The ball is in the court for the team finals at the Olympics! The British team took home the gold medal in phenomenal fashion, while the host nation managed to keep the bronze on home soil. Silver was hung around the American team. Despite strong performances from the three Belgian riders, they could not repeat the bronze medal of Tokyo this time.
The technically built course by course builders Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo sent all combinations out with penalties in the first round. Were it not the bars that fell, it was the time that played tricks on them. It was waiting until Olivier Perreau (FRA) came in as the second rider for the French team for the first clear round. Aboard Dorai d'Aigiully, Perreau was escorted out of the arena to loud applause.
Simon Delestre (FRA), who had I Amelusina R 51 under his saddle, didn't touch a single pole but had three time faults behind his name. "
The tone was set and faultless rides began to appear on the scoreboard in dribs and drabs. Daniel Coyle (IRL), Kim Emmen (NED) and Harry Charles (GBR) maintained the zero score for their countries in the second round.
The standings after these first two rounds were tallied: The British team led thanks to the strong ride Harry Charles (GBR) and Romeo 88 on one, with only a point ahead of time on the counter by Ben Maher (GBR) and Dallas Vegas Batilly. The French team followed with a total of three on two; the United States was on three with four penalties.
After his round, Ben Maher said: "I'm very happy with how everything went, Dallas Vegas Batilly jumped amazing in this rather difficult course today. You know you have to go hard, watching from the screen and from what you hear around you. Dallas had a huge stride to work with, there were a lot of moments I had to wait in the course, therefor I was a little bit disappointed with the time fault. But we gave the team an amazing start."
In the third round, the starting order was completed according to the intermediate rankings, starting at the bottom of the list. Israel had decided not to send their third rider back into the ring. Jérôme Guéry (BEL) with Quel Homme de Hus was the first to reappear on the arena, which was again completely level for the exciting final. Their eight penalties marked the final end for the Belgian team in the race for a medal.
From the Dutch team, ranked fifth at the start of the third round, things got exciting again. Harrie Smolders (NED) and Uricas v/d Kattevennen added one jumping fault to their team's already six penalties, resulting in a total of seven penalties for the Netherlands. Cian O'Connor (IRL) and McLain Ward (USA) saw both bars go down, which dropped them in the standings. Julien Epaillard (FRA) was welcomed to loud applause by the crowd in the saddle of Dubai du Cedre. The pair finished their ride with four penalties, bringing the French team to a total of zeve, tied with the Dutch team. The French team was narrowly half a second faster in the accumulated time, putting them above the Netherlands.
Scott Brash (GBR) with Hello Jefferson was the final combination in this nail-biting final. The duo could afford a maximum of five penalties if they wanted to stay on one and secure the gold medal for their country. Their tactics were rather attacking, a few bars were lightly tapped but everything stayed in the scoops. A demonstration round resulted in just one point for time, securing gold for the British team!
The technically built course by course builders Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo sent all combinations out with penalties in the first round. Were it not the bars that fell, it was the time that played tricks on them. It was waiting until Olivier Perreau (FRA) came in as the second rider for the French team for the first clear round. Aboard Dorai d'Aigiully, Perreau was escorted out of the arena to loud applause.
Simon Delestre (FRA), who had I Amelusina R 51 under his saddle, didn't touch a single pole but had three time faults behind his name. "
The tone was set and faultless rides began to appear on the scoreboard in dribs and drabs. Daniel Coyle (IRL), Kim Emmen (NED) and Harry Charles (GBR) maintained the zero score for their countries in the second round.
The standings after these first two rounds were tallied: The British team led thanks to the strong ride Harry Charles (GBR) and Romeo 88 on one, with only a point ahead of time on the counter by Ben Maher (GBR) and Dallas Vegas Batilly. The French team followed with a total of three on two; the United States was on three with four penalties.
After his round, Ben Maher said: "I'm very happy with how everything went, Dallas Vegas Batilly jumped amazing in this rather difficult course today. You know you have to go hard, watching from the screen and from what you hear around you. Dallas had a huge stride to work with, there were a lot of moments I had to wait in the course, therefor I was a little bit disappointed with the time fault. But we gave the team an amazing start."
In the third round, the starting order was completed according to the intermediate rankings, starting at the bottom of the list. Israel had decided not to send their third rider back into the ring. Jérôme Guéry (BEL) with Quel Homme de Hus was the first to reappear on the arena, which was again completely level for the exciting final. Their eight penalties marked the final end for the Belgian team in the race for a medal.
From the Dutch team, ranked fifth at the start of the third round, things got exciting again. Harrie Smolders (NED) and Uricas v/d Kattevennen added one jumping fault to their team's already six penalties, resulting in a total of seven penalties for the Netherlands. Cian O'Connor (IRL) and McLain Ward (USA) saw both bars go down, which dropped them in the standings. Julien Epaillard (FRA) was welcomed to loud applause by the crowd in the saddle of Dubai du Cedre. The pair finished their ride with four penalties, bringing the French team to a total of zeve, tied with the Dutch team. The French team was narrowly half a second faster in the accumulated time, putting them above the Netherlands.
Scott Brash (GBR) with Hello Jefferson was the final combination in this nail-biting final. The duo could afford a maximum of five penalties if they wanted to stay on one and secure the gold medal for their country. Their tactics were rather attacking, a few bars were lightly tapped but everything stayed in the scoops. A demonstration round resulted in just one point for time, securing gold for the British team!