How Olympic Show Jumping Works

August 15, 2008

The first Grand Prix show jumping event dates back to 1866 in Paris, and helped the sport to gain recognition internationally. It was added to the Summer Olympic Games in 1900 and was dominated by military riders until the first civilian won in 1952.

Each horse and rider team is required to complete a course of 10-13 jumps including verticals, spreads, water, walls, and double and triple combinations within a set time. Riders are eliminated for going off-course (taking the jumps out of order), if their horse refuses to jump two times, or if they fall off. They incur penalties for knocking rails down on the fences or for finishing over the time limit.

The winner is the horse and rider team with the fewest penalty points. If multiple teams have clear rounds, they move to a jump off. There, if more than one pair has a clear round, the winner is the one who went clear with the fastest time.

Olympic Show Jumping Format

The Olympic equestrian jumping discipline comprises two separate competitions: team and Individual. Seventy-nine rider/horse combinations (due to qualification of team China and Hong Kong, China) are allowed to enter.

The Olympic Games Individual Jumping events are made up of the following five tests within three competitions:

• The 1st Individual Qualifying Competition.
• The Team Competition, over two days with a possible jump-off.  First and second rounds also count as second  and third Individual Qualifying Competitions.
• The Final Individual Jumping Competition, runs over two rounds with a possible jump-off.

On the first competition day, the Jumping competition is the first qualifying round for the Final Individual Competition and will decide the starting order of Round 1 (qualifying round) of the Team Competition. After this competition, there will be a rest day.

The Team Competition Round 1 and Round 2 take place on the second and third competition day, and also count as the second and third qualifier for the Final Individual Competition. Round 1 is open to all competitors. Individual competitors will start first. Round 2 is only open to the top 8 teams and the top 50 individual riders. Following Round 2, the team with the lowest total number of penalties of its three best placed competitors (the sum of Rounds 1 and 2) will be the winner. In case of a tie for medal placings, there will be a jump-off against the clock.

After two rest days, the Final Individual Competition will take place on the fourth competition day. The top 35 riders after the first 3 rounds compete in Round A of this competition.

The 20 best placed competitors (including those tied for 20th place) will advance to Round B of the Final Individual Competition. Individual medals will be determined by adding together for each competitor the penalties incurred in Rounds A and B. The results of the qualifiers do not count. If there is a tie, the penalties and time incurred in the jump-off will decide the winner.

Sport Rules and Procedures

A maximum of four riders/horses per country may compete as a team, with the best three scores counted for each Round. A training session will be held before the competition for riders in the jumping competition in the main arena under FEI regulations.

The course of various obstacles and jumping efforts in combinations is laid out in an enclosed arena. Various attributes are tested in the discipline (speed, precision, power etc.) but the object is always to jump the entire course within the time allowed without making a mistake, either knocking down a pole or refusals and thus accumulating faults. A fall of either horse or rider entails elimination.There will be two inspections to ensure the horses are fit to compete. One is held before the first qualification, the second on the day before the final.

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Posted in 2008 Olympics, Show Jumping