Individual Eventing
Germany have gold medals at the last three Olympics. Michael Jung (Germany) has the two crowns prior to Tokyo before only finishing eighth in Tokyo. He is the most recent Grand Slam winner. Tim Price (New Zealand) was third at the 2022 World Championships and has recent wins at Luhmuhlen, Burghley, Maryland and Pau. Jonelle Price(New Zealand) has described herself as the most competitive in the relationship. She won Badminton and Luhmuhlen in 2018 before taking victory in Pau in 2022. Laura Collett (Great Britain) won in Pau in 2020. She has also won in Badminton in 2022 and Luhmuhlen in 2023. She is part of a strong British team. Rosalind Canter (Great Britain) was the 2018 World Champion. She won the European Championship in 2023 and won in Badminton. Oliver Townend (Great Britain) has won in Burghley and Kentucky over recent years. The strength of the British team is shown by world champion Yasmin Ingham only being an alternate. Lara de Liedekerke-Meier (Belgium) took the Luhmuhlen event in 2024. Shane Rose (Australia) won in Adelaide in 2023. Kazuma Tomoto (Japan) returns after finishing fourth at the last Olympics. Compatriot Yoshiaki Oiwa (Japan) is a double Asian Games winner. Caroline Pamukcu (United States) was the 2023 Pan-American Games winner but Boyd Martin (United States) is the top ranked non-European and won in Maryland in 2021. Sandra Auffarth (Germany) won bronze at the 2023 European Championship, finishing ahead of Christopher Wahler (Germany). She is a former world champion and won bronze at the 2012 Olympics. Nicholas Touzaint (France) was fifth in the European Champion and came sixth in the Tokyo Olympics. Other possible contenders include Austin O’Connor (Ireland), Clarke Johnstone (New Zealand), Sarah Ennis (Ireland) and William Coleman (United States).
The dominant names in this event have recently been British and they could potentially put out at least five riders who would expect to be on the podium. Jung and Auffarth have history on their side. Both of the Price’s are dangerous with Liedekerke-Meier, Rose and Touzaint probably the other relevant names.
🥇Rosalind Canter 🇬🇧
🥈Michael Jung 🇩🇪
🥉Oliver Townend 🇬🇧
Team Eventing
Since the 1984 Olympics, the medalists have only come from six nations. Germany has long dominated this event but did not medal at the previous Olympics, only finishing fourth so will be looking to get revenge. Great Britain was the Olympic champion in Tokyo, adding to the 2018 World Championships and the European Championship in 2023. They have the strongest overall depth and could almost definitely put out two teams who could be in contention. Despite that, they did not medal at the 2022 World Championships, which was won by the Germans. Winning silver was the United States, who have the longest Olympic drought of the big six. They finished ahead of New Zealandat the World Championships whose team is led by the Price power couple. France is the home nation and was the 2016 Olympic champion. They finished third in the most recent Olympics and still have a strong core of riders. Australia were silver medalists at the Tokyo Olympics but feel the weakest they have been for a while. Ireland may have the biggest chance of breaking the monopoly, having finished third at the 2018 World Championships. Japanwere fourth place finishers in 2018 and are an underrated team. China won the 2023 Asian Games whilst Canadatook the 2023 Pan-American Games. Other competitors include Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Great Britain has the strongest-looking individual team here and surely enter this as the favourite. Germany does have a strong team though and will expect to medal with their history. New Zealand will expect to be on the podium. Australia are on a bit of a downswing. France and the United States also have strong teams with Ireland and Japan looking to break into that podium.
🥇Great Britain 🇬🇧
🥈Germany 🇩🇪
🥉France 🇫🇷
Individual Dressage
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (Germany) is the reigning Olympic champion and took the World Cup Final crowns in 2022, 2023 and 2024 but missed a chance at a first World Championship medal due to giving birth to her second child. In her absence, the World Championship title was taken by Charlotte Fry (Great Britain) on Glamourdale, one of the most visually striking horses this event will seen. She edged out Cathrine Laudrop-Dufour (Denmark) who finished second, adding to her second in the 2022 World Cup Final. Nanna Skodborg Merrald (Denmark) was runner up at the 2023 and 2024 World Cup Finals. Daniel Bachmann Andersen (Denmark) will also be hoping to medal. Kruth was fourth in the 2022 World Cup Final whilst Andersen took that place in the previous competition held in 2019. The most decorated competitor in this field will be Isabell Werth (Germany) who has six Olympic medals in this event, five silver and a gold, as well as numerous World Cup Final wins and European Championships. Dinja van Liere (Netherlands) finished third at the World Championships. A must watch will be Patrik Kittel (Sweden), although he tends to be outside the medal places, he is often termed the “greatest showman” and did actually win the 2024 World Cup Final. Other possible contenders include Carl Hester(Great Britain), Emmelie Scholtens (Netherlands), Flore De Winne (Belgium), Frederic Wandres (Germany) and Therese Nilshagen (Sweden).
Von Bredow-Werndl has returned from giving birth to look just as strong as she did previously. She deserves to be the favourite here. Perhaps the one rider with the upside to beat her is Charlotte Fry, who along with Glamourdale is capable of massive numbers. I don’t think it is controversial to say Werth is past her best but she is still very dangerous. Elsewhere the Danish pair and Kittel are probably the other main dangers. I think the medals come from those seven.
