Versailles Olympic venue ‘looking amazing’ as British horses head to France

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian venue at Versailles, pictured on 17 July. — The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian venue at Versailles.

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

The Olympics are about to kick off – and “it’s getting very exciting” as the equestrian event venue near Paris prepares to welcome competitors this week.

H&H spoke to British Equestrian’s (BEF) head of performance support Amanda Evans and head of operations and logistics Sophie Thomas on Monday (22 July), as the British Olympic event horses were on their way to France on LeShuttle. They were set to stay in private stabling to break up the journey, before heading to the venue at Versailles when the stables open on Wednesday (24 July).

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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.

Versailles Olympic venue ‘looking amazing’ as British event horses head to France

Ms Evans and Ms Thomas were among the support team that had travelled ahead to Paris, to prepare for the Brits’ arrivals.

“We’ve been busy setting everything up ready for the arrival of the team, so it’s getting very exciting now and all feels very real,” said Ms Evans. “It is a beautiful setting.”

“There are loads of wash bays and cooling opportunities – it ticks all the boxes for horses. The arenas are all down and look amazing. The stable barns were noticeably cooler when you walked into them from outside.”

She added that the British riders will be staying outside the Olympic Village “purely based on travel time”, and are instead in a hotel around 25 minutes from the venue. The grooms will be staying on-site in a hotel, which opened two months ago, and in chalets or in their lorries.

“On Wednesday, when everybody is at the venue, and the horses arrive, and all the athletes are there, it will just explode into life,” said Ms Thomas.

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