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Olympic Eventing: Swiss Land ‘Final’ Tokyo Slot, But Team Chances Still Out There

Switzerland claimed the last Olympic team place for Olympic 2020 at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup final at Boekelo in the Netherlands on October 13th. Their squad has been coached since the winter by Andrew Nicholson and it certainly shows. They finished the best of the teams in the overall Nations Cup rankings not already bound for Tokyo Olympic.

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The Tokyo factor added an extra frisson to Boekelo’s traditionally lively end-of-season party. But Boekelo might not quite be the Tokyo last-chance, because “qualification” has a strange interpretation in equestrianism. You can be qualified AND ineligible simultaneously.

Despite all the format manipulation aimed at admitting new countries, Olympic hopefuls still have to meet the Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) before occupying the place they have supposedly clinched. And the MER deadline for the team contest – a minimum of three riders of prescribed competence – is approaching like an express train: December 31st.

For newbies China and Thailand, it’s a case of so near and yet so far! Those two countries won their region’s quota place at a special competition in Saumur, France in May, amid much fanfare from the FEI. But the competition was staged at the old two-star/new three-star level. Rather less public attention was drawn to enormous “ask” of now mastering the next level up in a matter of months: the MER requires one completion including a cross-country clear, at the new five-star long format, or two at the new four-star, a long and a short.

While I may have missed something on the FEI database, it looks like two Chinese eventers have obtained the MER so far, the experienced Alex Hua Tian who ran as an individual at Beijing 2008, and Liang Ryuji. Thailand has just one, Weerapat Pitakanonda – both he and Liang secured their MERs in under five weeks at their first four-star attempts in Europe this summer and, it has to be said, did so fairly comfortably. China has a further three rider’s half-way there with four-star short qualifications, and Thailand one.

There are 13 remaining opportunities to obtain Olympic MERs worldwide, largely at events in the Americas and Antipodes. Riders are now prohibited from chasing MERs within 24 days of starting a “Long” CCI cross-country or within 10 days of a “Short.” That is a new stipulation, preventing horses being over-run at last-minute competitions which have had a strange way of appearing in the calendar before previous Games.

But can China and Thailand, in all seriousness, achieve this? And if so, given the precarious nature of Eventing, can they feasibly keep four horses fit and well to start in Tokyo Olympic from such a minute pool of participants? China has invested all its effort in the pre-selected six based in Europe this year.

So at least one team place is likely to be back in the pot soon. Who benefits will be decided by the special Olympic rankings table – most likely northern European. The FEI will reallocate if needed by February 17th. Canada is maybe just a notch too far down this list. However, the top two competitors from the Group D Olympic Eventing ranking list will be invited to compete. The list is currently topped by Karl Slezak and Colleen Loach, but Holy Jacks-Smither is on her way to Les Etoiles de Pau CCI5*-L in hopes of improving her ranking.

I chatted about this with Alex Hua Tian, who seems pretty sanguine about China’s prospects for Olympic 2020 and looks at the long-term. The mere possibility of a team presence has, he says, already piqued interest at the national level, and if they don’t make Tokyo Olympic, the European experience has stood China’s embryo team in good stead for a crack at Paris 2024. He also reminded me that it took Japan (third in the Boekelo Nations Cup final) two Olympic cycles to develop the strength and depth to be competitive in time for Olympic 2020. Given the chance, other non-traditional nations can catch up quickly and see off some of the well-aired concerns about the dilution of quality.

Meanwhile, Boekelo’s customized version of the Olympic three riders/no drop-score system was unexpectedly entertaining. At least it seemed so to me compared with last year’s trials of the new Olympic 2020 format at Mill street (Ireland) and Strzegom (Poland;) they were so bewildering I thought my head would fall off.

The Boekelo teams all seemed determined to complete their original trio. But I still harbor fears that someone who has been a spectator for half the competition will end up mounting the team podium next year. We saw how real that possibility could be at Boekelo when New Zealand finished fourth out of 12 good squads, despite calling up their substitute after the dressage, having accepted 20 extra penalty points.

Jennie, of course, she is still shown as a non-completion on the individuals’ scoreboard, just the kind of contradiction that will make casual observers glaze over when watching Tokyo Olympic on TV. Diehard fans have been digesting the substitution formula for months, but still probably watched Boekelo with one eye on the “bluffers guides” thoughtfully published by Horse & Hound and Eventing Nation.

Even the FEI’s own press release about Boekelo says the scoring caused a lot of head-scratching! The Boekelo commentators certainly had difficulty trying to distill it to a few words – good luck explaining it on Twitter next year!

