Equestrian at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Team eventing explained

The team eventing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place from 30 July to 2 August 2021 at the Baji Koen and Sea Forest Cross-Country Course.^[1] Like all other equestrian events, the eventing competition is open-gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. 45 riders (15 teams of 3) from 15 nations are expected to compete.^[2]

Background

This will be the 25th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics since it was introduced in 1912.

The reigning Olympic champion is France (Karim Laghouag, Thibaut Vallette, Mathieu Lemoine, and Astier Nicolas). The reigning (2018) World Champion is Great Britain (Rosalind Canter, Piggy French, Tom McEwen, and Gemma Tattersall).

An Olympics.com preview of equestrian (all events) provided the following overview:

Qualification

See main article: Equestrian at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter 1 team of 3 riders in the team event. Quota places are allocated to the NOC, which selects the riders. There were 15 team quota places available, allocated as follows:^[2]

• Host nation: Japan was guaranteed a team
• World Games: The top 6 teams at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, excluding Japan
• European Championships: The top 2 teams from the 2019 FEI European Championships, in geographic groups A and B (Northwest and Southwest Europe)
• Group C event: The top team from a group C (Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia) qualification event
• Pan American Games: The top 2 teams from the 2019 Pan-American Games, with groups D and E covering North, Central, and South America
• Groups F/G event: The top 2 teams from a groups F and G (Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Oceania) qualification event
• Nations Cup: The top team from the 2019 Eventing Nations Cup Final, changed to the highest ranked team in the 2019 Eventing Nations Cup Series

Competition format

The eventing competition features all 45 riders competing in three rounds (dressage, cross-country, and jumping). Scores from all 3 riders on each team are summed to give a team score; the number of team members was reduced from 4 in 2016 to 3, with there no longer being a dropped score.^[3]

• Dressage test: A shortened dressage competition, with penalties based on the dressage score
• Cross-country test: A race over a 4.5 kilometre cross-country course. The time allotted is 8 minutes (570 metres per minute), with penalties assessed for exceeding that time. There are a maximum of 38 obstacles, with penalties assessed for faults. Staggered starts.
• Jumping test: A 600-metre show jumping course, with 11 or 12 obstacles (including double and triple jumps, with a maximum of 16 jumps total). Maximum height of obstacles is 1.25 metres. The required speed is 375 metres/minute (time limit of 1:36). Penalties are assessed for exceeding the time limit and for faults at the obstacles.

Schedule

The event takes place over four days, with two days for the dressage followed by cross-country and jumping on the next two days.^[1]

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9).^[4]

Day	Date	Start	Finish	Phase
Day 7	Friday, 30 July 2021	8:00	11:10	Dressage Day 1 - Session 1
		17:30	20:55	Dressage Day 1 - Session 2
Day 8	Saturday, 31 July 2021	8:00	11:10	Dressage Day 2 - Session 3
Day 9	Sunday, 1 August 2021	8:30	11:55	Cross Country
Day 10	Monday, 2 August 2021	17:00	22:25	Jumping

Results

Standings after dressage

At the end of the two days of dressage, Olympic champions Germany and World champions Great Britain had already broken away from the pack, with Germany, for the first time since 2008, not in the lead after the first discipline

Nation	Individual results			Team penalties	Team rank
	Rider	Horse	Penalties
	Oliver Townend	Ballaghmor Class	23.60	78.30	1
	Laura Collett	London 52	25.80
	Tom McEwen	Toledo de Kerser	28.90
	Michael Jung	Chipmunk	21.10	80.40	2
	Julia Krajewski	Amande de B'Neville	25.20
	Sandra Auffarth	Viamant du Matz	34.10
	Tim Price	Vitali	25.60	86.40	3
	Jesse Campbell	Diachello	30.10
	Jonelle Price	Grovine de Reve	30.70
	Kazuma Tomoto	Vinci de la Vigne	25.90	90.10	4
	Yoshiaki Oiwa	Calle 44	31.50
	Toshiyuki Tanaka	Talma d'Allou	32.70
	Louise Romeike	Cato 60	28.00	91.10	5
	Therese Viklund	Viscera	28.10
	Ludvig Svennerstål	Balham Mist	35.00
	Andrew Hoy	Vassily de Lassos	29.60	93.40	6
	Shane Rose	Virgil	31.70
	Kevin McNab	Don Quidam	32.10
	Alex Huan Tian	Don Geniro	23.90	93.60	7
	Bao Yingfeng	Flandia	34.50
	Sun Huadong	Lady Chin van't Moerven Z	35.20
	Phillip Dutton	Z	30.50	94.60	8
	Boyd Martin	Tsetserleg	31.10
	Doug Payne	Vandiver	33.00
	Christopher Six	Totem de Brecey	29.60	95.10	9
	Karim Laghouag	Triton Fontaine	32.40
	Nicholas Touzaint	Absolut Gold	33.10
	Felix Vogg	Colero	26.70	99.20	10
	Mélody Johner	Toubleu de Rueire	36.10
	Robin Godel	Jet Set	36.40
	Marcelo Tosi	Glenfly	31.50	103.6	11
	Rafael Losano	Fuiloda	36.00
	Carlos Paro	Goliath	36.10
	Malgorzata Cybulska	Chenaro	31.00	104.6	12
	Jan Kaminski	Jard	33.10
	Joanna Pawlak	Fantastic Frieda	40.50
	Sam Watson	Flamenco	34.30	110.40	13
	Austin O'Connor	Colorado Blue	38.00
	Sarah Ennis	Woodcourt Garrison	38.10
	Korntawat Samran	Bonero K	32.50	113.10	14
	Weerapat Pitakanonda	Carnival March	38.20
	Arinadtha Chavatanont	Boleybawn Prince	42.40
	Susanna Bordone	Imperial van de Holtakkers	33.90	115.40	15
	Vittoria Panizzon	Super Cillious	38.60
	Arianna Schivo	Quefira de l'Ormeau	42.90

