
1. The beauty of the cross-country course. Pierre Le Goupil’s track has been decorated to fit in with the French theme and particularly the history of Versailles – you can admire fences such as the Enlightenment Bookcase and the Etoile Royal Waters. In terms of the actual challenge for riders, it’ll be fascinating to see what happens at fence 10. Named the Vauban Citadel, this complex offers a baffling array of options – there are four different fences riders can jump as element b and another four available as part c. It will probably prove to be one of those situations where riders hone in on two options and everyone takes one of those – or might we see a wide variety of approaches?
3. Chris Burton. The Australian has had nearly three years out of eventing after giving up the sport to go showjumping in 2021. He returned in the spring this year and goes into cross-country sharing the individual bronze position with China’s Alex Hua Tian. Chris used to be one of the fastest riders in the sport, so let’s see if that’s still true when he takes to the course with Shadow Man. Which leads us on to…
4. The optimum time. The target is 9min 2sec and whether riders can make it will have a huge influence on the competition. Not only will time-faults change the leaderboard, but if the time is tighter riders will have to take riskier lines and tackle all the direct routes and that will influence the competition.
5. Dressage trot-up. Yes, cross-country is the major player tomorrow, but at 7.40am local time (6.40am British time), the pure dressage horses will be presented for inspection to ensure they are fit to start their competition on Tuesday.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
