Australia’s Dressage, Eventing and Showjumping teams for the Tokyo Olympics have been announced. A former Olympian himself, Heath Ryan assesses the prospects of our athletes making the podium.

Here are our three Olympic teams for Eventing, Dressage and Showjumping. The Eventers are a serious medal chance, even a gold medal chance. Our Dressage team is a mix of the very experienced and the young. Certainly, our youngest Dressage rider is challenging territory previously frequented only by established superstars. This just might be the turning of the tide for Dressage in Australia.

The Showjumpers are always a difficult bunch to read accurately. Without question in 2018 these underdogs produced an exhilarating performance at the World Equestrian Games to rank sixth in the world. It was unexpected and brilliant and made us all cheer like mad. Can they hold this hard-won ground in 2021 way up there in Tokyo?

EVENTING

In the below assessment, we’re looking at long-format personal bests (four or five star), and many combinations do in fact have better personal best scores at CCI4*S level. Tokyo is in fact an amalgamation of levels, and is probably closest to a CCI4*L with the dressage, cross country and jumping taking place in that order across three consecutive days. A five-star dressage test will be used, while the cross country test in distance is between a CCI4*S and CCI4*L (the distance was shortened following the test event), with the number of jumping efforts lying in the CCI4*L range. For the jumping, the team round will be at four-star height, while the individual round (which follows the team jumping round on the same day) will be at five-star height.

Christopher Burton riding Quality Purdey

The combination’s personal best score in a long-format CCI5*L is 33.8 penalties.

Chris had six horses qualified for Tokyo. In 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, he finished up in fifth position just out of the individual medals. Should the stars align, Chris is definitely an individual medal proposition.

Shane Rose riding Virgil

The combination’s personal best score in a long-format CCI 5*L is 34.6 penalties.

Similarly to Chris Burton, this score is in a CCI 5*L, which is slightly more difficult than the CCI4*L competition which is the Olympic Games standard.

Shane rode Virgil at the World Equestrian Games in 2018 in the USA for Australia. So Shane and Virgil are very experienced. Shane and Virgil have won so much here in Australia that should the Olympics go according to their potential, this is also an individual medal proposition.

Andrew Hoy riding Vassily de Lassos

The combination’s personal best score in a long-format CCI4*L is 32.5 penalties.

In actual fact, Andrew has a score of 29.8 penalties at the World Equestrian Games in 2018 in the USA. Andrew did come fourth at the World Equestrian Games.

Andrew and Vassily de Lassos have had one showjump rail in the last three years of top competition and have been clear and under time cross country in all competitions for the last three years. Some people are saying this is the best three-day event horse in the world at the moment. Andrew and Vassily de Lassos are also a likely individual medallist.

Stuart Tinney riding Leporis (Alternate Rider)

The Alternate Rider is a sort of reserve who can be switched into the team during the competition. It’s complicated! The simple version is, let’s say Chris Burton’s horse Quality Purdey has a colic attack after the Dressage test and is withdrawn on veterinary advice. The Alternate Rider can be substituted in to do the cross country and showjumping. The team will take a 20-penalty hit to put a substitute in, but that is better than the team being eliminated. In this new Olympic format, the team gold medal may well be won on the reliability of a nation’s top three riders. In the past a team had four riders and the top three scores counted. Please understand this is a very simplified version of the Alternate Rider format.

Anyway, Stuart Tinney on Leporis has a personal best score in a long-format CCI4*L of 33.0 penalties. Leporis is currently just 10 years of age, which easily makes him the youngest horse at Tokyo for Australia in all three disciplines.

So, if everything went to plan for Australia and our riders came up with personal best (long-format) finishing scores, we should end up with a team score of 100.9 penalties.

The two nations who are favourites to win the team gold medal are Great Britain and Germany. Using the same formula that I have used on the Australian team, Great Britain should finish up with a team score of 71.6. Holy smoke! That is 29.3 penalties in front of the Australian projected score and is going to take some beating. The German team should finish up on a score of 81.0. Crikey! That is still 19 penalties in front of Australia!

So, are we Australians capable of a team gold medal? Yes! Why? Three reasons:

• The Australian team is very seasoned and is perhaps more reliable than the British and the German teams.
• Both the British and the Germans are used to having the competitions in their own backyards. These guys often travel no more than two hours to a competition. The Australians are used to travelling to Adelaide, which can take up to three days from Sydney. Travelling to Tokyo from Sydney will take us about 10 hours… just an afternoon’s drive for we Australians and a travel time that both our riders and our horses are very used to. Travel time for the riders from Europe to Tokyo will be around 15 hours. That is going to really upset the apple cart for Britain and Germany.
• Finally, in Australia we have very few big international competitions by comparison with the northern hemisphere countries. This means when we Australians turn up to a competition we have to compete and do well because sometimes it will be six months or even a year before another big competition is scheduled. In the northern hemisphere there can be a significant international competition every second weekend and so when plans go a little awry competitors tend to pull out and start again at another competition in the not-too-distant future. There is one Olympics only every four years. The Germans and the British are going to have to survive the difficulties of a big trip which they are very not used to and then produce their personal best results even if they don’t feel too well! A big call. This does definitely change the odds so that Australia is a very serious team gold medal contender. Bring it on!

