Saturday, 27 July 2024
The weather in Versailles, some 18km southwest of Paris, might have stayed grey and wet for much of the day, but Britain’s medal hopes shone brightly with three strong performances between the white boards. With 27 flags and 64 starters represented in the eventing competition, Team GB was drawn ninth of the 16 nations who put forward a team.
The trio of Tom McEwen, Laura Collett and world number one Ros Canter posted a total of 66.70 – a new record Olympic team score after dressage. With London 52, Laura produced a magical 17.5, smashing the previous Olympic individual record with a test that was the epitome of harmony and partnership. A memorable day leaves Britain in pole position going into Sunday’s cross-country phase, with Laura leading the way and the team some 7.4 penalites ahead of their nearest rivals.
The role of British pathfinder for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games equestrian eventing was bestowed upon Tom McEwen, and the laid-back but super-competitive Gloucestershire rider was made for the job. Riding James and Jo Lambert and Deirdre Johnston’s JL Dublin, Tom got the team off to an excellent start in front of the ground jury of President Christina Klingspor (SWE) at C, Robert Stevenson (USA) at E and Xavier le Sauce (FRA) at M.
They started well and were trending well above 75%, even collecting a perfect 10 for their halt from the French judge, but a miscommunication in the first of four flying changes knocked the score back. Despite all three judges opting for a score of four for that particular movement, the final mark was 25.80 penalties, which gave them the lead for much of the morning.
A delighted Tom said; “Dubs was awesome. He loves an atmosphere and he really lit up in the trot – a little bit more than I was expecting! And he relaxed in the walk, which caught me out for the first change. I was expecting the canters to have a little bit more electricity underneath, but he was – like Dubs always is – very relaxed and very happy. Sadly, we missed that first change, but after that he picked up where we left off. Hopefully, that puts Great Britain in a strong starting position, which is our main goal, and my aim now is to support the girls and finish on that score.
“We’re amazingly lucky with British Equestrian and the National Lottery funding because we’ve got a great team supporting us here. I’ve had Ian Woodhead warming me up and have been walking the course with Chris Bartle. When there’s four of us, life’s very easy, actually – I’d like to say it’s difficult, but it’s not at all. It just feels long and slow!
Tom offered his thoughts on being at Paris 2024, which is his second Olympic experience after Tokyo 2020; “It’s a massive deal. You know everyone’s watching. I know I can go as good as the best of them here, so for me it’s about getting the best score as I can for our team and really putting us on the best score going forward so we can be as competitive as we can. We know we’re probably one of the strongest teams here, but that comes with its own different but fun pressures – it’s obviously a positive pressure, knowing that we’re a great team. We’re at an Olympics – there’s no more pressure than that!”
Second up for Team GB was one of the combinations widely tipped for success – Laura Collett and London 52, who she owns with Keith Scott and Karen Bartlett. The duo were, of course, lynchpins in the historic Olympic team gold medal at Tokyo three years ago and have really matured since. With some strong spring form coming to Paris, hopes for a special test were high and they didn’t disappoint.
They entered the arena against the spectacular backdrop of the UNESCO World Heritage site that is the Palace of Versailles, and the gelding simply grew in stature – even more than the 16.3hh he already stands. He looked at the crowd and appeared to think ‘this is my stage, I’m here to deliver’.
A bright start gave a running percentage of over 80% with the judges finding the eight, nine and even 10 buttons. The flow and pleasing picture continued, with nothing less than an eight for second half of the test. They came up the final centre line and a smile grew across Laura’s face – she knew it was the test of a lifetime. A picture-perfect final halt – for which the C judge gave a 10 – brought six minutes of joy to an end. Laura was delighted with her long-term partner, who’d given his all. The scoreboard delivered a final score of 17.5 – a new Olympic record, overtaking the 19.3 achieved by David O’Connor and Custom Made at Sydney 2000.
The final scoresheet showed three 10s and 12 nines, much to the delight of the onlooking crowd.