Standings after cross-country

Germany suffered a nightmare cross country, with over 34 points in penalties all but knocking them out of medal contention, and ending the defense of their Olympic title. Great Britain, by contrast, backed up their earlier excellent dressage work with a faultless cross-country, posting three of only seven clear rounds all day, which gave them a huge 18 point lead going into the final discipline, the showjumping, equivalent to four posts down. Australia and France took advantage of Germany's disaster to move into medal position, and clear of the pack.

Team rank	Nation	Individual results				Team penalties
		Rider	Horse	Cross Country Penalties	TotalPenalties
1		Oliver Townend	Ballaghmor Class	0.00	23.60	78.30
		Laura Collett	London 52	0.00	25.80
		Tom McEwen	Toledo de Kerser	0.00	28.90
2		Andrew Hoy	Vassily de Lassos	0.00	29.60	96.20
		Shane Rose	Virgil	0.00	31.70
		Kevin McNab	Don Quidam	2.80	34.90
3		Christopher Six	Totem de Brecey	1.60	31.20	97.10
		Karim Laghouag	Triton Fontaine	0.00	32.40
		Nicholas Touzaint	Absolut Gold	0.40	33.50
4		Tim Price	Vitali	1.20	26.80	104.00
		Jesse Campbell	Diachello	14.40	44.50
		Jonelle Price	Grovine de Reve	2.00	32.70
5		Phillip Dutton	Z	4.80	35.30	109.40
		Boyd Martin	Tsetserleg	3.20	34.30
		Doug Payne	Vandiver	6.80	39.80
6		Michael Jung	Chipmunk	11.00	32.10	114.20
		Julia Krajewski	Amande de B'Neville	0.40	25.60
		Sandra Auffarth	Viamant du Matz	22.40	56.50
7		Susanna Bordone	Imperial van de Holtakkers	11.00	44.90	132.80
		Vittoria Panizzon	Super Cillious	3.60	42.20
		Arianna Schivo	Quefira de l'Ormeau	2.80	45.70
8		Sam Watson	Flamenco	13.00	47.30	161.00
		Austin O'Connor	Colorado Blue	0.00	38.00
		Sarah Ennis	Woodcourt Garrison	37.60	75.70
9		Alex Huan Tian	Don Geniro	12.00	35.90	185.60
		Bao Yingfeng	Flandia	38.00	72.50
		Sun Huadong	Lady Chin van't Moerven Z	42.00	77.20
10		Felix Vogg	Colero	11.80	38.50	311.40
		Mélody Johner	Toubleu de Rueire	0.40	36.50
		Robin Godel	Jet Set	200.00	236.40
11		Kazuma Tomoto	Vinci de la Vigne	1.60	27.50	322.50
		Yoshiaki Oiwa	Calle 44	200.00	231.50
		Toshiyuki Tanaka	Talma d'Allou	30.80	63.50
12		Marcelo Tosi	Glenfly	8.80	40.30	335.20
		Rafael Losano	Fuiloda	200.00	236.00
		Carlos Paro	Goliath	22.80	58.90
13		Malgorzata Cybulska	Chenaro	200.00	231.00	362.60
		Jan Kaminski	Jard	12.80	45.90
		Joanna Pawlak	Fantastic Frieda	45.20	85.70
14		Louise Romeike	Cato 60	200.00	269.00	711.10
		Therese Viklund	Viscera	200.00	228.10
		Ludvig Svennerstål	Balham Mist	Withdrew	35.00+20.00
		Sara Algotsson Olstholt	Chicuelo	200.00	200.00
15		Korntawat Samran	Bonero K	200.00	232.50	713.10
		Weerapat Pitakanonda	Carnival March	200.00	238.20
		Arinadtha Chavatanont	Boleybawn Prince	200.00	242.40

Final standings (after jumping)

Despite three clear rounds from the defending champions Germany lifting them to fourth, the medal positions remained unchanged as Great Britain won Olympic team eventing gold for the first time since 1972. a gap of 49 years. Australia took silver, with France taking the bronze medals.

