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Third place in Olympics qualifier takes Team GB through to showjumping finals

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Scott Brash riding Jefferson. Image credit: FEI/Ben Clark

Another hot day dawned in Paris today with the equestrian section of the Games turning its attention to the showjumpers. With 35 nations taking part, either as teams or individuals, competition will be fierce over the next few days as competitors tackle the challenging courses at Versailles, each rider hoping to take home a medal.

Day one of the showjumping acted as a qualifier for the 20 three-member teams, of which 10 proceeded to the team final to be held over a different course tomorrow. The individual qualifier and the individual final take place on Monday, 5 and Tuesday, 6 August, bringing the equestrian competitions at Paris to a conclusion.

For the showjumping qualifier, the competing nations jumped in drawn order with penalties picked up for knocking down fences, disobediences such as refusals and completing outside the allotted time limit of 79 seconds. Scores for each of the team members were then combined to produce a total penalty score. In the case of more than one team finishing on the same number of penalties, total time for all rounds was the deciding factor for the final placings.

Jumping for Great Britain were Harry Charles on 15-year-old gelding Romeo 88, Scott Brash on Hello Jefferson, another 15-year-old gelding, and Ben Maher on Dallas Vegas Batilly. The 11-year-old mare was a last-minute substitution for Ben, who was originally down to ride 10-year-old stallion Point Break. The swap was decided on after Point Break appeared slightly off his peak form following the journey to Paris, but, nevertheless, Tilly, as she is known at home, is a hugely talented horse and as Ben has been riding her, with considerable success, since the summer of 2022, they’re a well-established pairing.

Today, Ben, who helped take Team GB to pole position in the Nations Cup at the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead last weekend, was first to go for Great Britain. Getting his team off to a great start, Ben jumped the perfect clear round within time, with 76.4 seconds on the clock, incurring no penalties as a result. Commenting on his round, Ben said: “Everything was great today. Over the first two jumps, she felt like she was finding her feet but then she grew in confidence. She’s an experienced horse and she’s on form. She feels focused, calm, ready and confident and that gives me, as a rider, confidence. She has a big stride, and we allow her to use that stride, so that played a big part in the round today. Point Break was 100% but, in the end, it came down to a direct choice, so now he’s back in his field at home  – but his turn will come.”

Having recovered from the arm injury he sustained in a fall at Aachen last month, Harry, who helped secure a gold for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics, was second to jump for Great Britain. He jumped a confident round, despite having his broken wrist strapped, and hopes were high for a clear until a plank fell at the triple, the penultimate jump on the course, leaving him with a penalty score of 4 and a time of 74.14 seconds. Harry said: “It was an amazing experience and to have a full crowd was fantastic. The first round is the hardest and I was a bit nervous before going in because you never really know what to expect. As it turned out, there were some spooky fences and some technical ones, and they were probably a bit bigger than I’d expected. But I’m happy with four faults – and, anyway, tomorrow we go back to zero and start again. I was lucky Ben went before me and gave me the feedback, but the lines didn’t really suit Romeo, as they were better for a bigger-striding horse. When walking the course, I’d had a different plan from the one I rode and if I were to do it again, I’d do a couple of things differently. But it’s good to know for tomorrow, as it will probably be similar, and I feel very proud to be part of Team GB.”

Scott, who’s also no newcomer to the Olympics and helped Team GB take gold on home turf at the London Olympics in 2012, jumped last for his team. Another well-established combination, Scott has had considerable success with Jefferson – who Scott describes as “amazing” and “quite a character” – including winning the Jumping World Cup in 2022. As with Harry, it was the triple at the end of the course that proved the fly in the ointment in an otherwise very clean round, with a pole falling on the first part.

Speaking about Jefferson after his round, Scott said: “He’s a more experienced horse and I know him well. But he’s very sharp, so you never really know how he’ll cope with such a big atmosphere. He delivered, though, and felt really comfortable once we got in there. I maybe got a smidgeon too close at the combination and he touched it on the way up, but it was my fault and I perhaps kept him a little too contained. So, it was unlucky because, to be honest, he felt like he skipped round. It’s great to get through and we’re all happy with how our horses are coping with the atmosphere and the heat. The course was big and challenging, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow – we’re all looking forward to it.”

At the end of the qualifier, Team GB sat in third place with 8 penalty points and a total time of 222.79 seconds, putting them ahead of Belgium and the Netherlands, also with 8 points but with times of 231.52 and 233.31 respectively.

The teams qualifying for the showjumping final in order are:

1: Germany 0 penalties (229.74)

2: USA 6 penalties (227.57)

3: Great Britain 8 penalties (227.79)

4: Belgium 8 penalties (321.52)

5: Netherlands 8 penatlies (233.31)

6: Ireland 9 penalties (230.22)

7: France 12 penalties (228.44)

8: Sweden 17 penalties (237.93)

9: Israel 20 penalties (227.90)

10: Mexico 20 penalties (230.14)

Countries failing to qualify, in order of placings, were: Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Australia, Japan, Poland, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Brazil was eliminated.

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