Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024

Update: Great Britain Announces Its Olympic Teams

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Update: The British Olympic Association announced its Olympic show jumping team on July 2, rounding out its entries for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The British Olympic Association now has named all three of its teams for Tokyo, with the show jumping  squad announced July 2, a day after the eventing and dressage squads. The entire eventing team, along with one rider each from show jumping and dressage, will be making their Olympic debuts.

The show jumping team will be:

• Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson, owned by Lady Pauline Harris and Lady Pauline Kirkham

• Ben Maher and Explosion W, owned by Charlotte Rossetter, Pamela Wright and the rider

• Holly Smith and Denver, owned by Ian Dowie

The traveling reserve will be Harry Charles on Ann Thompson and his own Romeo 88.

The dressage team will be:

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• Charlotte Dujardin and Gio, owned by Renai Hart, Carl Hester and the rider

• Charlotte Fry and Everdale, owned by Van Olst Horses and the rider

• Carl Hester and En Vogue, owned by Sandra Biddlecombe, Charlotte Dujardin, Lady Anne Evans and the rider.

The traveling reserve will be Gareth Hughes with Sintano Van Hof Olympia, owned by Judy Firmston-Williams and the rider.

The eventing team will be:

Laura Collett and London 52, owned by Karen Bartlett, Keith Scott and the rider

Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser, owned by Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and Ali McEwen.

Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class, owned by Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan.

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The traveling reserve will be Piggy March with Brookfield Inocent, owned by John and Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn.

“Selection and preparation has been difficult ahead of Tokyo however we continue to remain resilient and focused to overcome the challenges of this year’s games,” British Equestrian Performance Director and Equestrian Team Leader for Tokyo Richard Waygood said in a statement announcing the teams. “Both teams are a great mix of youth and experience and each one of the combinations traveling to Tokyo has the potential to finish on the podium.”

In show jumping,  London gold medalist Ben Maher will be making his fourth Olympic appearance and is heading to Tokyo with two confidence-giving wins on the Global Champions Tour this spring. This will be the second Olympics for Scott Brash, following his gold-medal turn in London 2012.  Holly Smith, the one Olympic newcomer on the squad, is the first female on the jumping team since 1976.

In dressage, Dujardin will be targeting a third consecutive Olympic individual title and has the chance to make history as the first ever British woman to do so. Tokyo marks a sixth Olympic Games for Hester, while it will be the first for Fry.

The eventing team are all Olympic debutantes, but aren’t lacking in experience or form: Townend currently is ranked No. 1 in the world and McEwen No. 5, while Collett has been one to watch this spring. March, the traveling alternate, is ranked No. 3 in the world.

“A huge congratulations to the six equestrian athletes selected today to represent Team GB at the Tokyo Olympic Games. This is a very special moment for these athletes as they embark on their first, third or fifth Olympic Games, as it is also for the grooms, horse owners and support staff that have played an important role in this journey,” Team GB Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Mark England said. “There is an immense amount of experience across this team which will undoubtedly stand them in good stead in Tokyo. We are confident that we will send more female than male athletes to Tokyo this year, which is an historic moment for Team GB, and to have double Olympic gold medalist Charlotte amongst them is something that I and the rest of the team are incredibly proud of.”

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