Britain’s 2020 Olympic medal tally totals five, as jumping team final proves a challenge too far

Holly Smith and Denver in the showjumping team qualifier © BEF / Jon Stroud Media

Great Britain step away from the team showjumping competition as Swedish riders put in a thrilling jump-off after a week of textbook rounds to clinch gold ahead of the USA

It was far from the fairytale ending British fans would’ve hoped for but after a week of tricky competition over increasingly tough tracks, the Great British showjumping team called it a day mid-competition after a total score of 24 put them in ultimate 10th overall with just the final riders to go. Sweden ruled supreme, with USA and Belgium earning silver and bronze respectively. But one thing’s for certain – poles were falling and the allowed time was proving tight – it was a massive test for even the world’s best riders and it wasn’t for the fainthearted.

First-to-go Holly Smith rode a fiery Denver to drop four poles in the final round of their Olympic run, while Harry Charles rode Romeo 88 second for an eight-penalty tally and an overall team score of 24. With this putting Britain in penultimate position, looking to be at least 20 points short of the medals with just one rider to go, this prompted the decision for Ben Maher to withdraw Explosion W, with whom he’d already enjoyed individual gold glory earlier on in the week (Wednesday 4 August).

Speaking afterwards, Team Leader Richard Waygood commented: “Holly and Harry rode with great skill but this is the pinnacle of Olympic competition and with 24 faults, Team GB won’t be in the mix for a podium place. Ben and Explosion have shown their world-class calibre in winning individual gold and we’ve collectively decided it’s in the best interests to save the horse for another day.”

With Britain out of the running and looking to the medals, it became clear early on that the top three would also certainly be fought out by Sweden, the USA and France.

France, incurring just two time penalities throughout the final – one apiece for Simon Delestre riding Berlux Z and Mathieu Billot riding Quel Filou 13 – looked like the ones to beat for the gold medal. That was, until last rider to go, Penelope Leprevost, suffered an unfortunate pole and two refusals on Vancouver de Lanlore, resulting in elimination and resulting in France finishing of the best of three countries – themselves, Britain and Germany – who couldn’t put forward a third score for the team.

If any team deserved to seize gold after a week of world-class performances, it would be Sweden, whose three riders all finished in the top five individually. Defending silver medallist Peder Fredricson and All In retained their accolade, while Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward stood fourth above Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Indiana in fifth. Then, they appeared to be in a league of their own coming into the team final with a clean sheet – the only team not to have touched a pole or incurred a time penalty in the qualifier. However, when today (7 August)’s team final concluded – after just two poles tumbled over the three rounds – they were joint first with the USA, which meant an exciting but tense jump-off.

All three riders for the two teams involved would come out to ride once more over the shortened course – and viewers, regardless of nationality, were on the edge of their seats as the competition promised to come down to the riders’ times. Horses and riders jumped their hearts out, but in the end, only one team could win.

USA’s team – made up of Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, Jessica Springsteen on Don Juan van de Donkoeve, and McLain Warm on Contagious – put down the gauntlet with three quick clears but it wasn’t enough to put an end to Sweden’s gold medal hopes. With just one rider remaining and just 40.3 seconds to play with, Peder and All In put their all in and returned home on 39.01 seconds – securing their team’s top position as the Americans settled for silver.

Final team results were as follows:

1. Sweden
2. USA
3. Belgium
4. Netherlands
5. Switzerland
6. Brazil
7. Argentina
8. France
9. Germany
10. Great Britain