🥇Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl 🇩🇪
🥈Charlotte Fry 🇬🇧
🥉Nanna Skodborg Merrald 🇩🇰
Team Dressage
Germany has a particular hold over this event, having won nine of the last ten renewals and eleven of the last thirteen World Championships. One of those losses was the most recent, when they could only finish third but they still have a strong team with five of the top twenty-ranked performers currently. The team that beat them to become world champions were Denmark, no doubt inspired by a raucous home crowd. They were fourth at the previous Olympics and will be looking to add to their one Olympic medal in this discipline. They are another team with five inside the top twenty. The team that beat Germany to the Olympic crown were themselves roared on by a home crowd when Great Britain won at London 2012. They have medalled at recent World Championships, coming second in 2022 but according to the rankings are the weakest of the three. The United States has gone from bronze to silver at the previous two Olympics but has fallen away, only managing sixth at the recent World Championships. Sweden has finished fourth at the past two World Championships and arguably has the best talent outside of the aforementioned. The Netherlands have finished fifth at the last three major tournaments. Australia, Portugal and Spain have all had top-eight finishes over recent major championships. Other competitors are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France and Poland.
This feels like five teams have a chance of being on the podium. The United States have no rider ranked in the top 20 and the team looks nowhere near as good as it has done. The rankings suggest Germany are best ahead of Denmark and Great Britain. Sweden and the Netherlands follow. Sweden has finished fourth in two of the last three major tournaments with the Netherlands fifth in all of them. I can see that occurring again. Germany should win, but they can be beaten if one of the other two nations puts together three peak rounds. Denmark look a stronger team especially with the absence of Dujardin. I still think Britain scrape a medal.
🥇Germany 🇩🇪
🥈Denmark 🇩🇰
🥉Great Britain 🇬🇧
Individual Jumping
Britain have won the last two Olympics and Ben Maher (Great Britain) will be looking to retain his title. He was the Global Champions Tour winner in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The other two Britons looking to continue the hot streak are Scott Brash (Great Britain) and Harry Charles (Great Britain). Also on an Olympic streak of his own is Pedar Fredricson (Sweden) who has won silvers at the previous two Olympics as well as the Champions Tour in 2021. However, his time as the top Swedish rider may be over, Henrik von Eckermann (Sweden) finished second in the 2021 Champions Tour before going on to be the 2022 World Champion. He finished fourth in Tokyo so will be hoping to improve into the medal spots. Third in Tokyo, as well as at the 2022 World Championship was Maikel van der Vleuten (Netherlands). The runner up in 2022 was Jerome Guery (Belgium). Martin Fuchs (Switzerland) won the 2022 World Cup Final and has medalled in both World Championships and won grand slam events. Compatriot Steve Guerdat (Switzerland) is a former Olympic champion, winning gold in 2012. He won the World Cup Final in 2019 and the 2023 European Championship. He was ahead of Philipp Weishaupt (Germany) and Julien Epaillard (France). Epaillard was also runner up at the 2024 World Cup Final. McLain Ward (United States) won the World Cup Final in 2017. He also won in Geneva and the Dutch Masters in 2022. William Greve (Netherlands) came third in 2022 before winning in 2024. Competitors Harrie Smolders (Netherlands) was on the podium in both of those years. She was runner up at the 2023 World Cup Final and is a double winner of the Global Champions Tour, winning in 2017 and 2023. Max Kuhner (Austria) leads the tour this year, winning in St Tropez. He has finished second twice, as he did as the 2022 World Cup Final. Second in the current tour standings is Andreas Schou (Denmark) ahead of Eduardo Alvarez Aznar (Spain). Giles Thomas (Belgium) has won an event this year along with Christian Kukuk (Germany) who was fourth on the tour last year. Richard Vogel (Germany) got a win last season. Edwina Tops-Alexander(Australia), Kent Farrington (United States) and Simon Delestre (France) have all been on a Tour podium this season. Cian O’Connor (Ireland) came seventh at the last Olympics.
This is an event that can go a number of ways depending on who turns up and which horses can handle the course and conditions. The one man who seems to able to win major events no matter the circumstance is von Eckermann. I think the other medals likely come down to Epaillard, Fredricson, Fuchs, Guerdat, Kuhner, Maher, Smolders and Van Der Vlueten. However I would not be surprised if Delestre, Farrington, Guery, Kukuk, Tops-Alexander or Ward manage to get on the podium.
🥇Henrik von Eckermann 🇸🇪
🥈Harrie Smolders 🇳🇱
🥉Ben Maher 🇬🇧
Team Jumping
Sweden will enter as the favourites having won the last Olympics and last World Championships before taking Nations Cup success in 2022. They have two of the top riders in the world and will expect a gold medal here. The last team to beat them at a major championship was the United States who won in 2018, before a silver at the Olympics. Great Britain always has a strong unit and won bronze in the 2022 World Championship. The silver went to Netherlands who have been steadily improving their results over the last few years, finishing fifth in 2018 before a fourth at the Olympics. They were knocked into third at the 2022 Nations Cup behind Switzerland led by Martin Fuchs. Belgium was the Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo and is another team with really strong depth. France has perhaps underperformed given the level of talent but in front of a home crowd, they may be able to make the required level. Germany won the 2023 Nations Cup and also took the bronze medal at the 2018 World Championship. Ireland were fourth at the 2022 World Championship. Saudi Arabia is the current Asian Games champion and was an Olympic medalist as recently as 2012, winning bronze. Brazil and Canada have also won Olympic medals since 2000 but probably are not at their best currently. Other competitors include Australia, Austria, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Sweden looks like the best team. Not only do they have the major competition results but they also have three of the stronger riders. The Netherlands has been on the podium a few times in recent years and is another team that looks very strong. I can see seven other teams possibly being on the podium. At home, I think the French team take the bronze ahead of Germany and Great Britain.
🥇Sweden 🇸🇪
🥈Netherlands 🇳🇱
🥉France 🇫🇷
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