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Olympic Eventing: Pakistan's Usman Khan achieves Tokyo Olympic qualification

Olympic qualification for Tokyo Olympic was very much the focus of a few riders at the Wallaby Hill International in NSW, Australia this a weekend where the CCI4*-L class provided an opportunity for riders still looking to qualify for Tokyo to gain an MER (Minimum Eligibility Requirements) qualifying result.

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Some of the riders in the CCI4*-L have already represented their country at an Olympic 2020 Games, with Australia’s Shane Rose winning and Amanda Ross in fourth place while New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone finished second on Balmoral Sensation. But it was a horse and rider from a different FEI Olympic Group that we have been keeping a key eye on in the lead up to this event.

Pakistan’s Usman Khan has been based in Australia for 15 years and during this period his aim has been to qualify in Eventing for an Olympic 2020 Games. For many years we have seen him at events large and small around Australia and particularly in Victoria, where he is based

Lee Ibrahim (Pakistan Eventing stable manager/groom) at the 2018 Melbourne International 3 Day Event with Al-Buraq CCI2*. Lee, an Australian national wore Pakistan's traditional women's dress Shalwar Kameez to present Al-Buraq when Usman had been excused from attending the first horse inspection due to his work commitments.

 Usman had hoped to qualify with his grey mare Al Buraq but, horses being horses, things went awry early in 2019 and Usman had to find another horse and start again. The 12-year-old bay gelding Azad Kashmir (originally named Here to Stay) was previously competed by Belinda Isbister in Western Australia but Usman bought him in early 2019, took over the ride and had his first start in competition at Camper down in April where they finished sixth in the CCI2*-S on their dressage score.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event in June where Usman fell on cross country, prompting him to think about the time he needed to get to know his new horse and, at that the point, Usman decided to quit his job as an IT Consultant to the Government and focus on his goal of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

 “You can’t (easily) compete against these guys,” says Usman “But you can do one thing. You can quit your professional job for the time being to try and focus on things that matter the most for at least the next 6 – 12 months”

Usman didn't have a groom with him at Goulburn but fellow competitor Jane Robinson jumped in to lend a hand during the event. Usman says that Australians have been instrumental in helping him achieve his goals.

 We caught up with Usman again in October at the Lynton Horse Trials in Goulburn where the organizing committee had generously agreed to run a CCI3*-L specifically for Usman and Azad Kashmir so that they could try and achieve an MER at this level, enabling them to compete at Wallaby Hill CCI4*-L, where a successful completion in December could provide Usman and Azad Kashmir with the vital MER for Olympic qualification.

We talked to Usman after his cross country run at Goulburn and filmed this interview, but he asked if we could wait to show it until after Wallaby Hill …' inshallah'.

We were delighted to hear that Usman and Azad Kashmir completed the CCI4*-L at Wallaby Hill last weekend; they started with a good a dressage score of 35.10, added just 2.8-time penalties on Mike Etherington-Smith’s cross country course to be in ninth place and, although they picked up 16 jumping penalties on the last day to drop to 13th, this was good enough to earn their MER and achieve Tokyo 2020 qualification - a huge achievement for Usman and Pakistan.

“It would be very chastening for us, as a nation, as a country, to compete at the Olympic 2020 Games” says Usman, who is now one very a big step closer.

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Olympic Eventing: U.S. Equestrian Eventing Team Claims Gold, Spot at the Olympic Games

LIMA, Peru On the morning of the team and individual Eventing final, with Olympic 2020 spots on the line and the U.S. by the lead, side physician Mark Hart conventional a phone call. The cardiologist’s heart hopped a beat. Olympic fans from all over the world are asked to book Olympic 2020 tickets from our online platforms for Olympic Tickets. Olympics Eventing fans can book Olympic Eventing Tickets from our ticketing marketplace exclusively on discounted prices.

Putting down his phone, Hart got in a car, drove to the nearest veterinarian and bought the equipment he needed. He returned to the team’s warm-up area, suture in hand, and got to work.

Inside the hour, Lynn Symansky’s equestrian shoe was secure, 20 blue stitches closing the back of her boot where a fastener had broken free. She and her teammates could now reappearance their focus to the task at hand: earning Olympic 2020 spots for the U.S.  Olympic Eventing Team. They did exactly that, in near flawless form.

Team the USA captured a Pan American Games gold medal, securing a team quota spot and three individual quota spots for the Olympic 2020 Games in Tokyo Olympic. With the pressure to perform hanging over their heads like the winter mist in Lima, Peru, Team USA could now breathe easy

“It’s a big relief. We all worked very, very hard,” 2016 Olympian Boyd Martin, who also captured a gold medal in the individual event, said. “There was a lot of pressure coming here. We were under the gun and I think we all stepped up.”

