Explosion W lives up to his name during the First Horse Inspection for Jumping at Tokyo

The first horse inspection for Jumping at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place at Baji Koen Equestrian Park this evening.

Passing his inspection, Explosion W proved to be in high spirits for GB teammate, Ben Maher. Living up to his name, the talented KWPN gelding was unable to contain his excitement during their time in the spotlight while other Team GB members all passed the First Horse Inspection, including travelling reserve pairing, Harry Charles and Romeo 88.

It seems Maher’s ride wasn’t the only one in the mood for dancing as two of the Swedish steeds proved hot to handle too. Peder Fredricson looked like he was grappling with a tiger before All In settled and trotted up like the true professional he is. And team-mate Malin Baryard-Johnsson’s mare, Indiana, was a real handful after strutting her stuff before the Ground Jury.

Louise Parkes wrote:

There were two horses sent to the Holding Box and they will be reinspected at 17.00 tomorrow. They were Argentina’s Cannavaro 9 (Matias Albarracin) and China’s Caesar (You Zhang).

The horses were beautifully turned out and so were the athletes, The Netherlands’ Willem Greve, Marc Houtzager, Harrie Smolders and Michael van der Vleuten really cutting a dash in suits that blended an “Our Man in Havana” look with a touch of Vaudeville.

But they can all look forward to familiarisation and training over the next few days, taking in the sights and sounds of the fabulous Baji Koen stadium before the Jumping action gets underway next Tuesday.

Show Jumping Tokyo Facts and Figures

The first Individual competition will take place on Tuesday 3 August and is a qualifier for the Individual Final on Wednesday 4 August.

The Individual Final is open to the 30 best-placed athletes from the first Individual competition and will be Table A, one round against the clock, with a jump-off for the medal placings if there is a tie on penalties. All athletes start on a zero score in the Individual Final and starting order will be in reverse order of merit following the first Individual competition.

The first Team competition is open to 20 teams of three athletes and all teams will start on a zero score. It will take place on 6 August and is a qualifier for the Team Final on 7 August.

The best 10 teams, including those tied for tenth place, will qualify for the Team Final.

Team France are the defending Olympic champions having clinched gold for only the second time in Olympic history at the Rio 2016 Games.

Germany however holds the record for the greatest number of Olympic gold medals, with 5 Individual and 8 team titles since Jumping joined the Olympic programme in 1900.

Quick facts

• 35 countries
• 19 teams
• 75 horse/athlete combinations
• 16 countries represented by individuals
• Jumping Course Designer is Spain’s Santiago Varela.
• Teams will consist of three athlete/horse combinations with all three scores counting for the result.

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Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.