“That horse is one in a million. I’ve said all along that he loves the crowd and I was just hoping I hadn’t made a mistake in saying that when I saw the size of the crowd here. He’s an absolute show-off and he loved being in front of a palace with crowd of people cheering him on, so I’m just so lucky to sit on a horse like that,” beamed Laura.
“There’s a lot of people involved in getting a score like that – I’m just the lucky one who gets to sit there and enjoy the moment. From everyone back home, it’s a huge, huge team effort, just to get here rather than to get a score like that, so there are too many people to thank individually. The National Lottery have got us here and given us the opportunity to come and show ourselves at our best, and for that we’re so grateful.
“I loved every second of it. That horse is unbelievable – what he’s done throughout my whole career is just amazing and he just keeps on delivering. I’m just very, very grateful to him. It’s safe to save that I’ve never enjoyed a dressage test more in my life,” she said.
It’s been a difficult week for equestrian sport with the gaze of the world’s media firmly on us, and Laura was asked by the waiting press for her opinion; “Look, the last week has been devastating news, but we’re here to do a job, so we’ve been very good at just drawing a line and focusing on the job in hand, and we just want to show everyone what our horses mean to us. We got a 10 for harmony and I think that’s the key thing – we work together in there.
“Obviously, it is devastating for the whole horse world. For us, our job is to come out and show the world what the horses mean to us and how much of a partnership we have. You don’t build these partnerships in five minutes or 10 minutes – it’s years and years of hard work getting the horse to trust you. Yes, it’s hard, but we’re here to do a job and so we’re fully focused on that,” she explained.
The position of anchor duo couldn’t be held by a more fitting partnership – world number one Ros Canter and her Badminton-winning, European Championship partner, Lordships Graffalo, owned by Archie and Michelle Saul. Even though ‘Walter’ is just 12 years old, he’s matured into a consistent and reliable performer, but the true partnership the two share is clear for all to see. Going in their test, the statisticians had done the maths and worked out that if Ros were to score 25.2 or below, they’d secure Team GB the lowest team total after dressage in Olympic history, not to mention a handy individual placing.
Straight off, it was into the high marks, with nine to seven being awarded. There was a dip at the halt and rein-back after Walter stumbled slightly, but they were quickly back on track. Ros rode with a great deal of energy and flow, which gave a really pleasing, effortless picture. A final flurry of eights and nines brought the test to a close, but not before a huge pat for Walter and fist punch from Ros – it was mission accomplished. The final score was confirmed as 23.40 and a place in the history books belonged to Britain.
“I’m over the moon with my horse, absolutely delighted. It’s a huge occasion, coming to an Olympics – I was a reserve rider last time around, so you never quite get the nerves and the feelings of it, but it’s a big deal being here. He was just an absolute professional and rose to the occasion, so I’m delighted,” Ros said afterwards.
“I’d say it definitely feels like the biggest occasion I’ve ever done. The nerves were definitely there but, equally, once you get into the routine of warm-up, I had a very definite plan and some fantastic help. Our support team here, with the help of the National Lottery, means we have step-by-step help all the way and that’s what makes us able to perform on the big stage.
“Walter’s amazing. He absolutely loves attention, so yes, he lifted, but only ever so slightly. He just seems to revel in it and he’s so self-confident and self-assured that I think he thought he was well up for being here. He was quite happy. When we finished and I patted him, he had a little scratch, then looked up and thought ‘yeah, I’m alright here’. I’m just excited that he could produce that test on a world stage like this,” she continued.
As the final rider in the team, Ros summed up, “Our team are just amazing and fantastic people as well. I’m absolutely delighted for Laura – the relationship she has with that horse means they’ve had quite a journey together and she loves him inside-out. I just think Tom and Laura have done a fantastic job, and not forgetting Yasmin Ingham, who’s our reserve rider, which is a tough place to be on a week like this, but she’s just so supportive, so nice and ready to step in and help us every step of the way.
“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve all achieved today. My team mates are unbelievable and we’re extremely lucky this year because we’re all mates. Tom led the way so beautifully, Laura was just incredible and that just motivated me and gave me that real pumped-up feeling, and Yasmin as well because the reserve slot isn’t easy place to be. I’ve been there and she just couldn’t be a nicer, more supportive person in that role, so we’re extremely to have the team that we’ve got,” she concluded.
