Tokyo was selected as the host city of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 7 September 2013 during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Paralympic Games were originally scheduled to take place from 25 August to 6 September 2020, but as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, on 24 March 2020 the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games (TOCOG) announced in a joint statement that the event would be moved to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021. The Games would however retain the Tokyo 2020 name.
This was an unprecedented decision to safeguard the health of the athletes, all those involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the international community.
The Para Dressage events were held from 26 to 30 August 2021.
Given the Covid-19 pandemic was still in full force in 2021, strict public health measures were put in place.
The stringent Covid-19 biosecurity protocols were released for use by all the Paralympic stakeholders. In addition to standard measures, such as practicing social distancing, hygiene, and wearing of face masks, the Paralympic visitors were restricted from visiting bars, restaurants, shops, and other tourist areas or using public transport. They were to remain in strictly delimited bubbles separated from the local population.
The use of apps tracking the participants’ geolocation and their health status was compulsory as was regular testing.
Athletes were required to arrive up to five days prior to the start of the competition and to leave within 48 hours of being eliminated from their sport or the conclusion of the competitions.
The most symbolic measure was perhaps the fact that no spectators – international or local – were allowed into the venues.
The IPC praised the “phenomenal” work accomplished by TOCOG to stage historic Olympic and Paralympic Games in the midst of a global health crisis.
The equestrian competitions were held at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park, owned and run by the Japan Racing Association (JRA), the national Thoroughbred racing authority.
Opened in 1940, the Equestrian Park was created to provide training for riders and horses, and to host equestrian competitions as well as educational and training programmes. The venue was scheduled to host the equestrian competitions at the 1940 Olympic Games which were cancelled due to World War II. It was a natural choice for the equestrian events at the Olympic Games that were held in Tokyo in 1964. The Equestrian Park is part of Tokyo 2020’s Heritage Zone of venues and has been completely refurbished for the 2020 edition.
The JRA had worked towards the development and preparation of the Equestrian Park, not just with the delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in mind, but also with a view to boosting the long term development of the sport. Post Paralympic Games, it has ambitious plans to create pathways and programmes that allow riders engaged in therapeutic programmes to gradually move into Para Dressage competition. There are currently only a few therapeutic riding clubs in the Japan and the JRA is looking into putting in place the necessary structures that will allow these programmes to develop across the country.
Tokyo is renowned for its hot and humid summers, which can have adverse effects on the athletes’ and horses’ health and performance. To allow the equine and human athletes to optimise their performance in the Tokyo climate, comprehensive heat and humidity protocols were put in place by the FEI and TOCOG.
To assist the National Federations, the FEI provided athletes with practical advice and produced a series of educational Beat the Heat videos.
Comprehensive heat countermeasures were put in place for horses, these included, among others, air-conditioned stables; training and competitions scheduled for early morning and evening; constant monitoring of current and forecast climatic conditions; constant and close monitoring of horses by a world-class veterinary team; multiple cooling facilities; monitoring horses in work using thermal imaging cameras; and many others.
Heat countermeasures, such as provision of shade, special cooling areas, water, and rest periods were also made available to the human athletes, their entourage as well as the officials and volunteers.
For the third Olympic Games in succession, all human and equine samples taken during the equestrian competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games returned negative.
Australia (AUS), Austria (AUT), Belgium (BEL), Brazil (BRA), Canada (CAN), Czech Republic (CZE), Denmark (DEN), Finland (FIN), France (FRA), Great Britain (GBR), Germany (GER), Hong Kong (HKG), Ireland (IRL), Italy (ITA), Japan (JPN), Saudi Arabia (KSA), Latvia (LAT), Mexico (MEX), the Netherlands (NED), Norway (NOR), Portugal (POR), Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), South Africa (RSA), Singapore (SGP), Switzerland (SUI), Sweden (SWE), United States of America (USA).
AUS, AUT, BEL, CAN, DEN, FRA, GBR, GER, IRL, ITA, JPN, NED, RPC, SGP, USA.
BRA, CZE, FIN, HKG, KSA, LAT, MEX, NOR, POR, RSA, SUI, SWE.
