DeRosa Daily Equestrian Olympic News
Horsesdaily Veteran Olympic Reporter Diana DeRosa Brings Us Into Her World

Facing the Show Jumping Olympic Challenge
Let’s Hear It For Them All!

Course Designers Leopoldo Palacios and Steve Stephens started the riders out with a semi welcoming course on the first day of show jumping competition.  That course was designed to separate the talent.  When the second course (which was the first round of the Nations Cup) was built the Olympic standard was right there.  There was height, width, challenging distances and more.  Near the end of the course was a very wide fence that was the demise of a few riders.  Yet it wasn’t really any one fence that was the bogie.  The difficulty was built in around the course.

We normally give the limelight to the strongest riders in the competition and there were those shining stars, including our very own McLain Ward and Sapphire who along with Canada’s Eric Lamaze on Hickstead put in an amazingly beautiful clear round.  They were the only riders to negotiate two clear rounds so far.  Right on their tail is Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa aboard Rufus with only 1 time penalty.

Denis Lynch and Lantinus from Ireland were close with a total of one time fault in each round for a 2 point total.  Others who finished on two included Jos Lansink riding Cumano (BEL) and Tony Andre Hansen aboard Camino for Norway.  Totaling 3 penalty points was Marc Houtzager riding Opium for the Netherlands.  What I find interesting about the top seven riders are that they all come from different parts of the world.  That lineup truly makes this an Olympic competition.