Equestrian Preview

One of the only Olympic sports in which men and women compete against each other, equestrian is an ancient art that has been modernized for today’s Olympic landscape. The sport has three disciplines: dressage, eventing and jumping.

The United States has qualified teams and individuals in all three disciplines for this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. Team USA qualified in jumping and dressage a result of winning team gold and silver, respectively, at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina. The U.S. eventing team did so with a gold-medal finish at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Since the 2014 World Equestrian Games, the U.S. jumping team has medaled in every major team championship. The U.S. dressage team has medaled in the last three major team championships, which also includes team gold at the 2015 Pan American Games and team bronze at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Overall, U.S. equestrian athletes have consistently produced top finishes in high-level international competitions. Teams hope to continue that momentum and reach the podium in Tokyo.

The U.S. has a history of success at the Olympic Games and is tied with Germany for the most all-time Olympic medals. Team USA has earned 52 podium finishes at the Games, with 11 gold, 21 silver, and 20 bronze medals. At Rio 2016, the U.S. had two teams earn podium finishes — a silver in team jumping and a bronze in team dressage — and Phillip Dutton, riding Mighty Nice, earned bronze in individual eventing.

Updated on June 21, 2021. For more information, contact the sport press officer here.

• Jumpers Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden and McLain Ward both look to punch their tickets to their fifth straight Olympic Games, having competed in every Games since Athens 2004. Madden has also earned four Olympic medals and hopes to add a fifth, should she compete in Tokyo. Ward has earned three Olympic medals and is looking for a fourth. 

• The U.S. has experienced somewhat recent success at the Olympic Games in every event and discipline with one notable exception: individual dressage. The U.S. hasn’t medaled in that event since 1932 and medals have been won exclusively by some combination of Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands since 1992.

• Phillip Dutton, 57, is headed back to his seventh Olympic Games in eventing, having competed at each one since 1996. Those first three came with Australia, for whom he won gold medals in team eventing. Dutton has been competing with Team USA since 2006. In addition to his Olympic bronze medal in individual eventing in Rio, Dutton has competed at every World Equestrian Games and won an individual silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games and a team gold medal in 2015.

• 2012 Olympian Adrienne Lyle, 36, has been a valuable member of the U.S. dressage team, competing on several Nations Cup teams in the last several years. In 2017, she and Salvino were named the USEF Grand Prix Dressage Reserve National Champions. In 2018, she was selected to her second World Equestrian Games team after competing on all three U.S. Dressage Nations Cup teams, where she helped the U.S. claim team silver while riding Salvino.

• Four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic team gold medalist, Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden, 57, has been a mainstay in U.S. jumping for nearly three decades. Following Rio 2016, she helped the U.S. jumping team earn the 2017 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final silver medal aboard Darry Lou. She added her second FEI Jumping World Cup Final to her resume in with the help of Breitling LS. Madden has represented the U.S. in the world’s most prestigious competitions, becoming the first American to break into the top three in show jumping's world rankings. She was the first woman to pass the $1 million mark in earnings for jumping. Madden has won the USEF Equestrian of the Year title four times, including back-to-back honors in 2006 and 2007 — she was the first rider ever to do so — and then again earning back-to-back honors in 2013 and 2014.

 


• July 24, 2021: The Olympic competition begins with dressage team and individual competition
• July 27, 2021: Dressage team final
• July 28, 2021: Dressage individual final
• July 30, 2021: Eventing team and individual competitions begin
• August 2, 2021: Eventing team and individual finals
• August 3, 2021: Jumping individual competition begins
• August 4, 2021: Jumping individual final
• August 6, 2021: Jumping team competition begins
• August 7, 2021: Jumping team final