Equestrian at the 1948 Summer Olympics

The Equestrian Events at the 1948 London Summer Olympics included Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from August 9, 1948 to August 14, 1948, with the first 5 days held in the military complex at Aldershot, the endurance day on the army grounds of Aldershot at Tweseldown, and the jumping at the Olympic Stadium in Wembley. World War II resulted in a greatly reduced number of competitors, including the absence of Germany, although Brazil made its first appearance in the equestrian events. 108 entries from 17 nations (Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA) competed. The youngest participant was Aecio Coelho from Brazil at 23 years old, while the oldest rider was the Italian Alessandro, Count Bettoni Cazzago, at 55 years old.

The Disciplines

Tweseldown racecourse, site of the endurance day of eventing at the 1948 Olympics

Jumping

44 riders from 15 nations contested the 16-obstacle/19-jumping effort course. The 870 meter course had fences up to 1.60 meters in height, and was very slippery due to heavy rains during the week. One round of jumping was used for both team and individual competition.

Dressage

The dressage event had 19 riders from 9 nations. Since World War II had made training dressage horses hard, the difficulty of the test was reduced and only asked for 13 minutes of work with neither piaffe nor passage included. Only 3 judges were used rather than the traditional 5. Horses were also required to be ridden in an English saddle with a double bridle. They were not allowed to use martingales, bearing reins, bandages, gaiters or blinkers.

Eventing

45 riders for 16 countries rode in the eventing competition. Like the dressage competition, the requirements of the eventing were reduced. This included a shortened (3500 meter) steeplechase, lowering the speed of the roads and tracks phases from 240 to 220 meters/minute, and a shortened cross-country course at 33.5 km (compared to Berlin's 36 km course in 1936). The maximum height of both the cross-country and jumping were raised from 1.15 to 1.20 meters. The ground and terrain of the course were also challenging, taking place over difficult footing on a hilly course.

Medal summary

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Individual dressage	Hans Moser and Hummer (SUI)	André Jousseaume and Harpagon (FRA)	Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern, Jr. and Trumf (SWE)
Team dressage	France (FRA) André Jousseaume and Harpagon Jean Saint-Fort Paillard and Sous les Ceps Maurice Buret and Saint Quen	United States (USA) Robert Borg and Klingson Earl Foster Thomson and Pancraft Frank Henry and Reno Overdo	Portugal (POR) Fernando Paes and Matamas Francisco Valadas and Feitiço Luís Mena e Silva and Fascinante
Individual eventing	Bernard Chevallier and Aiglonne (FRA)	Frank Henry and Swing Low (USA)	Robert Selfelt and Claque (SWE)
Team eventing	United States (USA) Frank Henry and Swing Low Charles Anderson and Reno Palisade Earl Foster Thomson and Reno Rhythm	Sweden (SWE) Robert Selfelt and Claque Olof Stahre and Komet Sigurd Svensson and Dust	Mexico (MEX) Humberto Mariles Cortés and Parral Raúl Campero and Tarahumara Joaquín Solano and Malinche
Individual Jumping	Humberto Mariles Cortés and Arete (MEX)	Rubén Uriza and Hatuey (MEX)	Jean-François d'Orgeix and Sucre de Pomme (FRA)
Team jumping	Mexico (MEX) Humberto Mariles Cortés and Arete Rubén Uriza and Hatuey Alberto Valdés and Chihuahua	Spain Spain (ESP) Jaime García and Bizarro José Navarro Morenes and Quórum Marcellino Gavilán and Forajido	Great Britain (GBR) Harry Llewellyn and Foxhunter Henry Nicoll and Kilgeddin Arthur Carr and Monty

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	France (FRA)	2	1	1	4
	Mexico (MEX)	2	1	1	4
3	United States (USA)	1	2	0	3
4	Switzerland (SUI)	1	0	0	1
5	Sweden (SWE)	0	1	2	3
6	Spain Spain (ESP)	0	1	0	1
7	Great Britain (GBR)	0	0	1	1
	Portugal (POR)	0	0	1	1

References

• International Olympic Committee medal database