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Introduction: The summer 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico City, Mexico. The Equestrian teams had been practicing and the teams were made up. There were team events and individual events in show jumping, dressage and eventing. There were 126 entries from eighteen different nations competing. The political dynamics in Canada were changing, Pierre Trudeau had just been elected as Prime Minister and Canada was hoping for change. South of the Canadian boarder Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been assassinated. Student revolts and political protests were taking place, and there was major army influence in Mexico, the housing site for the Olympic games.

Background: Show jumping was first introduced to the Olympic games in the summer of 1900 in Paris, France. The only people allowed to participate were male cavalry officers. The jumps were set at a height of approximately 1.4 meters and there were around 15 jumps. Over the years the height has gradually increased and now our jump heights are at 1.6 meters high, maximum 2.2 meters wide and water jumps can be maximum 4.5 meters. In 1952 men and women were both allowed to participate and compete. AS of the summer 2012 summer Olympics there are 5 rounds which the competitors ride to determine team and individual standings. There are 4 riders that represent a country and the top 3 scores are counted for the final score. Each of the riders scores are then taken and they are added to their individual score then the top fifty riders go on to round three. After round three the team scores are tallied and medals are awarded for the teams. Then the individual medals are awarded after the fifth round. The object of the round is to jump around as fast and as clean as possible. Jumping the course in the right order under the time limit without knocking down any poles will give you a zero fault round. Every rider starts with zero faults. Every pole knocked down or fence height lowered results in 4 faults a jump. A horse refusal to jump a fence is four faults for the first refusal, elimination for the second refusal at the same jump or after 3 refusals at 3 separate fences. If the rider falls they are eliminated and for every second of time over the time allowed 1 fault is added to their score. The riders who have ridden clear or are tied (or top 50 for Olympics) go on to further rounds or a jump off. The jump off is usually a shortened course and the time is usually the deciding factor. Riders want to ride as fast as they can in the jump off without knocking rails and accumulating faults!

Olympic Dressage also started in the 1900’s with male cavalry officers being the only ones allowed to participate. The dressage phase was held in a ring 20 meters by 40 meters and the horses and riders were to perform the same test of figures and shapes in the ring with no jumps. By 1912 the riders had to not only do the flat (no jumping just a test of shapes in the ring with no jumps) they were also required to jump a small show jumping course and ride an obedience test. By 1952 women and civilians were also allowed to participate and compete. By 1996 they included the Freestyle test as a part of the Olympic competition. A Freestyle is when the rider puts together their own set of shapes and movements and puts it to music to perform in front of the judges. In summer 2012 the competitors started by all riding the same test and scores are combined to decide team medals. The riders with the top 13 scores then go on to perform their Freestyle which ultimately determines their final score and individual medal. Eventing wasn’t introduced to the Olympics until the 1912 Stockholm Olympics but again only military personnel were able to compete. The Event was held over a 5 day period. On the first day there was an endurance phase, this consisted of a 55km course-riding on roads which you had 4 hours to complete. This was then followed by a 5km cross country course which is a course through fields jumping over natural obstacles such as logs and ditches. On the second day the horses were given the day off. On the third day there was a 3.5km long Steeplechase course with about 10 fences. Steeplechase is similar to cross country it is following a track and jumping natural obstacles however they are all basically the same they are log and brush jumps. On the fourth day there was show jumping, there were about 15 jumps and they were measured at about 1.3 meters high. The final day the riders competed and all rode a dressage test. In the 1990 Olympic games the dressage test was taken out. The riders competed in the endurance test which was slightly longer and to be ridden in less time and followed right away by cross country. The second day was a 20km roads and tracks course with a vet check afterwards which determined whether or not you could continue. After passing the vet check the competitors went on to ride a Steeplechase 4000 meters long. The third day the show jumping course was ridden with about 18 fences at 1.25 meters high. In 1924 Dressage was reintroduced to the Olympics. The first two days were the dressage phase due to the high number of competitors and the dressage ring was expanded to 20 by 60 meters which is what it is today at higher levels. On the third day there were 5 phases that the riders had to complete. The first phase was a 7km roads and tracks, then the second phase the steeplechase course was ridden which was 4km long. The third was another roads and tracks this time15km in length. The fourth phase was the 8km cross country course and the fifth phase was a 2km canter. On the final day the riders competed in the show jumping phase. In 1952 women and civilians were able to compete. In 1968 the 2km canter phase after the cross country was taken out. In 2004 the whole cross country day was changed and only the fourth phase was kept; the cross country phase. The 1968 Teams: The 1968 Canadian Olympic Show Jumping team was made up of 3 incredible athletes, Jim Elder and his horse The Immigrant, Tom Gayford and his horse Big Dee, and finally Jim Day and his horse Canadian Club. Their incredible story is inspirational to equestrian athletes everywhere. Tom Gayford was the captain and Jim Elder was the anchor. Jim Elder and Tom Gayford had known each other since they were about 16 years old. They made an Olympic sized course in Jim Elder’s big grass yard and would practice jumping courses. Jim day was 21 years old and a rising star in the show jumping world.

