Highs and lows for top riders in Olympic showjumping individual qualifier

There have been highs and lows for a number of top combinations as the pressure remains on in the Paris 2024 Olympic showjumping individual qualifier.

The second block of 25 riders have gone, with Ireland’s Daniel Coyle posting a speedy clear with the light-footed 14-year-old mare Legacy, to take provisional second in the standings. He sits behind fellow countryman Shane Sweetnam and James Kaan Cruz, who still lead the way from the first session.

“I don’t know what to say anymore,” said a delighted Daniel. “She’s 14, but her mind doesn’t think it, which is hard sometimes. I was expecting her to be more tired, but then when I felt that she was fresh, I thought ‘Ok, I need to change a little bit how I’m going to ride her today otherwise, I’ll end up making a mistake’.

“There was a lot of pressure today, in all the wrong ways. It’s nothing to do with the jumping or the crowd – it’s just trying to get through the finish with a good score because after this week, she deserves to be in the final, no matter what. So I would have been disappointed if she wasn’t.”

Daniel felt today’s course was more simple than the team qualifier and final.

“They were both really tough rounds. This one’s for sure a little softer, and there’s a lot of clears, which is a little scary, because who knows how it will go tomorrow,” said Daniel.

European champions Steve Guerdat and Dynamix De Belheme found redemption with a confident clear, which will come as relief after Switzerland missed out on a place in the team final. The pair currently sit in fourth.

“It has been a long three days waiting,” said Steve. “The worst part is I didn’t know really what happened the first day, so I didn’t know what her reaction would be until the first fence today. But straight away she gave me a much better feeling in the ring than in the team competition and made my life easier. She was back to herself today and we had really, really good round.”

Steve was frustrated following his round in the team qualifier last week, and reflecting back he believes Dynamix De Belheme perhaps need some more exposure.

“I think probably the mistake I made was not in my riding the first day, but more in my preparation prior to this championship where she was maybe just not ready,” he said.

“Coming in she was maybe lacking a few bigger classes, and I didn’t give her enough confidence the first day, so I tried to stay a little bit calmer today and trust her even though it wasn’t that easy prior to the class. But when she gave me that feeling, I thought ‘Ok now she’s back to normal’ so I can concentrate on just giving an easy ride.”

Discussing the course, Steve said they haven’t jumped the same fence twice, “something we only see in the Olympics”.

“We have new jumps every day. My mare hasn’t that much experience, even though she’s 11. She hasn’t jumped many really big championships and she can be a little bit spooky so that probably didn’t help us on the first day, but that’s the same for everybody. It’s an advantage for a few horses and disadvantage for a few others,” he said, adding that the course is big and some of the fences are “very delicate”.

“It’s a lot of jumping effort for the horses, but we are a great sport and we’ll see what we can bring tomorrow.”

It was also joy for Britain’s Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson, who jumped clear in 75.78sec and sit just behind Harry Charles and Romeo 88 on 75.72sec, who also posted a superb clear.

Combinations are feeling the pressure as they navigate course-designers Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo’s track. Thirty places are up for grabs in tomorrow’s medal-decider, and with only 15 clear rounds after the 50 combinations who have jumped so far, combinations who are on four-faults still have a chance to make it through to the final, where the slate is wiped clean. So far, Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z, who jumped in the first 25, are the quickest of the four-faulters, on 70.94.

The home side’s Simon Delestre, who became a team bronze medallist on Friday, had an unlucky pole with I Amelusina R 51 – as did the USA’s Laura Kraut and Baloutine, who tapped the planks at fence 6. Sweden’s Peder Fredricsson and Catch Me Not S, who have had an uncharacteristic performance in Paris, had eight faults, having knocked the final part of the triple combination, fence 10c, and fence 11.

Fence 12, an optical illusion wall, has played its part for this second group of riders, with the UAE’s Abdullah Mohd Al Marri’s ride McGregor and Ladriano Z, ridden by Daniel Bluman for Israel, both having stops, and opting to retire. Spanish rider Eduardo Alvarez Aznar and Rokfeller De Pleville also retired after experiencing difficulty on course.

At the time of writing, there are 22 combinations left to jump in the Olympic showjumping individual qualifier, including Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly, McLain Ward and Ilex, and Cian O’Connor and Maurice.

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