Equestrian
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
VenueAldershot
Tweseldown Racecourse
Empire Stadium
Dates9–14 August 1948
No. of events6
Competitors103 from 17 nations

The equestrian events at the 1948 London Summer Olympics included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 9 to 14 August 1948, with the first five days held in the military complex at Aldershot, the endurance day on the army grounds of Aldershot at Tweseldown, and the jumping at the Empire Stadium in Wembley. World War II resulted in a greatly reduced number of competitors, including the absence of Germany, although Brazil made its first appearance in the equestrian events. 103 entries from 17 nations (Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States) competed. The youngest participant was Aëcio Coelho from Brazil at 23 years old, while the oldest rider was the Italian Alessandro, Count Bettoni Cazzago, at 55 years old.[1]

Disciplines

Tweseldown racecourse, site of the endurance day of eventing at the 1948 Olympics

Jumping

44 riders from 15 nations contested the 16-obstacle/19-jumping effort course. The 870 meter course had fences up to 1.60 meters in height, and was very slippery due to heavy rains during the week. One round of jumping was used for both team and individual competition.

Dressage

The dressage event had 19 riders from 9 nations. Since World War II had made training dressage horses hard, the difficulty of the test was reduced and only asked for 13 minutes of work with neither piaffe nor passage included. Only 3 judges were used rather than the traditional 5. Horses were also required to be ridden in an English saddle with a double bridle. They were not allowed to use martingales, bearing reins, bandages, gaiters or blinkers.

Eventing

45 riders for 16 countries rode in the eventing competition. Like the dressage competition, the requirements of the eventing were reduced. This included a shortened (3500 meter) steeplechase, lowering the speed of the roads and tracks phases from 240 to 220 meters/minute, and a shortened cross-country course at 33.5 km (compared to Berlin's 36 km course in 1936). The maximum height of both the cross-country and jumping were raised from 1.15 to 1.20 meters. The ground and terrain of the course were also challenging, taking place over difficult footing on a hilly course.

Medal summary

Games Gold Silver Bronze
Individual dressage
  Hans Moser
and Hummer (SUI)		  André Jousseaume
and Harpagon (FRA)		  Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern Jr.
and Trumf (SWE)
Team dressage
  France (FRA)
André Jousseaume
and Harpagon
Jean Saint-Fort Paillard
and Sous les Ceps
Maurice Buret
and Saint Quen		  United States (USA)
Robert Borg
and Klingsor
Earl Foster Thomson
and Pancraft
Frank Henry
and Reno Overdo		  Portugal (POR)
Fernando Paes
and Matamas
Francisco Valadas
and Feitiço
Luís Mena e Silva
and Fascinante
Individual eventing
  Bernard Chevallier
and Aiglonne (FRA)		  Frank Henry
and Swing Low (USA)		  Robert Selfelt
and Claque (SWE)
Team eventing
  United States (USA)
Frank Henry
and Swing Low
Charles Anderson
and Reno Palisade
Earl Foster Thomson
and Reno Rhythm		  Sweden (SWE)
Robert Selfelt
and Claque
Olof Stahre
and Komet
Sigurd Svensson
and Dust		  Mexico (MEX)
Humberto Mariles Cortés
and Parral
Raúl Campero
and Tarahumara
Joaquín Solano
and Malinche
Individual Jumping
  Humberto Mariles Cortés
and Arete (MEX)		  Rubén Uriza
and Hatuey (MEX)		  Jean-François d'Orgeix
and Sucre de Pomme (FRA)
Team jumping
  Mexico (MEX)
Humberto Mariles Cortés
and Arete
Rubén Uriza
and Hatuey
Alberto Valdés
and Chihuahua		  Spain (ESP)
Jaime García
and Bizarro
José Navarro Morenés
and Quórum
Marcellino Gavilán
and Forajido		  Great Britain (GBR)
Harry Llewellyn
and Foxhunter
Henry Nicoll
and Kilgeddin
Arthur Carr
and Monty

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 France (FRA)2114
 Mexico (MEX)2114
3 United States (USA)1203
4 Switzerland (SUI)1001
5 Sweden (SWE)0123
6 Spain (ESP)0101
7 Great Britain (GBR)0011
 Portugal (POR)0011
Totals (8 entries)66618

Officials

Appointment of officials was as follows:[2]

Dressage
  • France Albert-Eugène-Édouard Decarpentry (Ground Jury President)
  • Sweden Carl Bonde (Ground Jury Member)
  • Switzerland Max Thommen (Ground Jury Member)
Jumping
Eventing

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Equestrianism at the 1948 London Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Olympic Games 1948 | FEI.org".

51°15′37″N 0°46′17″W / 51.2604°N 0.7713°W / 51.2604; -0.7713

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