USEF Selects 2008 Olympic Show Jumping Team
The top four horses and riders in the show jumping realm have been officially selected for the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Team to ride in Hong Kong next month, pending approval by the US Olympic Committee.
The Olympic qualifiers for the US team wrapped up on Monday in Aachen, Germany, earning Olympic spots for four teams:
- Beezie Madden riding Authentic
- McLain Ward riding Sapphire
- Will Simpson riding El Campeon’s Carlsson vom Dach
- Laura Kraut riding Cedric
Beezie Madden and McLain Ward are returning for their second consecutive Olympic games while Will Simpson is making his Olympic debut. Laura Kraut was on the show jumping team in 2000 and was an alternate in 1992. Madden and Ward’s mounts, Authentic and Sapphire, were also their partners in the 2004 games in Athens where they helped win the team gold for the USA.
Anne Kursinski and her horse Champ 163 will travel to Hong Kong as the first alternate.
Additional Olympic Coverage:
- Top riders selected for US Olympic Dressage Team
- Equestrian events at the 2008 Olympic Games
- Hong Kong facilities for Olympic equestrian events
- How Olympic show jumping works — format and rules
I can’t wait to watch the whole Olympic horse disciplines go, as I said before, it would be nice if they televise the whole thing.
Good choices – everyone. Too bad we can’t have a four rider/horse back-up team. I also wish television would cover all of the equestrian events.
I think at least Animal Planet should put the equestrian olympics on TV. Its kind of offensive to me that they almost never show anything about horses on there. Its sad how people take Horseback Riding as a joke.
Bt The Way… I love Beezie Madden<333333333
I too would love to see all equestrian events televised. I believe one of the reasons this is not done is that the first rounds, particularly, are repetitive and time consuming – in show jumping, at least, so many rounds to watch before there is a winner. It’s the nature of the sport, but I believe it’s confusing for audiences. I also think that this website should proof itself more carefully. There’s no excuse for saying that the Americans won a “golf medal” in Athens, or saying that Beezie Madden “met his,” when alluding to her fabulous horse. We must take ourselves as seriously as we would like the world to take us. Also, I have yet to find a bio on Will Simpson, which I assume is coming. Thank you very much.
Dailey – thanks for pointing out that spelling error. I’m a stickler for grammer and mechanics, but when it’s just me pumping out content and running the site, it’s easier to accidentally overlook mistakes than I’d like even when I proof 2-3 times. Just so you are aware, this is a personal blog from an avid equestrian that I am writing completely on my own in my spare time. And yes, a bio on Will Simpson is definitely forthcoming, and will be finished before the show jumping begins.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. I NEVER blog, and I did not know that you were personally doing this. I hope my remarks were not too horrible. Thank you so much – Dailey – Looking forward to the Will Simpson bio.
Dailey, I take it as a compliment that you didn’t realize this was a personal site. I’m glad I’ve been able to turn it out that professionally (other than a few spelling errors here and there:)) enough that it is getting that kind of respect. Bio coming later this week…
A few of my friends and I were wondering, how high are the jumps for show jumping?