Tuesday, 03 August 2021
A change to the Olympic format meant that the Tokyo 2020 jumping competition got underway with the individual qualifier. A total of 75 riders tackled tonight’s course, with the top 30 earning a qualification slot for tomorrow’s individual final and the chance of a medal.
Team GB had elected to make a pre-competition change for this opening round, bringing in Harry Charles and Romeo 88 over Holly Smith and Denver – there will be an opportunity to swap Holly back in for the team competition up to two hours before it starts on Friday, 6 August.
First into the ring for Team GB was Harry (22) and the Belgian-bred 12-year-old Romeo 88 (Contact van de Heffinck x Orlando), who he co-owns with Ann Thompson. Their performance showed none of Harry’s youth or relative inexperience, and they put in a clear round and quick time.
“I couldn’t ask for a better start really,” said Harry. “It felt amazing, I was so focused that I was at fence 11 before I knew it. Being here has been incredible – I like to say that I’ve done a lot of really nice shows and this just puts it into context that our sport is far bigger, this is the absolute pinnacle – to be amongst some of the world’s best athletes, not just in our sport but in all the sports. I’m part of a great Team GB squad.
“I’ve only had Romeo for seven months, so it’s a pretty new partnership. His owner, Ann Thompson, is here today – she’s having a great time and we’re delighted with him. He’s a horse of an amazing calibre and I’ve never really had one like him. I’m so excited for the future because we’re still getting to know each other. He’s a grumpy fellow in the stables, but he comes out and fights so hard – that’s what makes him a great horse.”
Joining Harry at Equestrian Park is his father, Peter, who is no stranger to the Olympic occasion – he was part of the gold medal-winning team at London 2012 with Harry’s Tokyo teammates, Ben Maher and Scott Brash.
“It’s been great having someone like him, Ben, Scott and Holly beside me, they’re so experienced and I can always go to one of them to ask for advice. I’ve got to know Ben really well this week, but Scott has been one of the riders that I’ve looked up to my whole life. Even when I started jumping at the top level a few years ago, he was someone I’d always go to for a bit of advice – he’s always been really nice and really helpful, and has guided me a bit. To have those two guys, and Holly, too, has been a great help for my first time.
“Dad and I walked the course together – it’s quite a tricky one with lots of colours and the lights are a tricky factor. We watched a few riders, made a plan and I stuck to it – it worked pretty well. I started a lot quicker than I normally would – more like I’d come to fence four or five – and added a stride into the triple combination because those two strides had been causing problems early on. Then I just opened him up and enjoyed it.
“I couldn’t ask for better start – to get into the final in my first Olympics is more than I could have hoped for. That was the goal coming here, and hopefully that’s the goal achieved now.”
As one of the undeniable favourites in this competition, all eyes were on Ben and Explosion W as they entered the Equestrian Park stadium. However, Ben is no stranger to pressure, and he and the 12-year-old gelding by Chacco Blue, who Ben co-owns with Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, put in a blisteringly fast clear round that sent them soaring to the top of the leaderboard – where they stayed for the rest of the night.
“He was great,” said Ben. “It’s a big course today and very spooky – I don’t know if it’s the new fences or the lights – and I felt that on him. This is my most nervous round of the week because he’s a horse that improves as the rounds go on, so he was having a lot of looks today, but he’s a fast horse and he knows what he needs to do.
“It’s a fair course that suited Explosion – it’s relatively big but all the distances were a bit open. He grows in confidence when I ride with a bit of speed – I have to trust his quality and ride with that pace. I didn’t want to miss qualifying today, so I made the decision to go in and attack a bit. He felt great and it fills me with confidence. He’s coming off the back of two 5* Grand Prix wins – we have momentum, but these weeks can throw in big surprises. I’m confident but I also just go in there and do my best on the day.
“As a team, we jumped three clear rounds today – we have team tactics in place this week but, setting out on day one, we’re very strong. We’re here to try to get a result.”
Last in for Team GB was Scott and Hello Jefferson – a 12-year-old gelding (s. Cooper van de Heffink) who’s part of the string owned by Lady Pauline Harris and Lady Pauline Kirkham. They followed in the footsteps of Harry and Ben to put in a fast clear round over a course that was causing plenty of problems elsewhere.
“I’m delighted, he jumped fantastic, said Scott afterwards. “I thought it was a very good course, but I’m surprised there’ve been as many clears as there have been, if I’m honest. There’s a lot for the horses to look at in there on the first night – it’s very colourful so you don’t really know how they’re going to relax.
“Jefferson is an amazing horse and I feel he’s been in top form. We’re growing as a partnership and really understanding one another, and getting to know each other the more rounds we do. My worst day would be my first day – he’s quite a sharp horse, he’s very energetic, so normally he gets better as the week goes to – so hopefully that’s still the case!
“I think we’ve got a great team here, we’ve got a chance at a medal – but with three riders, anything can happen. If a rein snaps, we’re eliminated – it’s as easy as that. But I think we’re all in great shape, we’ll need a bit of lucky, but we’ve got a great chance.”
It was a nervous wait to see if Harry, Ben and Scott would achieve one of the top-30 qualifying slots – but qualify they did. In fact, Team GB were the first team to qualify all three of their riders and one of just five nations to have a full complement in tomorrow’s final, including host country Japan.
Full results are available here.
The individual final – which decides the medals – takes place tomorrow night and will run in reverse order of merit based on how they qualified. Ben and Explosion W were fastest of the clears in a time of 81.43, so will be the final combination to jump for gold. Combinations start on zero, so tomorrow will have everything to play for.
Coverage is available on Discovery+ and Eurosport Player from 10:55 BST. Some coverage will also be shown as part of BBC One’s Olympic programming from 12:00 BST.