Rio showjumping: France lands another team gold medal, plus there’s a jump-off for bronze
France added yet another team gold to their tally today, winning the team showjumping competition at the Rio Olympics after their eventing victory last week. The USA took silver, with Germany narrowly claiming the bronze after a jump-off with Canada.
France started the day in fifth with one time-fault on their scorecard after yesterday’s first round, but Philllippe Rozier (Rahotep De Toscane), Kevin Staut (Reveur De Hurtebise) and Roger Yves Bost (Sydney Une Prince) all left all the coloured poles intact today. A single time-fault each for Phillippe and Roger didn’t matter and they secured the gold on three faults without final ride Penelope Leprovost (Flora De Mariposa) having to jump.
“I’m so proud of him today, he did an amazing job,” said Kevin. “He’s 15 but feels as young as ever.”
The USA were down to three riders today as Beezie Madden’s Cortes ‘C’ sustained a tendon injury yesterday, but Kent Farrington (Voyeur) had just one time-fault, McClain Ward (Azur) jumped clear and Lucy Davis (Barron) had four faults. This left them on five faults with second place.
“I saw a lot of horses struggle to jump the treble clear and we knew every rail down would count today, so I really set him up for that,” said Kent. “I wanted to secure that before I took risks on the time.”
Continued below…
Related articles:
Further disqualifications under blood rules and an official protest in Rio showjumping
Britain’s Nick Skelton and Ben Maher both qualify for Rio showjumping individual final
Tales from Rio: A million reasons to love this rider
The Netherlands and Brazil started the day in equal first with the USA and Germany, but faults dropped them out of the reckoning. Canada came up the rankings to end up in a jump-off with Germany for the bronze medal, with both teams sitting on eight faults.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
All four riders can come forward in an Olympic jump-off, but in the event Germany secured the medal after their first three riders, Christian Ahlmann (Taloubet Z), Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Fibonacci) and Daniel Deusser (First Class), jumped clear. Ludger Beerbaum (Casello) did not need to come forward.
Canada’s Yann Candele (First Choice 15) and Amy Millar (Heros) both had a fence down, so although Tiffany Foster (Triple X III) went clear, Germany had the medal in the bag.
Full 20-page report from the Olympic showjumping in Rio in the issue of H&H published Thursday, 25 August, including full analysis of every round of the competition and expert comment from Geoff Billington and William Funnell.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
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.