London, England — July 27

Eighty-five horses from 22 countries trotted up today, and every horse passed the first inspection, although four were held for re-inspection.

The U.S. riders were the first team to jog behind Ronald Zabala of Ecuador and Master Rose. Will Coleman led off for the Americans, and all five riders passed with flying colors.

The team from France had a nervous time of it when their first horse in the order, Lionel Guyon’s Nemetis de Lalou, was held. The Canadians faced the same stress when Peter Barry’s Kilrodan Abbot was held. The other two horses held included Asih, the mount of South African eventer Alexander Peternill, and Barbara, ridden by Brazil’s Serguei Fofanoff.

A few other horses were asked to jog twice, including Zara Phillips’ horse, High Kingdom, but it’s possible the British royal was only asked to trot again as an opportunity for the plethora of photographers to get another shot.

When it came to fashion statements, red shoes were the hot trend. They were team attire for Belgium, Great Britain and the Candian women, and individual rider Pawel Spisak from Poland sported them as well.

The Swedish team also made a splash with their blue-and-yellow striped shirts and matching sneakers, while the German team opted for pink plaid for the ladies and bright blue for the men with matching blue plaid scarves.

It was hard to miss the British team in their skirts and shorts. That’s a lot of white leg to show off when you’re William Fox-Pitt!

When it comes to best dressed, the Canadians and the riders from New Zealand both looked smashing. Barry  went classic with his blazer, while the women looked elegant in their black-and-white dresses and black cardigans. The Kiwis were also in black and white, but their pattern included the Olympic rings and the New Zealand fern.

Check back this afternoon for a full gallery of images from the first horse inspection, as well as a cross-country course walk.