Overview

The equestrian events will commence with the eventing competition at 5pm (AEST) Saturday 27 July. 

The Australian Equestrian Team in Paris will feature nine combinations across three disciplines including three Olympic medallists as well as four combinations who will be making their Olympic debut. This dynamic blend of experience and fresh talent promises an exhilarating performance in all three disciplines. 

Ones to Watch 

Eventing

The Eventing Team brings a wealth of experience and medals with them to Paris. 

The team hails the return of former world number one and Olympic bronze medallist Chris Burton, following his switch to the discipline of jumping in 2021. 

Fellow Olympic medallists Shane Rose and Kevin McNab were both part of the Tokyo 2020 silver medal-winning team. Shane, who recently recovered from a serious fall in training, is back riding his Tokyo 2020 horse, Virgil. He has won a medal in all three of his Olympic appearances. Shane won a silver at Beijing 2008, a bronze medal at Rio 2016, and a silver medal at Tokyo 2020.

Jumping

For the first time in history, Australia is fielding an all-female Jumping Team at an Olympic Games. Stalwart Edwina Tops-Alexander will make history as Australia’s first five-time Olympian showjumper after making her debut in Beijing 2008.

Dressage

Simone Pearce will compete in her second Olympic Games in Paris, riding her black stallion, Destano. Simone, who was the youngest member of the equestrian team in Tokyo 2020, and Destano hold all three Australian Grand Prix records: 76.261 per cent in the Grand Prix, 77.894 per cent in the Grand Prix Special, and 81.385 per cent in the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Sport Format 

The equestrian competition is contested across three disciplines: eventing, dressage and jumping. Each competition includes a team and individual event, but athletes can only ride one horse, counting towards both team and individual scores. The competition has no gender category; men and women compete against each other on equal terms.

Eventing

Eventing is often referred to as the equestrian triathlon, with athletes and horses competing in three phases: dressage, cross-country, and jumping. The team and individual competitions take place simultaneously, with a second jumping test to determine the final rankings of the top individual riders.

Cross-country is the competition's highlight phase, where each combination's speed, stamina, and skill are tested over a specially designed course comprised of solid obstacles such as logs, ditches, and water complexes. 

Dressage

Dressage is regarded as the pinnacle of horse training and is considered the most artistic of the equestrian disciplines, often compared to ballet for horses. In the dressage competition, the athletes must execute a series of movements at the walk, trot and canter, where judges score each movement on a scale of zero to 10. The highlight of the dressage competition is the freestyle test, where each athlete choreographs a unique routine performed to music of their choice.

Jumping 

The jumping competition involves navigating a series of obstacles within the optimum time, with fences standing up to 1.65m in height. The jumps are designed to fall if the horse hits them while jumping, which will incur penalties, known as faults. Additional faults are given to combinations who go over the time allowed. The winner is the team or individual with the lowest number of faults. In the event of a tie, the winner is decided by a jump-off, where a shortened course is jumped as quickly as possible without knocking down any fences.

Competition Schedule 

Eventing

Dressage Day 1 – 27 July
Dressage Day 2 – 28 July 
Cross-Country – 29 July
Jumping – 30 July

Dressage

Grand Prix, Day 1 Team & Individual Qualifier – 31 July
Grand Prix, Day 1 Team & Individual Qualifier – 1 August
Grand Prix Special Team Final – 3 August
Grand Prix Freestyle Individual Final – 4 August

Jumping

Team Qualifier – 1 August
Team Final – 2 August
Individual Qualifier – 5 August
Individual Final – 6 August