It’s almost time to sing out, “Game(s) on!” That’s what Sherlock Holmes would say, if he was in Rio, The Jurga Report recentlydid some deductive detective work that would make Sherlock proud. The mission was to unlock the mystery of how to share these few early photos from the eventing teams setting up at Deodoro Olympic Park in Rio and the Team New Zealand media day in Wales last week.
This first dispatch is shared via some ace photographers, with more to follow.
Now, about the eventing: The FEI tells us that there will be 24 nations represented in this first of the equestrian disciplines at the Rio Olympics. Those 24 nations sent a variety of teams or individual competitors, plus there are traveling alternates, meaning that a total of 65 horses needed stalls. The team medals in this discipline will be divided between 13 nations that qualified their four-horse teams. Except for Russia, that is: the Russians sent a team of three horses and riders.
The spectators had better bring plenty of sunscreen!
Christopher Burton (above) and Shane Rose (below) are both riding for Team Australia in eventing, but they took part in a press conference yesterday. When they arrived, they were happy with the venue and stabling, but not with their lodging in the Olympic Village. The plight of the Australians–and the stand they took has been covered by mainstream media, including NPR’s coverage of this press conference.
Sir Mark Todd of the New Zealand Eventing Team for the 2016 Rio Olympics posed for a portrait during a Media Session in July in Chepstow, Wales. According to the FEI, Sir Mark will match the record held by Australia’s Andrew Hoy and the USA’s Mike Plumb for most Olympic appearances in Eventing.
Rio 2016 will be his seventh Games, and he was also team trainer at Athens 2004. Todd won back-to-back gold medals at the Games in Seoul (KOR) in 1988 and Barcelona (ESP) in 1992. He also competed in both eventing and show jumping.
Jonelle Price of the New Zealand Eventing Team for the 2016 Rio Olympics posed for a portrait with her horse Faerie Dianimo during the team’s Media Session last month in Chepstow, Wales. Jonelle will ride the British-bred Faerie Dianimo in Rio. They just placed seventh at the CHIO in Aachen (GER). In 2014 Jonelle won the CIC3* class for eight and nine-year-olds at Blenheim (GBR), starting a run of great results, including fourth in the CCI4* at Pau (FRA) and second in the CCI4* at Luhmuhlen (GER). She was on the bronze-medal winning team at the London 2012 Olympics, and shares team space with her husband, Tim, who will ride Ringwood Sky Boy.
• • • • • • • • •
Check back soon and often for more news. Grab the RSS feed for your reader, or check my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or leave a comment below to share your thoughts.
Thanks to Team New Zealand and Diana Dobson for data on the New Zealand riders (more to come), and to the FEI for overall data.
Special thanks to Getty Images and the Getty herd of photographers on the ground in Rio capturing spectacular images like these for us all. I have embedded the photos so you can share any or all of them on your social media. Just hover over the image and click the symbol of your favorite platform. The code will do the rest!
