Tokyo, Japan – July 31, 2021 – The Show Jumping horses have made their arrival at Baji Koen [the equestrian park] for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. All of the horses were presented during the jog for the show jumping, with one horse being spun and two horses held for re-inspection later this week. All of the U.S. horses passed with flying colors as they prepare to compete for a podium position. Each team also had to denote which athlete was their reserve going forward, with McLain Ward and Contagious named as reserve for the United States.
Friday’s horse inspection passed by smoothly with teams trotting down the jog strip in alphabetical order of their countries, starting with Argentina and concluding with the United States. With beautiful purple flowers lining the path and Japanese volunteers keeping the footing pristine with their raking, the majority of the combinations flew by with flying colors.
The very first horse presented, Cannavaro 9 set to be shown Argentina’s Matias Albarracin, was asked to go to the holding box and has been asked to return for reinspection. With only three horses presented during the jog, the Argentine team cannot afford to lose a single member for team competition.
You Zhang of China was asked to take Caesar to the holding box and will also be re-inspected, but with four horses presented at the jog the Chinese team will still compete for a team medal, regardless of Caesar’s second inspection.
The Morocan team held their breath when Ali Al Ahrach was asked to jog USA De Riverland a second time, but the horse eventually passed inspection and will continue forward in the competition.
The U.S Show Jumping Team will include Kent Farrington with Gazelle, Laura Kraut with Baloutine and Jessica Springsteen with Don Juan Van De Donkhoeve. McLain Ward, who has traveled to his fifth Olympic Games, will stand ready as the reserve athlete with Contagious.
Show Jumping competition will kick off on Tuesday, August 3, with the Individual Qualifier at 6am ET. Click here to steam the competition live on Tuesday and stay tuned to Phelps Sports for updates.
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