Equestrian Eventing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Dates 15 – 18 August 2004
Medal Events 2

Barring the absence of a team dressage event in 1960, the Olympic equestrian schedule has remained at the same six events since the 1928 Amsterdam Games, although individual events have changed their format on occasion. In 2004 a major change to the three-day event saw the new short format cross-country phase introduced with the abolition of the steeplechase and “roads and tracks” phases. Eventing had team and individual competition in 2004, but reverting to a format that had been standard at the Olympics through 1992, they were held concurrently in Athina.

Competition took place at the newly built Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Athina, a venue that could hold between 8,000 and 15,000 spectators depending on the event being held. Qualification for the Games was earned by performances at the World Equestrian Games and continental championships and by the FEI world rankings.

The equestrian competitions at the 2004 Athina Olympics provided many contentious moments, as of the six events, only in the two dressage events did the original champions get to keep their gold medals. A mixture of positive dope tests and various rulings from the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) meant that the final results for a number of events were not ratified until well after the Games had ended.

Team and individual eventing competitions were held in Beijing, and they were conducted simultaneously. Great Britain’s Leslie Law won the individual title and France took the team gold medal. At first, the individual winner appeared to be German Bettina Hoy, but after an appeal by the British, French, and United States teams, she was given 14 time faults in the jumping phase, and dropped down to ninth place. Hoy’s time faults also affected the team event, as without them, Germany would have won the team gold medal, but dropped to fourth place after the penalties.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Individual, Open Olympic 15 – 18 August 2004 75 23
Team, Open Olympic 15 – 18 August 2004 65 14
75 (53/22) 23 (21/13)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Individual, Open Leslie LawGBR Kim SeversonUSA Pippa FunnellGBR
Team, Open FranceFRA Great BritainGBR United StatesUSA

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Great Britain GBR 1 1 1 3
France FRA 1 0 0 1
United States USA 0 1 1 2