The
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
events at the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
included
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
,
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
and
eventing
Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...
. All three disciplines, except for the Nations Cup, were held at the equestrian stadium in Bromont, which had a capacity of 15,000 spectators, and the cross-country and steeplechase were also nearby. Building this stadium provided some headache for the Organizing Committee after the original estimate of 1 million Canadian dollars increased to CAD 4,425.
Poland and Chile were not allowed to ship horses into the host country due to the concern of
piroplasmosis
Babesiosis or piroplasmosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with a eukaryotic parasite in the order Piroplasmida, typically a ''Babesia'' or '' Theileria'', in the phylum Apicomplexa. Human babesiosis transmission via ...
, and France and Italy also had to keep some horses home due to veterinary regulations. Overall 23 nations competed: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Great Britain, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and the US, with the Montreal Games being the first for Guatemala and Puerto Rico in equestrian events.
The 1976 Olympics was also the first Games with a disqualification due to a positive equine drug test, after San Carlos, ridden by Ronald McMahon of Ireland, received treatment following an injury during transport. Although the treatment was needed, the rules did not allow for him to compete.
Disciplines
Show jumping
Tom Gayford, assisted by Robert Jolicoeur, built the massive courses ridden by 61 riders from 20 countries. All courses were to be ridden at 400 m/min, and had 15 obstacles with 18 jumping efforts, including a 5m water. Round A, 950 meters in length, had verticals up to 1.60 meters and a 2.20 meter wide oxer with a 1.55 meter front rail and a back rail at 1.60 meters. Round B (660 meters) had a narrow 1.70 meter vertical, and the oxers were also raised in height. The final jump off was 470 meters long. Only 39-year-old Alwin Schockemöhle was able to pull off two clear rounds to win gold. The next three highest placed riders had 12 penalties apiece, and they had to jump off for silver and bronze.
The Nations Cup was held in the Olympic Stadium in front of 55,000 spectators, despite a great debate to move it to Bromont after intense rain. However, course dimensions were reduced. Alwin Schockemöhle managed to complete the 2 Nations Cup courses with 4 and 8 penalties respectively, helping Germany finish with team silver.
To watch the show jumping, se
Dressage
The 10-minute Grand Prix dressage test was ridden by 27 riders from 11 nations. The Grand Prix awarded up to 500 points per judge—2500 points total—with Christine Stückelberger winning the test on Granat with 1869 points (74.7%). The top 12 riders from the Grand Prix competed in a second test, the Grand Prix Special. The Special, with an 8-minute 45 second time allowed, was also won by Granat with 1486 out of 1950 possible points (76.2%), earning Stückelberger the individual gold medal. They finished 51 points ahead of silver medal winner Harry Boldt and Woycek, who was 40 points ahead of the bronze medal winners, Reiner Klimke riding Mehmed.
To see Stückelberger's Grand Prix Special ride
The favorites for the team competition were Germany, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union to medal, but the US managed to clinch the bronze ahead of the USSR for their first dressage medal since the 1948 Games.
Eventing
49 riders from 13 countries competed, including
Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Anne from Great Britain, becoming the first member of the British Royal Family to have participated in the Olympic games. There were also several sets of family members: Guatemala had a mother and daughter pair competing on their team (
Rita
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
and
Silvia de Luna), while Australia had a father and son (
Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
and
Wayne Roycroft
Wayne William Roycroft, (born 21 May 1946) is an Australian equestrian and coach who won two bronze medals at three Olympics. He was the national eventing coach from 1988 to 2010; Australia won four team and two individual medals in the sport ...
). The cross-country course designer,
Barbara Kemp
Barbara Kemp (12 December 1881 –17 April 1959) was a German soprano and opera singer. After a successful stage career, she retired to teach and also directed performances at the Berlin State Opera.
Life and career
Barbara Kemp was bor ...
, was the first woman to design an Olympic equestrian course. It wouldn't be until 1996 when show jumping would have its first woman course designer with
Linda Allen. The endurance day track was 27,465 meters in length, of which 7,695 meters was a 36-obstacle cross-country course. The track was very varied, traveling over meadows (2300 meters), gravel roads (1300 meters), through the woods (900 meters) as well as a manicured golf course (3200 meters).
To see a video of the eventing competition at the 1976 Games, se
Medal summary
Participating nations
In the 1976 Summer Olympics, 135 contestants, including 111 men and 24 women, competed from 23 countries. The youngest participant was Silvia de Luna from Guatemala at 18 years old, while the oldest rider was the Australian Bill Roycroft at 61 years old.
Medal table
References
External links
International Olympic Committee medal database
{{Equestrian at the Summer Olympics
Equestrian at the 1976 Summer Olympics,
1976 Summer Olympics events
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
1976 in equestrian
Equestrian sports competitions in Canada