Now when I started to pen this Part Deux of my Tokyo blog series, positivity was running rather high….
With the vaccine rollout going quicker than any of us had dare hoped, the proposed pathway to an end to lockdown and British Eventing moving quite frankly heaven and earth to get an Elite Pathway up and running, we now have positive vibes that Kentucky and indeed Tokyo themselves injecting a huge dose of positivity things were looking up… albeit until we took some rather big knocks in Badminton and now Bramham falling victim once again to Covid!
Medal Ceremony, FEI European Championships, Luhmuhlen 2019
But I am not one to be thwarted easily, so with my positive-pants firmly on, here we go…
The countdown in on to the Tokyo Games, with less than four months now till the Eventing medals are decided. Desperately sad but inevitable news that International fans won’t be allowed to travel to Tokyo, but hopefully by making these tough decisions, it gives the Games a solid chance of safely going ahead.
There’s no doubting Team GBR have an embarrassment of riches to give the selectors some sleepless nights over. But this could arguably be the most competitive Olympics for some time.
The mountain of questions and scenarios that having only 3 on a team evokes is akin to Everest. It’s going to come down to tiny details with reliability worth more than gold in that decision making process.
Leaving the GB dilemma to one side for now, here’s my quick look at the International medal contenders:
Lets start with Team Germany
Ingrid Klimke
Arguably she’ll be at the top of the betting for an Olympic Gold with her long-time partner in crime SAP Hale Bob OLD.
Of course, she has depth to her stable so it could well be SAP Asha P that gets the ticket to Tokyo over her beloved Bobby, but my money would be on Bobby. Who’s money wouldn’t be on Bobby?!
Ingrid Klimke & SAP Hale Bob, European Championships, Luhmuhlen 2019
Yes Bobby is liable to the odd pole at the crucial moment (That moment in WEG 2018 comes to mind) but the partnership are European Champions twice over so you’d be daft to write them off.
‘Magic’ Mike - Michael Jung
He befits just about every superlative there is going and with very good reason. The man is a living legend and his Championship record speaks for itself.
Michael Jung & Fischer Chipmunk, European Championships, Luhmuhlen 2019
He’ll likely have the Uber-talented Fisher Chipmunk to go to war with. A desperately unlucky rail cost the duo the European title, so it’ll be no surprise to see him in contention coming into the final day of competition.
Anna Siemer
Seen as a dark horse for the team, although odds will have shortened considerably after the desperately sad news that Julia Krajewski’s Samurai du Thot has been retired, Anna and her FRH Butts Avondale could find themselves part of Team Germany in Tokyo. Ranked 58th in the FEI World Rankings, Anna is very talented and finished 13th at the European Championships in Luhmuhlen in 2019.
Anna Siemer & FRH Butts Avondale, European Championships, Luhmuhlen 2019
Team Price
Jonelle and Tim have an abundance of choice within their strong stable - after all they have five entered for Kentucky! It’s hard to imagine Team New Zealand not consisting of both members of the Price household, but who is your money on for a Tokyo medal?
Jonelle Price
It’s hard to say who would be the Tokyo choice in Jonelle’s string at the moment. Theresa Millar’s Grovine de Reve finished 12th at Pau back in October and they have both four star short and long Top Ten placings.
Jonelle Price & Grovine de Reve, Les 5 Etoiles de Pau, October 2020
The evergreen 5* winner Classic Moet has a Kentucky entry and some of the best long format form but would the shorter course in Tokyo suit her style of going?
Grappa Nera would be making her 5* debut if she takes up her Kentucky entry - a smart young horse with Alex Postolowsky - the horse has low mileage on the clock, but could be the dark horse in Jonelle’s string.
Jonelle Price & Grappa Nera, Cholmondeley Castle Horse Trials, August 2020
Jonelle also has the extremely talented Faerie Dianimo, the 2018 Luhmuhlen 5* winner has bucket loads of talent but has her own way of doing things and the pair withdrew at Pau.
Jonelle Price & Faerie Dianimo, Bicton Horse Trials, July 2020
Tim Price
Bragging rights must be hard-fought in the Price household, as Tim’s string is just as strong as Jonelle’s. Tim has seasoned campaigner Ringwood Sky Boy, who’s talents are well known - Ozzy may be 18 years young, but that didn’t stop him bagging a top 15 placing at Pau back in October.
