a blog on the most exciting moments in olympic show jumping.
The US women dominated the show jumping event at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, taking home the gold, silver and bronze medals.
The US women dominated the show jumping event at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, taking home the gold, silver and bronze medals.
It was a momentous occasion for three talented riders: Suzanne Davis, who won gold; Mary Ellen Withrow, who took home silver; and Mary Beason, who finished third in her Olympic debut. The three were close friends from different parts of the country that had been riding together for years. Known as “The Three Belles,” they became legends in international show jumping circles.
In 1952, Colonel Harland Sanders (yup, the KFC guy) offered to make a new style of horse jumps for the Helsinki Olympics.
In 1952, Colonel Harland Sanders offered to make a new style of horse jumps for the Helsinki Olympics. The jumping courses had to be collapsible and easy to transport. Sanders designed them with this in mind, making them lightweight and portable so that they could be transported by truck and assembled on-site.
Sanders went on to invent his own type of jump design which came to be known as the “intermediate style” jump where there are 2 poles instead of 4 poles connected at the top by an X shaped bar (X’s are bad). This design was later used in all Olympic events from 1964 until 1988 before being replaced by an even more dangerous 4 pole standard design with no crossbar whatsoever!
Canadian rider Ian Millar took part in his first Olympic competition in 1972, and went on to be the oldest person to ever compete at an Olympic game, at age 72!
If you’re familiar with the name Ian Millar, chances are it’s because of his famous horse Big Ben. While that is certainly a big part of his story, there were many more important Olympic moments in the career of this Canadian rider.
Millar first took part in an Olympic competition at the 1972 Munich games, and went on to participate in 10 total Olympic games over a 40-year span. He also became only the second rider (after Steve McDonald) to compete in three Olympics consecutively—in 1984, 1988 and 1992—and was only one of four riders (along with McDonald, Phillip Dutton and Pierre Durand) who competed at both Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992. He has won over 30 medals at World Championships or Olympics—more than any other rider ever has!
Bruce Davidson, Jr. has competed in more Olympic Games than any other show jumping rider–he was a member of teams that won gold medals during the 1984 and 1988 games.
Bruce Davidson, Jr. has competed in more Olympic Games than any other show jumping rider—he was a member of teams that won gold medals during the 1984 and 1988 games.
The son of renowned equestrian Bruce Davidson, Sr., he grew up on his father’s Hunterdon County farm in New Jersey. He later worked as a trainer and instructor at Hunterdon as well as at the Lexington Riding Academy in Virginia where he currently resides with his wife Diane and their two children, Maximus and Alexandra.
Crowd favorite and Swiss rider Paul Estermann had his horse killed just weeks before he was set to compete at the Rio Olympics. He saddled up on an unfamiliar replacement horse–and ended up with a bronze medal!
Paul Estermann had his horse killed just weeks before he was set to compete at the Rio Olympics. He saddled up on an unfamiliar replacement horse—and ended up with a bronze medal!
When asked about his performance, Estermann said that despite the loss of his original mount, he felt like he had a good chance of medaling in Rio. “I always wanted to win an Olympic medal,” he said. “But I never thought it would be possible so soon.”
Imagine competing for your country in a sport where you get points for how nicely your horse canters or trots. At London 2012, this happened! Pairs were scored on their horse’s way of going for half of their total score.
But this is show jumping, and a more subtle style of riding has always been preferred. Imagine competing for your country in a sport where you get points for how nicely your horse canters or trots. At London 2012, this happened! Pairs were scored on their horse’s way of going for half of their total score — and it was controversial to say the least.
Have you ever ridden bareback? Irish rider Cian O’Connor kept both feet out of his stirrups during all three rounds of show jumping at Athens 2004, winning him a bronze medal — and making Olympic history!
Have you ever ridden bareback? Irish rider Cian O’Connor kept both feet out of his stirrups during all three rounds of show jumping at Athens 2004, winning him a bronze medal — and making Olympic history!
This might seem like an odd choice to modern riders, but it’s not that uncommon. In fact, if you knew the sport back in its early days, this practice would be familiar to you. Equestrians used to ride without stirrups all the time because they found them unnecessary for balancing and controlling their horses. But in recent times their use has become widespread because they provide extra security for riders on rough terrain or over jumps (which is why they’re required in competition).
O’Connor’s trip down memory lane was captured on camera by photographer David Cannon/Getty Images, who said that when he saw O’Connor riding bareback “It was like watching an old movie being replayed.”