Brigadier-General Denis Whitaker was the founder of the Canadian equestrian team. It was his responsibility to raise funds, get publicity and make plans for the team. The team went to the 1967 Pan Am games to compete as preparation for the Olympics. The team placed an impressive bronze and it was the start of what was to come, an incredible show at the Olympics. With what someone would buy a young inexperienced or untrained horse for today, a total of $1900 worth of horses, the team was off to the Olympics.

Just 10 days before the Olympics, the Mexican army showed up at a protest and killed hundreds of protestors. There was a big uproar in Mexico. When the teams were arriving and living there, it was very apparent that there was major army influence everywhere.

The first week consisted of the Eventing. It was an intense and dangerous event and the day of the cross country phase it poured rain. There was so much rain that the rain filled the rivers including the ones with jumps in them. The rivers were so high that the horses couldn’t see the jumps in them. This was a scary and tragic day as many horses flipped over the jumps, there were many eliminations, and several horses lives were lost. To this day eventing is still incredibly dangerous and we are constantly making changes to try to make the sport safer. The Canadian team however did complete the course, and finished with a 6th in the three day event.

During the second week of the Olympics held the Show Jumping phase. Three days before the individual competition Big Dee had colic. This is a very serious and potentially lethal stomach/intestine issue with horses. There are several different types, the most common being an impaction or block in their intestines and they then get an incredible stomach ache. If it is not cleared out they will most likely die. The team could only find a vet that was not a horse vet, who stuck a tube down the mare’s throat with the intention of putting oils into her stomach to loosen the impaction. The mare was coughing up blood which was a sure sign that the tube wasn’t in her stomach, Tom Gayford stopped the vet. After walking her and their own vet arriving it was clear she would be okay, but being able to compete in just a few days was questionable.

Canada didn’t have Big Dee and Tom Gayford compete the individual, and had Torchy Millar substitute ride for them. Jim Elder finished 6th after the jump off and Great Britain was in the lead. By the following Sunday Tom was ready to compete, after next to no schooling since the mare had been sick all week, they went in and delivered. It was an incredibly difficult course designed by a Dutchman, the ring was relatively small and the jumps were tight in the confined space. Compared to falls and eliminations of other teams, Tom’s 22 ¼ fault round was incredible, especially considering his circumstances up to that day. Jim Day rode 2nd and had an equally impressive round with only 18 faults. Jim Elder then rode a shocking 9 ½ fault round. This put Canada in 2nd place as a Team.