Entering the final day of competition with the lead, Team USA executed four clear rounds in the jumping event, completing the course without a single error. With a 91.20-point total, the U.S. bordered out Brazil by 30.90 points for the side gold medal.

Symansky’s clear jumping round also earned her the silver medal in individual, though it wasn’t without drama. Midway through her round, her horse, RF Cool Plays, clipped a rail, emitting an audible ring that echoed throughout the venue. Afterward several tenuous shakes, the rail remained put, keeping Symnasky’s strong round intact.

“Oh, I heard the rail tip,” she said with a smile. “But not only that, I heard the [crowds] gasp too afterward. You can’t let something like that rattle you or it all comes apart. So, you’ve got to keep breathing, keep going, stay relaxed and hope it all works out in your favor.”

Side USA kept their equanimity throughout the three-day rivalry despite several hair-raising moments. Incoming the second day of competition in first place thanks to a near-perfect dressage routine, Tamie Smith conventional 34 penalty points in the cross country occasion, bashing her down to 17th place. She would surface the separate competition in 17th, while Side USA’s fourth member, Doug Payne placed fourth.

The U.S. team members credited their collective friendship and prior competition experience for their poise throughout the Pan American Games. Two side members, Martin and Symansky, are Sports veterans, having contested in 2015 and 2011, correspondingly.

“It’s a group of people that know each other already, and I think we all get along really well,” Symansky said. “It makes the pressure environment easier when you have a group that supports each other, even when things don’t go according to plan.”

“I’ve seen how much work these guys have put into this, how much it means to them,” team coach and chef d’ Equipe Eril Duvander said. “So, to execute like this, I couldn’t ask for a better ending. I thoroughly believe they deserve all the medals hanging around their necks.”

Team USA it's hoping to repeat its Pan American Games performance in Tokyo Olympic Games. When asked what his goals are for the Summer Games 2020, Payne answered with a single word and a smile.

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China Olympic Eventing star Alex Hua Tian posts a Facebook ad seeking horses for his Tokyo Olympic campaign

The mainland’s first Olympic Eventing rider says the Chinese governing body will pay for the horse’s upkeep in the lead-up to next year’s Games. Olympic fans from all over the world are invited to book Olympic 2020 tickets from our online platforms for Olympic Tickets. Olympic Eventing fans can book Olympic Eventing Tickets from our ticketing marketplace exclusively on discounted prices.

Hua is the youngest Olympic eventer, having taken part in the 2008 Beijing Games competition in Hong Kong at the age of 18 China’s first-ever Olympic Eventing rider, Alex Hua Tian, is on the lookout for owners who can supply him with top quality horses to help him in the lead-up to the Olympic 2020 Games – with the Chinese Equestrian Association willing to pay for its upkeep leading up to Tokyo Olympic.

After an excellent eighth place at the 2016 Rio Olympics aboard Don Genero, the 29-year-old Hua is confident of putting on an even better performance in Tokyo, but needs a greater choice of horses to boost his preparation. who was born in Britain and grew up in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong – has put an ad on social media sites and elsewhere seeking horse owners.

“My ad is very much targeting existing western owners who already have a horse and try to encourage them to come over to China because they will get a better opportunity, better odds of their horse going to the Olympic Games,” Hua told the South China Morning Post.

“And also my federation will help to cover their costs. At the same time, we are investing time and effort at owners in China who are unlikely to be existing owners but who have the funds to invest in buying a horse.”

Eventing riders depend on owners to supply horses and these parties act as patrons, similar to the role played by racehorse owners. Hua was the youngest ever Olympic Eventing athlete when he competed as an 18-year-old at the 2008 Beijing competition in Hong Kong.

 China’s first Olympic equestrian star Alex Hua Tian forever grateful to Hong Kong upbringing

He said he already had four horses that he was working with, including PSH Convivial – also known as Spike – with whom he won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta last year. He is looking for at least one more to complete his Olympic stable. He said it costs between £20,000 (HK$205,000) and £25,000 to maintain from now until the Olympics

Although only one horse would eventually be selected for the Olympic 2020 Games, Hua said his odds were much shorter than those of many riders from European countries.

“That’s probably the best odds anyone can offer,” said Hua, who won a silver at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. “If you are an owner of a British horse, you are in a pool of about 150 top qualify horses.

So that’s a key proposition. As a Chinese athlete, the sport is a lot smaller and the odds are greater of going to the Olympics. It’s also a very special arrangement that’s unique, I believe, in which my federation will support one more horse.

