The British Olympic eventing team for the Tokyo Games has been named.
The selected three riders are:
- Laura Collett with Karen Bartlett, Keith Scott’s and her own London 52 (groom: Matilda Sayburn-Hughes)
- Tom McEwen with Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and his mother Ali’s Toledo De Kerser (groom: Francesca Gorni)
- Oliver Townend with Karyn Schuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan’s Ballaghmor Class (groom: Jess McKie)
The alternate is:
- Piggy March with John and Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn’s Brookfield Inocent (groom: Amy Phillips)
UPDATE: on 19 July, it was announced that Piggy and Brookfield Inocent would not be travelling to Japan and would be replaced as alternates by Ros Canter with her own and Caroline Moore’s Allstar B (groom Sarah Charnley).
The non-travelling reserves are as per the nominated entries list.
The Olympic eventing competition starts with the first horse inspection on Thursday, 29 July, followed by the dressage on Friday 30 and Saturday, 31 July. The cross-country is on Sunday, 1 August and the showjumping on Monday, 2 August.
All of the squad riders make their Olympic debuts.
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British Olympic eventing team: more about the riders
Laura Collett has ridden at three senior European Championships as an individual but has yet to win a senior medal, although she was a multi-medalled rider in ponies, juniors and young riders. She and London 52 won the five-star at Pau Horse Trials last autumn.
Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser were on the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 WEG and won the unofficial British final trial at Bicton Horse Trials. They are also five-star winners, having triumphed at Pau in 2019.
Oliver Townend has won two five-stars on Ballaghmor Class, Burghley Horse Trials in 2017 and Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2021. He has won four European team medals – team gold in 2007 and 2009 (both on Flint Curtis), gold in 2017 (Cooley SRS) and silver in 2019 (Cooley Master Class).
Piggy March has won European individual silver (2009 on Some Day Soon), team bronze (2011 on Jakata) and team silver (2019 on Quarrycrest Echo), as well as world team gold (2018 on Quarrycrest Echo) in her previous championship appearances. She was second in the five-star at Pau last autumn on Brookfield Inocent.
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