DeRosa Daily Equestrian Olympic News
Horsesdaily Veteran Olympic Reporter Diana DeRosa Brings Us Into Her World

Preparation And Planning For The Press and Spectators for Cross Country

The first horse and rider (Mark Todd aboard Gandalf) go on the cross country course at 8:00 a.m.  They chose that time because of ensuring the lighting was good enough to avoid shadows.  Yet the goal is to finish the course as early as possible to avoid the hottest part of the day (that’s if it doesn’t rain).

Many of us who have been at prior Olympic Games are familiar with Todd, who claimed an Olympic Gold medal on an incredible mare named Charisma.  Mark hasn’t competed in an Olympics in quite some time but he has confidence in Gandalf and it’s nice to see him back in the fray.

The first U.S. rider to go is Amy Tryon aboard Poggio II.  Their start time is scheduled for 8:20 and they are the fifth pair on the course.  Normally the separation between horses is every five minutes but to beat the heat at these Olympic Games they only have three minutes between riders.

Gina Miles and McKinlaigh go off at 8:54; Becky Holder and Courageous Comet at 9:39; Karen O’Connor and Mandiba at 10:24 and Phillip Dutton aboard Connaught at 11:09.  If there is no rain, by the time he goes the humidity will have really kicked in and he’ll have that to contend with as well.

In the morning as the riders are prepping and the grooms are readying the horses, we’ll be catching shuttles from our media hotel.  The first shuttle leaves at 4:00 a.m. and I’m hoping to be on that one as I’d like to check out the course again to make some final decisions for best shooting locations.

American Eventing Grooms - Shannon Brinkman Photo

Amazingly, our hotel will serve breakfast as early as 2:30 a.m. so that no one will go off hungry.  Knowing the setup but also being mindful of the fact that we have to carry all our gear, the photographers are making decisions on the best equipment to take for making the most of any picture taking opportunities.  They are also deciding whether to just focus on one fence or to try and walk to different fences, which is possible if you know the path between fences.

Care must be taken by both the media and the spectators to follow the rules because breaking the rules is never tolerated out on the cross country.  It’s especially important to only cross at dedicated cross over points and while that’s the way it should be it does make it difficult for those of us who want to try and photograph more than one jump.  However, the rules are the rules.  And so here’s hoping for no rain and for great clear rounds by all our U.S. riders.

Meeting New Friends