Tim Price & Ringwood Sky Boy, Les 5 Etoiles de Pau, October 2020
The stunning grey, Ascona M who took the 5* title at Luhmuhlen in 2019 backing it up with a Top 10 at Pau the same year. Ascona had a quiet year last year, but has entries at both Aston and Weston so she’ll be another competing for that all important Tokyo ticket.
Tim also has Bango and Xavier Faer, who both head to Kentucky this Spring.
Tim Price & Xavier Faer, Les 5 Etoiles de Pau, October 2020
Chris Burton - A stalwart of Team Australia, it is difficult to imagine him not being on the team for Tokyo. Chris has a very talented team but who would you pick for Tokyo?
Quality Purdey
Second at Pau 5* in 2019 after a consecutive run of top 10 four star placings that season, she had a quiet 2020, but she would be a strong fancy for team selection.
Lawtown Chloe
The Com Air mare is another talented member of Burto’s team - with a host of four star placings and a win at Millstreet in the four star long class.
Chris Burton & Lawtown Chloe, Bicton Horse Trials, July 2020
Graf Liberty
The talented son of Limerick is another stalwart of the yard, with four and five star form, having finished 4th at Badminton in 2019.
Chris Burton & Graf Liberty, LEs 5 Etoiles de Pau, October 2020
Clever Louis burst onto the scene when winning the prestigious Blenheim 8&9 Year Old class in 2019 then going on to finish runner up at Boekolo in the four star long class - this horse doesn’t have many miles on the clock, but oozes talent and would be a strong contender to partner Burto
Andrew Hoy
Andrew is the only Australian to have ever competed in 7 Olympic Games and its hard not to imagine that he will add to that tally with a trip to Tokyo. The exciting Vassily de Lassos, a son of Jaguar Mail has been carefully produced with Championships in mind. Andrew & Vassily finished 4th at WEG in 2018 and have a string of four star placings. Could they be a medal contender in Tokyo?
Team France, reigning Olympic Team Gold Medalists, go into Tokyo with another strong hand:
Astier Nicholas & Babylon de Gamma
Astier and the striking Selle Francais Grey gelding have been getting some strong results, including Top 20 in the prestigious Blenheim 8&9 Year Old Class in 2019 and will surely take their place on the team.
Astier Nicholas & Babylon de Gamma, Bicton Horse Trials, July 2020
Tom Carlile & Birmane
The highly talented 10 year old mare Birmane is another highly talented member of Tom’s yard. She has won at four star level in France and has competed on Nations Cup teams despite her relatively young age, being only ten years old.
Tom Carlile & Birmane, Ssang Yong Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials, September 2019
Thibault Vallette & Qing du Briot
Stalwarts of the French Team, the gorgeous Qing du Briot may be seventeen years young, there’s no doubting his talent remain and he’s like a fine French wine that seemingly only gets better with age.
Lt Cl Thibaut Vallette & Qing du Briot, European Championships, Luhmuhlen 2019
Team Japan have been worked hard towards their home Games under the experienced eye of Angela Tucker. The team were beset with some rotten luck in sadly loosing both QuarryQuest Echo and Direct Cassino. They have nonetheless built a talented string of horses and I believe genuinely have the chance of a Team medal for the home side.
Kazuma Tomoto, based with William Fox-Pitt, has amassed a strong string of horses and has the talented Brookpark Vikenti, Vinci de la Vigne and Bernadette Utopia to help him get to Tokyo.
Kazuma Tomoto & Berndette Utopia, Little Downham International, October 2020
Yoshiaki Oiwa has a very talented partner in Calle 44
Toshiyuki Tanaka has built a strong string, having Talma D’Allou, Kelecyn Pirate and Swiper JRA all in his stable and achieving solid results.
Ryuzo Kitajima has also built a strong team with Queen Mary and Cekatinka JRA, again having achieved strong results over the last couple of seasons.
Ryuzo Kitajima & Cekatinka JRA, Festival of British Eventing, August 2019
Team Sweden
Bronze medal winners at the European Championships at Luhmuhlen in 2019, Team Sweden could be the dark horses for a team medal in Tokyo. They have a consistent string of four and five star campaigners and with the re-structured team of three scenario that will be in play at Tokyo, it will all be about consistency.
Ludwig Svennerstal & El Kazir, European Championships, Luhmuhlen 2019
Lots of potentials for both the individual and team podiums there - lets just keep our fingers, toes, well anything and everything crossed that the Games can go ahead in under four months time, safely and successfully.