Great Britain remains in gold medal position after the cross-country phase of eventing

Laura Collett and London 52 storm the cross-country to finish within the time, going into the showjumping in provisional bronze medal position © FEI/Christophe Taniére

Three flawless cross-country performances result in Great Britain maintaining provisional team gold position moving into the last phase of the eventing competition

Great Britain’s eventing team has remained in gold medal position after the cross-country phase of the Olympic eventing competition in the early hours of this morning (Sunday 1 August), adding no penalties to their already low collective dressage score. Tensions were high for every viewer who’d committed to pulling an all-nighter to watch the cross-country unfold. Stakes were high, because if a rider didn’t finish the course they’d rack up a whopping 200 penalties for their team, and further penalties if a rider must be replaced for the team showjumping. It was safe to say, eventing fans were far from sleepy as they were glued to their screens into the early hours of the morning.

As we marvelled at our top eventers tackling the course at Sea Forest Park, we were on the edge of our seats following several falls at fence five and knocks and costly frangible pin breakages at the tricky corner, resulting in riders gaining 11 penalties plus for their teams.

Nonetheless, our own Oliver Townend –  first to complete the course – put his vast experience and long-term partnership with Ballaghmor Class to good use on this technical course, to ride a speedy and technically brilliant clear round five seconds inside the optimum time of 7.45, securing him a minimum of a silver placing moving into the final phase.

“We know that he’s special – anybody who watches eventing knows that he’s special. He’s quirky but he’s tough and the bottom line is that he wants to do his job, more than most horses,” said Oliver of Ballaghmor Class after his masterful completion clear.

Our second British rider to run, Laura Collett, rode a fully-fit and raring to go London 52. With short-format being his speciality, as demonstrated by the combination’s success at Pau and Chatsworth International, Laura unsurprisingly pulled off a close-to-perfect run, finishing just two seconds inside the optimum time, moving her into individual bronze position.

“I’m not sure I’ve got any words for it, to be honest,” Laura told British Equestrian after completing her round. “I’ve always said he’s a superstar and he went out and proved to everyone just how good he is.”

Then, it was all down to Tom McEwan and Toledo De Kerser – the final British combination to run – to secure Britain’s provisional gold medal position on the leader board. Of course, Tom pulled out all the stops to ride an incredibly speedy yet controlled course, finishing miles within the time on 7.39. Having added a grand total of zero penalties to their team score, Great Britain have well and truly earned their golden placing so far.

Speaking to British Equestrian after his round, Tom said: “That felt absolutely incredible. He was just phenomenal, so straight and wanting to jump every fence – I’m just really pleased I could give him the ride he deserved”.

With Germany acting as Britain’s biggest rivals after the dressage phase, Julia Krajewski put in a fantastic round resulting in a finish just one second over the optimum time, giving her a very competitive score moving her into individual silver position. While it looked like he’d he the one to beat after finishing the dressage in a strong lead on 21.1, it all came down to Gold hattrick seeker Michael Jung, riding Chipmunk FRH, and viewers held their breath as he took to the course. The unimaginable happened and they picked up 11 penalties breaking a frangible pin. This saw the duo evacuate the lead and shoot from first to 10^th on the leader board – British viewers hearts were in their mouths as they realised Oliver Townend was now inline for the individual gold.

Other notable performances came from a spooky few moments seen from Don Geniro ridden by Alex Hua Tian, who was able to masterfully negotiate the compact course to finish in 8.15, losing him his bronze medal standing. Jonelle Price also put in a brilliant effort finishing five seconds over the time, picking up just two penalties.

The grand finale

With the cross-country phase having played out, we now have the pivotal showjumping phase to look forward to. This is one you won’t want to miss, as it’ll determine the final placings for the Olympic eventing. As it stands, this is how the individual leader board looks…

1. Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class – 23.6
2. Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Amande de b’Neville – 25.6
3. Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 – 25.8
4. New Zealand’s Tim Price and Vitali – 26.8
5. Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto and Vinci de la Vigne – 27.5
6. Great Britain’s Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser – 28.9
7. Australia’s Andrew Hoy and Vassily de Lassos – 29.6
8. France’s Christopher Six and Totem de Brecey – 31.2
9. Australia’s Shane Rose and Virgil – 31.7
10. Germany’s Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH – 32.1

Following an untouchable performance, the Great British team sits at the top of the table 18 penalties – that’s more than four poles down in the showjumping – clear of their closest rivals, provisional silver medallists Australia. Germany will still be hoping for stumbles in the final phase so they can edge into the gold placing. We can expect dramatic close to competition tomorrow (Monday 2 August). Team standings are as follows…

1. Great Britain 78.3
2. Australia 96.2
3. France 97.1
4. New Zealand 104
5. USA 109.4
6. Germany 114.2
7. Italy 132.8
8. Ireland 161
9. China 185.6
10. Poland 213.8