One of the perks of being the owner of an Olympic equestrian horse is access to the stables during the competition. Hua admits there is a little financial benefit to gain but the prestige of being an Olympic horse owner is enough to convince many to supply horses to top riders.

“It’s not like a commercial relationship arrangement,” Hua said. “It’s a much more personal relationship between rider and owner.

“It’s a very special way for an individual or family to be involved in the Olympic Games,” said Hua, who is in a strong position to qualify for the Tokyo Eventing competition. “Just because I ride for the Chinese team, it doesn’t mean I don’t welcome owners from other parts of the world to be involved as well.

 Riding high: Alex Hua Tian hails Olympic success as a victory for equestrianism in China

 “The Olympics is the Olympics and the Western owners of my previous horses loved the process and enjoyed the whole thing and what made it even better was that we had a good result and, with good support and preparation I hope to get good results again.”

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Olympic Eventing: U.S. Eventing Side Punches Ticket to Tokyo Olympic with Stellar Performances at Lima 2019

The U.S. Eventing Side concluded competition at the Lima 2019 Pan American Sports capturing the squad gold medal and securing their qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games next summer on Sunday. Olympic followers from all over the world are asked to book Olympic 2020 tickets from our online platforms for Olympic Tickets. Olympics Eventing followers can book Olympic Eventing Tickets from our ticketing marketplace exclusively on discounted prices.

The squad finished on a cooperative score of 91.2, producing four double clear labors in the final phase. Brazil made the second Olympic 2020 qualification slot and over on a 122.1 to collect side silver. Canada over in third place with an overall score of 183.7, for bronze. Separately, Boyd Martin rode Tsetse leg to gold, while teammate Lynn Symansky and RF Cool Play earned the silver. Doug Payne finished just off the podium with Star Witness for fourth place, while Tamie Smith and Mai Baum settled their weekend on the 17th.

Tamie Smith (Murietta, Calif.) and Mai Baum, a 13-year-old German Sport Horse gelding (Loredano x Rike) owned by Alex Ahearn, Ellen Ahearn, & Erick Markell, were the first U.S. combination to test the show jumping track, designed by Guilherme Jorge (BRA), and produced a beautiful double clear round to jump-start the day for the United States.

“He feels ready to go again. He just felt great today. He really ate up the atmosphere and couldn’t have been better. I’m really proud of him,” said Smith.

For championship like this, you display up and the vast amount of provision that we get both from U.S. Equestrian, the holders, all of the support staff. We are actually the top that’s visible, but we wouldn’t be here deprived of their help, and of course the horses. They put forward a countless effort and we’ll forever be grateful.

“This is a group that knows each other already. We all get along really well, and it does make the pressured environment easier when you have a group of people that supports each other when things don’t always go according to plan. It’s pretty special to not have everything go one-hundred percent for everyone yesterday and to come back out and do four clean rounds. It’s a nice feeling to wrap everything up with.”

“This is a big relief. We all worked very, very hard. There was a lot of pressure coming here, and it’s just good to pull off a good performance. I think it was a brilliant competition. It was everything you dream of in a championship. I reason the crowd had a thrilling contest to the very finish, and this was much firmer of competition than I expected. We came here and were under the gun a bit, and we all stepped out and tried our hardest…we have great horses and good riders. We have the best coach. There was no stone left unturned.”

In a decisive and highly-anticipated competition for the U.S. Eventing Team, Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander led with a composed and stead-fast aura, giving his team both the guidance and confidence needed to achieve their goal of securing qualification for Tokyo 2020.

“I’m just honestly really pleased to be a part of this group. Today is the rider’s day and the owner’s day. I’ve seen how much work these guys have put into this; the preparation and how much it means to them, and then be able to execute. I couldn’t wish for a better ending than four clear rounds, and that’s a really strong performance. Everybody remained on task through to the very end. Doubt we can keep structure on what we did here and keep that impetus it will get us closer and closer. It’s about using every day we have before Tokyo to keep improving in the same manner that we’ve been working now,” he concluded.

The competition also marked the end of an era for the U.S. Eventing Side, as Managing Director Joanie Morris finished her final championship competition with the program. Morris, who has been a figurehead within the self-control for the last decade, closed out her tenure achieving the only goal for the Pan American Sports, earning the coveted qualification.

“I’m incredibly proud of this entire team. This job has been an unbelievable privilege, and I was proud to see it through to Olympic 2020 qualification, as that was the goal here. Individual gold and silver are just the frostings on the cake, and it was two riders who have been in this program since the beginning of my time with US Equestrian. I’m very pleased with them and look forward to all of the side’s successes in the future.”

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