“Mary Hanna is a stand-out
Australian ambassador.”

DRESSAGE

Simone Pearce riding Destano

The combination’s personal best Grand Prix Dressage score is 76.261%.

This score is an Australian record and Simone and Destano are right now in magnificent form. Simone was only just on the radar in terms of contention for Australian Olympic selection this time last year; this is the ultimate story of rags to riches and has caught the imagination of all Australians! Simone is currently based in Germany.

Mary Hanna riding Calanta

The combination’s personal best Grand Prix Dressage score is 72.761%.

Mary Hanna is a stand-out Australian ambassador being 66 years of age and the oldest athlete to represent Australia at the Olympics. What an achievement! Mary and her horses are based here in Australia and this makes a significant contribution to the sport on a national basis.

Kelly Layne riding Samhitas

The combination’s personal best Grand Prix Dressage score is 71.935%.

Kelly is based in the USA and her performances are getting better and better in the lead up to the Olympics.

It does appear that the Australian selectors have decided not to name a reserve for the Dressage team. There are three other Australian riders who should automatically have been on the team or reserves, however, for their own reasons they did withdraw from the selection process. There are still other riders in line who are not qualified under Australian criteria but are indeed qualified under Olympic criteria. Surely we should be naming a reserve at all costs rather than risk not having a full team at the Olympics. Do the selectors think that these other riders are so embarrassing that it justifies leaving them off and risking a whole Olympic team?

I do understand that, as of this moment, these other riders have not been duly nominated and the horses have not been vaccinated. This is not the first time the Australian Dressage selectors have not properly nominated riders and then in the 11^th hour really needed them. I do think the Australian Dressage riders find this administrative attitude of the Australian Dressage selectors extremely frustrating.

Anyhow, getting back on track with Tokyo. The Grand Prix is now nothing more than a qualifying event.

The top eight team scores from the Grand Prix, which are decided by adding together the three scores from each team rider for a team score, go through to the Grand Prix Special. The top eight teams go on to the Grand Prix Special, which then decides the team medals. The Grand Prix score is not carried forward to the Grand Prix Special. The Grand Prix Special alone decides team medals. The Grand Prix Freestyle decides the individual medals. To get into the Grand Prix Freestyle, the original Grand Prix is divided up into six heats. This is so complicated. You need to watch the below two-minute video, which explains the process.

SHOWJUMPING

At the time of writing the Australian Showjumping selectors have just released the Australian Showjumping team selections after a short delay.

Edwina Tops-Alexander riding Identity Vitseroel

Edwina purchased Identity Vitseroel late in 2019 and has been competing the 13-year-old mare since then. They’ve had many starts at Longines Global Champions Tour (CSI5*) events for some good results, and also a second place in the prestigious London Olympia Grand Prix in 2019.

Jamie Kermond riding Yandoo Oaks Constellation

Jamie and Yandoo Oaks Constellation were part of the heroic Australian team who went to WEG in the USA and came 6^th in the team competition to qualify Australia for the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Katie Laurie riding Casebrook Lomond

A former Kiwi, Katie moved to Canada at the end of 2019 and has been going really well at competitions around North America with her string of horses.

Rowan Willis riding Blue Movie (travelling reserve)

Rowan and Blue Movie were in the same team as Jamie Kermond and Yandoo Oaks Constellation at WEG 2018. Rowan and Blue Movie were part of that amazing performance.

PERSONAL BESTS, OR BETTER

My final thoughts are that it would be a very successful 2021 Olympics for Australia if our riders were able to equal their personal bests, which is what they have been selected on. If they can better their personal bests this will be just brilliant and a great step towards an even better future. I think if the Eventers can stick to the sort of form they are selected on we will indeed get an Olympic medal. We just need a performance from our team that reflects nerves of steel.

The Dressage team is made up of two new faces and one very experienced Olympian. A good mix and the youngest member is clearly challenging new territory for Australia. Simone Pearce and Destano are rampaging into territory that has traditionally belonged to only the most famous Dressage countries and most famous Dressage riders. I think we are about to see the Australian Dressage team starting to move up the ladder. If we can continue to promote more new faces and more up-and-coming riders this may well be the beginning of the great Australian Dressage adventure.

The Showjumping was once, a long time ago, right up with the best in the world. We did seem to lose touch with the top nations for quite a number of years; however, the 2018 World Equestrian Games result was one of courage and performances unexpected. It made everybody gasp and everybody cheered. Nothing like an Australian underdog. It would be just fantastic if the Showjumpers can again dig deep and hold the hard-won territory gained by our 2018 superheros.

Good luck everyone, and to all of us here at home in Australia we need to turn those televisions on and track the live-streaming and social media and cheer at the tops of our voices until the neighbours complain! Bring on the Games.

Cheers,

Heath EQ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:

‘New Era for Australian Dressage’ – Ryan’s Rave (Equestrian Life, June 2021)

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