Irish Horse Board – Guide to the Equestrian competitions at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
The much-anticipated 2024 Olympic Games is underway in Paris, with the equestrian competitions set to begin this Saturday July 27th, running to to August 6th at the Château de Versailles (also known as the Palace of Versailles).
A temporary arena and grandstand seating for up to 40,000 spectators has been built in the Etoile Royale, an esplanade that sits west of the Grand Canal in the grounds of the palace. The cross-country course will run through the woods near the Grand Canal and includes a pontoon crossing of the waterway as part of its track.
IRISH SQUAD
Ireland has qualified full teams in Eventing (3 athlete/horse combinations), Show Jumping (3 athlete/horse combinations), and one individual athlete/horse combination competing in Dressage, for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The Eventing squad will also include one P Alternate Athlete/Horse combination who can be substituted in during the competition if medical or veterinary grounds rule out one of the original team members.
The Show Jumping squad will also include one P Alternate Athlete/Horse combination who can be brought in if required by the team manager (Michael Blake) between the team qualifier and team final.
The athlete/horse combinations named by the Olympic Federation of Ireland to represent Ireland at Paris 2024 are as follows:
EVENTING
Susie Berry with Wellfields Lincoln,
Sarah Ennis with Action Lady M (ISH)
Austin O’Connor with Colorado Blue
Aoife Clark with Sportsfield Freelance (P Alternate Combination)
SHOW JUMPING
Daniel Coyle with Legacy
Cian O’Connor with Maurice
Shane Sweetnam with James Kann Cruz (ISH)
Darragh Kenny with VDL Cartello (P Alternate Combination)
DRESSAGE
Abigail Lyle and Giraldo
OLYMPIC EVENTING COMPETITION FORMAT
Medals will be awarded in the team and individual competitions. Each team is composed of three (3) Athletes/Horse combinations with all three results to count for the team classification, meaning there will be no drop score.
The Team and Individual Competition will be run on consecutive days in the following order: the Dressage test, the Cross Country test and the Show Jumping test.
The Individual final Jumping test will take place after the Team Jumping Competition on the final day. The twenty five (25) best Athletes/Horses having completed all 3 tests, including those who tie for twenty fifth (25th) place on the conclusion of the Team Competition (maximum three (3) best scoring Athletes per team classification per nation) will qualify to participate.
OLYMPIC EVENTING COMPETITION SCHEDULE (all times quoted are Irish time)
Sat July 27th 8.30am to 5.30pm – Eventing Dressage (Team & Individuals (65 starters)
Sun July 28th 9.30am to 2pm – Eventing Cross Country (Team & Individual) (65 starters)
Mon July 29th – 11am to 1.30pm – Eventing Show Jumping (Team medals awarded)
Mon July 29th – 3pm to 4pm – Eventing Show Jumping (Individual medals awarded)
OLYMPIC SHOW JUMPING COMPETITION FORMAT
Medals will be awarded in the team and individual competitions. Each team is composed of three (3) Athletes/Horse combinations with all three (3) results to count for the team classification.
The Olympic Show Jumping competition will comprise of two Team Competitions and two Individual Competitions, taking place on different days in the following order:
(i) The Team Qualifier (qualifying Competition for the Team Final);
(ii) The Team Final, with a possible jump-off in case of teams with equality of Penalties
for first place;
(iii) The Individual Qualifier (qualifying Competition for the Individual Final)
(iv) The Individual Final
The team qualifier will consist of a speed round without a jump-off, with combinations ranked depending on how fast they complete the course – times and penalties will be combined to give an overall team score. In the final, all teams start on zero penalties and will jump again – a jump-off will occur in the event of a tie for medal placings.
OLYMPIC SHOW JUMPING COMPETITION SCHEDULE (all times quoted are Irish time)
Thur Aug 1st 10am to 1pm – Jumping – Team Qualifier (20 teams/60 starters)
Fri Aug 2nd 1pm to 3pm Jumping – Team Final (10 teams/30 starters) Team medals awarded
Mon Aug 5th 1pm to 5pm – Jumping – Individual Qualifier (75 starters)
Tue Aug 6th 9am to 11am – Jumping – Individual Final (30 starters) Individual medals awarded
OLYMPIC DRESSAGE COMPETITION FORMAT
FEI Grand Prix – Team and Individual Qualifier
The FEI Grand Prix test, in which all Athletes must participate, is the qualifying competition for the individual competition (FEI Grand Prix Freestyle) and the team
competition (FEI Grand Prix Special).
OLYMPIC DRESSAGE COMPETITION SCHEDULE (all times quoted are Irish time)
Tue July 30th 10am to 3.30pm – Dressage – Grand Prix; (1st Team & Individual Qualifier) (30 starters)
July 31th 9am to 2.30pm – Dressage – Grand Prix; (1st Team & Individual Qualifier) (30 starters)
Aug 3rd – 9am to 2.30pm Dressage – Grand Prix Special, Team Final (30 starters) Team medals awarded
Aug 4th – 9am to 12.30pm Dressage – Grand Prix Freestyle, Individual Final (18 starters) Individual medals awarded
IRISH EQUINE ATHLETES AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS
Along with the team of Irish riders that will compete at the Olympic Games, Ireland will also be represented in Paris by several horses bred in Ireland. The Irish Sport Horse industry contributes over €800 Million annually to the Irish economy with Sport Horse Breeding a major part of this contribution. Several of the foreign athletes who will be selected for the Games will be using Irish-bred horses.
TV COVERAGE
Television coverage of competitions at the Olympics Games will be provided on RTE2 and the RTE Player. Full coverage of every minute of action from Paris, including all of the equestrian competitions, will be available on the Discovery + website (subscription required of €6.99 per month. *Note you must sign up for the €6.99 pass to watch the Games not the cheaper €4.99 option))
UPDATES AND FURTHER INFO
Updates on the Equestrian competition before, during and after the Olympic Games will be provided by the Irish Horse Board on the IHB Website, www.ihb.ie and on Irish Horse Board Facebook and Instagram
FULL TIMETABLE AND RULES
The full timetable for the Equestrian competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris is available on this link https://inside.fei.org/system/files/Paris2024%20Timetable%2029April2024_2.pdf
The full list of rules and regulations for the Equestrian competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris is available https://inside.fei.org/system/files/FEI%20Olympic%20Regulations%20Paris%202024%20Equestrian_Approved%20at%20FEI%20GA%202022_Updated_11Oct2023_clean%20version.pdf