Equestrian Jumping

Facts

Discipline of Equestrian
Participants 1020
NOCs 70
Competitions held 53 (Venues)
Distinct events 8

Description

Equestrian disciplines have been on the Olympic Program since 1900, when events were contested at the Olympics in Paris. Equestrian events were not held again, however, until 1912, in Stockholm. Since that year, the sport, and the discipline of jumping, has always been on the Olympic Program. Through 1948, Olympic equestrian events were limited to military officers and men only, but in 1956 this was changed and equestrian jumping became open to either gender at the Olympics.

Jumping consists of the horse and rider jumping over a series of obstacles, with the goal being to clear the fences cleanly. Each horse and rider start with a perfect score of 0, and penalties are given for failing to clear a fence cleanly or balking at a fence. Time penalties may also be given for taking an excessive amount of time to finish the course.

Jumping events at the Olympics consist of an individual and team competition. Each event comprises several rounds, with a “cut” after each round in which the lower placed competitors, or teams, are eliminated. The horse/rider team with the fewest penalties wins the competition.

Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Sweden, and Great Britain are the top nations in Olympic equestrian jumping. Hans Günter Winkler leads the gold medal count with five followed by Ludger Beerbaum (four), with both riders representing Germany and West Germany. Winkler also has the most overall medals in Olympic equestrian jumping, with seven, followed by two Italian brothers – Raimondo and Piero D’Inzeo – with six medals each.

Jumping is one of 10 equestrian disciplines governed by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), which was formed in 1921 by Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States, and has 137 member nations as of 2022. The list of disciplines governed by the FEI includes jumping, eventing, dressage, driving, and vaulting.

All-time medal table

Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Germany GER 10 2 5 17
France FRA 7 4 6 17
United States USA 5 10 4 19
Italy ITA 4 6 5 15
Sweden SWE 4 4 3 11
Great Britain GBR 4 3 5 12
West Germany FRG 3 1 3 7
Netherlands NED 2 5 1 8
Switzerland SUI 2 3 3 8
Belgium BEL 2 2 5 9
Canada CAN 2 2 1 5
Mexico MEX 2 1 2 5
Poland POL 1 2 1 4
Soviet Union URS 1 1 0 2
Spain ESP 1 1 0 2
Brazil BRA 1 0 2 3
Czechoslovakia TCH 1 0 0 1
Japan JPN 1 0 0 1
Chile CHI 0 2 0 2
Austria AUT 0 1 0 1
Romania ROU 0 1 0 1
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia KSA 0 0 2 2
Portugal POR 0 0 2 2
Hungary HUN 0 0 1 1
Ireland IRL 0 0 1 1

Youth Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Mixed team MIX 3 3 3 9
Italy ITA 1 0 0 1
New Zealand NZL 1 0 0 1
Uruguay URU 1 0 0 1
Argentina ARG 0 1 0 1
Colombia COL 0 1 0 1
United Arab Emirates UAE 0 1 0 1
Australia AUS 0 0 1 1
Honduras HON 0 0 1 1
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia KSA 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Hans Günter Winkler GER
FRG
5 1 1 7
Ludger Beerbaum GER
FRG
4 0 1 5
Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola FRA 2 2 0 4
McLain Ward USA 2 2 0 4
Alwin Schockemöhle GER
FRG
2 1 1 4
Beezie Madden USA 2 1 1 4
Joe Fargis USA 2 1 0 3
Franke Sloothaak GER
FRG
2 0 1 3
Fritz Thiedemann GER
FRG
2 0 1 3
Kurt Hasse GER 2 0 0 2
Uli Kirchhoff GER
UKR
2 0 0 2
Humberto Mariles MEX 2 0 0 2
Lars Nieberg GER 2 0 0 2
Nick Skelton GBR 2 0 0 2
Hans von Rosen SWE 2 0 0 2
Ben Maher GBR 2 0 0 2

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Giacomo Casadei ITA 1 1 0 2
Pedro Espinosa HON 1 0 1 2
Nicola Philippaerts BEL 1 0 0 1
Martin Fuchs SUI 1 0 0 1
Carian Scudamore GBR 1 0 0 1
Valentina Isoardi ITA 1 0 0 1
Wojciech Dahlke POL 1 0 0 1
Marcelo Chirico URU 1 0 0 1
Lisa Nooren NED 1 0 0 1
Emily Fraser NZL 1 0 0 1
Jake Saywell GBR 1 0 0 1
Michael Duffy IRL 1 0 0 1
Matias Alvaro ITA 1 0 0 1
Filip Ågren SWE 1 0 0 1
Mateo Coles HAI 1 0 0 1
Nicole Meyer MEX 1 0 0 1
Marissa Thompson PAN 1 0 0 1
Mattie Hatcher USA 1 0 0 1

Event types

Name Gender Still contested? Times held?
Individual Open 18
Team Open 17
Individual Open Youth 3
Team Open Youth 3
Individual Men 8
Team Men 8
Long Jump Open 1
High Jump Open 1