Restrictions on drugs at the Olympics ban virtually every kind of drug for horses at the Games, and riders are careful to even avoid certain treats like peppermints that can trigger a positive drug test. Who knows how many horses would have failed had they been tested, seeing as how four of just 15 horses [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Olympic Show Jumping 1 Comment »

The 2008 Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong have officially concluded. Germany dominated the eventing and dressage, while show jumping was all about the North American riders. Due to some issues with doping, Norway may lose the bronze medal they won in show jumping, however. Switzerland, who came in a close fourth, will take the [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Horse Events, Olympic Dressage, Olympic Eventing, Olympic Show Jumping 1 Comment »

The US may have edged out Canada for Olympic gold in the team show jumping event, but the individual competition belonged to Eric Lamaze and Hickstead of Canada. They helped anchor the Canadian team in winning the team silver, and kept up their consistent performances throughout today’s individual rounds.
After a two-way jump off for Olympic [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Olympic Show Jumping 1 Comment »

Turn up the pressure in the competition and watch the clear show jumping rounds multiply for the 2008 US Olympic show jumping team. After two rounds and a jump off, the US team claimed gold in Hong Kong today. Canada took silver and Norway the bronze.
The US riders, McLain Ward, Beezie Madden, Laura Kraut, and [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Olympic Show Jumping 2 Comments »

I’ve had quite a few people asking if there will be videos available of the 2008 Olympic equestrian events. The answer is YES! There will be separate DVDs for each discipline, and two for dressage. Each DVD costs $34.90, or you can get the whole set for $129. The DVDs are:

Eventing
Show Jumping
Team Dressage
Individual Dressage with [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Olympic Dressage, Olympic Eventing, Olympic Show Jumping 5 Comments »

With three out of four of the American riders going clean, and the bottom score being dropped anyway, the US Olympic Equestrian Team is leading the show jumping event after qualifiers.
The qualifying round of the show jumping included all 77 competitors, and started with those who were riding as individuals only. A total of 13 [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Olympic Show Jumping 1 Comment »

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 [...]

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Olympic Show Jumping 2 Comments »