Rank	Nation	Individual results				Total team Penalties
		Rider	Horse	Jumping Penalties	Total Penalties
		Oliver Townend	Ballaghmor Class	4.00	27.60	86.30
		Laura Collett	London 52	4.00	29.80
		Tom McEwen	Toledo de Kerser	0.00	28.90
		Andrew Hoy	Vassily de Lassos	0.00	29.60	100.20
		Shane Rose	Virgil	4.00	35.70
		Kevin McNab	Don Quidam	0.00	34.90
		Christopher Six	Totem de Brecey	0.00	31.20	101.50
		Karim Laghouag	Triton Fontaine	4.00	36.40
		Nicholas Touzaint	Absolut Gold	0.40	33.90
4		Michael Jung	Chipmunk	0.00	32.10	114.20
		Julia Krajewski	Amande de B'Neville	0.00	25.60
		Sandra Auffarth	Viamant du Matz	0.00	56.50
5		Tim Price	Vitali	12.00	38.80	116.40
		Jesse Campbell	Diachello	0.40	44.90
		Jonelle Price	Grovine de Reve	0.00	32.70
6		Phillip Dutton	Z	8.00	43.30	125.80
		Boyd Martin	Tsetserleg	4.40	38.70
		Doug Payne	Vandiver	4.00	43.80
7		Susanna Bordone	Imperial van de Holtakkers	0.00	44.90	144.80
		Vittoria Panizzon	Super Cillious	8.00	50.20
		Arianna Schivo	Quefira de l'Ormeau	4.00	49.70
8		Sam Watson	Flamenco	8.00	55.30	177.00
		Austin O'Connor	Colorado Blue	4.00	42.00
		Sarah Ennis	Woodcourt Garrison	4.00	79.70
9		Alex Huan Tian	Don Geniro	8.80	44.70	209.60
		Bao Yingfeng	Flandia	5.60	78.10
		Sun Huadong	Lady Chin van't Moerven Z	9.60	86.80
10		Felix Vogg	Colero	8.00	46.50	339.40
		Mélody Johner	Toubleu de Rueire	0.00	36.50
		Robin Godel	Jet Set	–	236.40
		Eveline Bodenmüller	Violine de la Brasserie	0.00	0.00
		Replacement penalty			20.00
11		Kazuma Tomoto	Vinci de la Vigne	4.00	31.50	358.50
		Yoshiaki Oiwa	Calle 44	–	231.50
		Toshiyuki Tanaka	Talma d'Allou	12.00	75.50
		Ryuzo Kitajima	Feroza Nieuwmoed	0.00	0.00
		Replacement penalty			20.00
12		Marcelo Tosi	Glenfly	WD	40.30	463.60
		Rafael Losano	Fuiloda	100.00 (WD)	336.00
		Carlos Paro	Goliath	4.00	62.90
		Márcio Appel	Iberon Jmen	4.40	4.40
		Replacement penalty			20.00
13		Malgorzata Cybulska	Chenaro	8.00	239.00	479.80
		Jan Kaminski	Jard	9.20	55.10
		Joanna Pawlak	Fantastic Frieda	100.00 (WD)	185.70
14		Louise Romeike	Cato 60	12.00	240.00	744.30
		Therese Viklund	Viscera	8.40	236.50
		Ludvig Svennerstål	Balham Mist	–	35.00
		Sara Algotsson Olstholt	Chicuelo	12.80	212.80
		Replacement penalty			20.00
15		Korntawat Samran	Bonero K	100.00 (WD)	332.50	1013.10
		Weerapat Pitakanonda	Carnival March	100.00 (WD)	338.20
		Arinadtha Chavatanont	Boleybawn Prince	100.00 (WD)	342.40

Notes and References

1. Web site: Equestrian Competition Schedule . Tokyo 2020 . 29 June 2021 . 3 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210703172907/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/schedule/equestrian-schedule . dead .
2. Web site: Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Equestrian Eventing . FEI . . 30 June 2021.
3. Web site: FEI Regulations for Equestrian Events at the Olympic Games.
4. Web site: Schedule - Equestrian Tokyo 2020 Olympics . Olympian Database . 2 March 2020.