After round 1 the order of standing went as followed; first place Great Britain, second place Canada, third place France, fourth place Germany, fifth place USA and sixth place Italy. The rider for Germany who had earlier won silver after the individual had an unfortunate round and got eliminated putting Canada in first place, the place which they then held until the end of the round, winning the team

The Sport Today: The sport has many similarities and yet also many differences today than it did back in the 1960’s. The dressage, show jumping and eventing are still recognized as sports in the Olympics. The cross country phase of the eventing however is undergoing changes constantly due to the dangers of the sport. The sport is dangerous enough as it is, and jumping over fences on an animal has many risks. However it is narrowed down to specifically the cross country phase where the sport is getting known for many injured and killed horses and riders. This is mostly due to the fact that the jumps in cross country are solid natural obstacles that do not fall down. If the rider or horse make a bad miscalculation they can flip, land or break a limb on a jump. This is different than the show jumping where they are jumping over 3 inch wide poles that slide off the standard or break if the horse lands on them. One of the new safety precautions many organizations hosting and supporting events are using and introducing are “breakaway jumps.” These jumps created to stay true to the idea that cross country is natural obstacles as they still represent the natural obstacle. However instead of the obstacle being put together as a solid unbreakable object, they are constructed to give under pressure to prevent injury or entrapment. This is an excellent step towards saving many lives and limbs of the creatures who provide us with so much, and yet to still preserve the love of the sport and the tradition of what the cross country phase should be.

Bibliography:

Builder (individual) - w. denis whitaker. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://equinecanada.ca/halloffame/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=31&Itemid=489 This source was a brief biography of some of the accomplishments of Denis Whitaker throughout equestrian history. It helped create a better picture of what he did and how it influenced the sport and the topics I was covering in my essay.

Equestrian / dressage equipment and history. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org/equestrian-dressage-equipment-and-history?tab=history This was an article used from olympic.org regarding the final equestrian event I wanted to focus on for editing the Wikipedia article; dressage. This article goes into detail on the history of dressage and the athletes and horses who have competed in it. It will be useful to help me better describe the sport and create a better understanding for those reading my Wikipedia article.

Equestrian / eventing equipment and history. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org/equestrian-eventing-equipment-and-history?tab=History This website went into great detail of the history of eventing, the equipment used and the athletes who have competed in it. It was very informative and easy to understand even for those who might not be familiar with the sport. This article will help me explain the history behind eventing and how it works which was important for me to add to the Wikipedia article.

Equestrian / jumping equipment and history. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org/equestrian-jumping-equipment-and-history?tab=History This website is the same as the above although instead of focusing on the history and equipment used for eventing it focuses on the equipment and history of show jumping and the athletes who have competed in it throughout the years. This article did not have as much information as the last, however it will still be helpful to give my audience reading the Wikipedia article a better understanding of showjumping and the history behind it.

Equestrian sport: participation during the history of the olympic games. In (2012). Olympic Studies Centre. This was a reference document covering the topic of equestrians throughout time participating in the Olympics. This is a good paper for me to look at to compare and contrast how equestrian events have changed over times and the standings of competitors over time. It also goes into details on specific topics such as the three I’m mainly focusing on: dressage, show jumping and eventing.

Industrial standard – frangible devices (update). (2012, January 12). Retrieved from http://eventingsafety.wordpress.com/ This was an interesting article discussing the dangers of cross country and the new industrial standard frangible devices- breakaway fences. It helped to explain how the sport has had injuries and possible ways to now prevent this. It was helpful to show how the sport is changing and developing.

Jumping into history canada's journey to equestrian gold [DVD]. This DVD focuses mainly on Canada’s equestrian experience at the 1968 Olympics. It explains in great detail the preparation the athletes had building up to the Olympics and shows interviews with the whole show jumping team including the athletes, grooms, vets etc. This DVD provides first hand information given straight from the athletes and is fascinating and incredibly useful to use for my Wikipedia article to help further describe the events of the 1968 Olympics.

Olympics - equestrian olympic games. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.equestrianandhorse.com/shows/olympics.html This source was covering dressage, show jumping and eventing over time. It helped to find information on how the sport is constantly changing. It also covered how the rules are changing and how the sport is developing over time. It aided me by explaining how each of the events work to better understand and explain to others.