Thoughts now turn to Sunday’s all-important cross country-course and French designer Pierre Le Goupil has set a spectacular test, which has really caught the athletes’ imaginations. The 5,149m course features 28 obstacles, with a total of 41 jumping efforts, and uses many of the features of the beautiful, historic parkland and gardens of Versailles. Combinations cross the Grand Canal twice on specially constructed pontoons and tackle cleverly designed fences which will reward good training and riding. The optimum time is 9:02.
The riders gave their thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s test:
“It’s a fantastic course. If I compare it to Tokyo, it’s slightly different with the ideas and questions, but I think it very cleverly opens you out. There are galloping areas – it’s not just twisty, but I actually think that’s where you’re slightly going to get caught out because there are lots of twists and turns, not just at the fences but in the land as well. I do see the time being quite tight and I do it riding quite intense a little bit like a Luhmühlen type idea – I see that being a good comparison. It’s a great course, really well-designed and beautiful. It looks a bit like a Le Lion (d’Angers) course turned into an Olympics. Amazing!
“Like all cross-country courses, it’s a state of flow. If you can get the flow and the idea of the course, then it should go well. Sometimes, you can get away with something like looks quite simple, but will catch you out later. For me, I think a big question – and I think it’s a big jump in – is the direct route up at the second water up at the highest point of the course. I think that’s tough. Then I think there are a few different questions elsewhere. I think it’s a cumulation – you could build the easiest course in the world, but it’s the Olympics and people will make silly mistakes with the pressure.”
“I think it’s one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve ever seen. There are questions everywhere and there’s a lot of head-scratching with so many combinations and options – I’d kind of prefer to just get on and do it – but we’ve got lots of plans in place, so fingers crossed that it suits him. I’ve always said that it should suit him and, coming here and walking it, I’m very confident, so hopefully he can go out there and produce another performance like he did today.
“There are a lot of fences that need a lot of respect. The water at the top of the hill has a lot of options, and there’s a fence jumping into water that they haven’t really seen before because of the shape of it, which is going to come up very quickly after a long pull up the hill. To be honest, it’s as any other cross-country course – you’ve got to be on your A-game from start to finish and you’re not home until you’ve got through the finish flags.”
“I think it gets tougher the more I walk it – I often feel that – and there are plenty of places to make a mistake. There are lots of jumps into water and you’re going to have to ride fast – and that’s when mistakes creep in. We’ve obviously had rain all day today, so that could have an impact on those going right at the end of the day. The ground might deteriorate and I might have to change plans, but I just couldn’t wish for a better cross-country horse and buddy in Walter when it comes to something like this. I know him inside out, he knows me and if there was anything I’d want to be sat on, it would be him, so I’ve got that to take confidence from.
“You have to have plan A, B and C, and that’s what we’re going to be going over tonight and in the morning, when you’re trying to live every scenario and how you can get out of it without creating penalties. There are all sorts of different routes available – direct and fast is hopefully going to be the number one route, but we’ll make sure we’ve got plans in place in case something goes amiss.
“It’s a fantastic course – it’s definitely not to be taken for granted because there are plenty of places to make mistakes and plenty of places where you need to know your ‘get out of jail free’ cards. I think the three water jumps in particular – there’s one with a skinny brush going in where you need to get your line right, and the one at the end has three different elements, all of which require you to get in the water, then an angled slice that you’ve got to get right, then you’ve got a difficult corner to get out that’s on a yellow MIMS clip, so if a tired horse knocks it, then you risk getting penalties. It’s definitely not a course where you can relax, not until you get right through the finish line.”
Tom McEwen and JL Dublin are first out for Team GB at 10:02 (BST), followed by Laura Collett and London 52 at 12:38. Ros Canter is our anchor with Lordships Graffalo at 13:14.
Full results and times for tomorrow can be found on Olympic.org and read our ‘how to watch’ guide for all your viewing information.