Saudi Arabia sent its first Para Equestrian Athlete to a Paralympic Games. Ahmed Sharbatly, who competed in his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo, is the cousin of Jumping athlete Abdullah Al-Sharbatly, who won Jumping team bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Heidemarie Dresing (GER) was the oldest Para Equestrian Athlete competing at the Paralympic
Games in Tokyo 2020. Born on 24 June 1955 (66 years old at the time of the Games), Dresing ranked fourth in the FEI Para Dressage World Individual Ranking for Grade II before the Games and made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo.
Born on 20 May 2003 (18 years old at the time of the Games), Carola Semperboni (ITA) was the youngest athlete.
Para Dressage is the only equestrian discipline included in the Paralympic Games, where it has been a regular fixture since 1996. Athletes are classified in five Grades according to the level of their impairment so as to provide for meaningful competition.
Team and Individual medals are contested over three competitions per Grade: Individual, Team, and Freestyle. Teams are made up of three Athletes with all scores to count, but each nation can send up to four Individual Athletes competing across the Grades. 11 sets of medals were awarded across the five Grades – five Individual, five Freestyle and one overall Team medal.
Roxanne Trunnell (USA) became her country’s first ever Dressage gold medallist in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Para Dressage Grade I Individual Test. Riding Dolton, she scored an impressive 81.464% to take her first Paralympic title. The silver medal went to Rihards Snikus (LAT), a keen DJ known as DJ Richy Rich to his friends, who was first into the arena and laid down a challenging score of 80.179% on King of the Dance. Reigning FEI World Equestrian Games™ champion Sara Morganti (ITA), took bronze on Royal Delight with 76.964%. This medal was especially sweet for her, as her horse failed the vet inspection at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Sir Lee Pearson (GBR) collected his 12th Paralympic gold medal at his sixth Paralympic appearance since 2000 at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park, winning the Grade II Individual Test. Lee rode his home-reared Breezer to the title with a score of 76.265% to finish ahead of Pepo Puch (AUT), who rode Sailor's Blue to score 73.441%. Georgia Wilson (GBR) picked up a fairy tale of a bronze medal on Sakura, with 72.765%. She was the team’s reserve rider and was called to the Paralympic Games just two weeks prior, when her teammate Sophie Christiansen was forced to withdraw due to a veterinary issue with her horse.
As debut Games go, it’s fair to say that Tobias Thorning Jorgensen (DEN) is having a good one. In his first ever ride in a Paralympic Games arena, he won the Grade III Individual Test with a score of 78.971%, on Jolene Hill.
In doing so, he dethroned two-time Grade III Paralympic Champion, Natasha Baker (GBR), who came second on Keystone Dawn Chorus, with 76.265%. Bronze went to current World Champion Rixt van der Horst (NED) on Findsley N.O.P. with 75.765%.
Sanne Voets (NED) won the Grade IV Individual Test, the one gold medal missing from her collection of European, World and Paralympic titles. Sanne scored 76.585% on Demantur N.O.P, which was the highest score of the day, while Rodolpho Riskalla (BRA) took the silver medal on Don Henrico with 74.659%. Belgium’s Manon Claeys marked her Paralympic debut with a bronze medal, scoring 72.853% on San Dior 2.
The Individual Grade V medal went to Michele George (BEL) in just her seventh competition with Best of 8. She scored 76.524% to finish ahead of Sophie Wells (GBR) who rode her reserve horse, Don Cara .M to an impressive 74.405% in his first ever overseas competition. Frank Hosmar (NED) took the bronze on Alphaville N.O.P., with 73.405%. Michele wore the gloves and boots she had on at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games where she won the Grade V Freestyle, with a silver in the Individual Test, on the late FBW Rainman.
Great Britain claimed the Tokyo 2020 Para Dressage Team gold medal, continuing their seemingly unbreakable hold on the title which started in Atlanta 1996. The trio of Sir Lee Pearson (Grade II), Natasha Baker (Grade III) and Sophie Wells (Grade V) scored 229.905 to finish just 0.656 ahead of The Netherlands’ 229.249. And in another momentous shift in the sport, USA took the bronze medal with 224.352, making this their first Paralympic Team podium finish. This was the first time the podium had not been made up of all European teams.
Roxanne Trunnell (USA) broke the nine-year-old Grade I Paralympic Freestyle record in a stunning Freestyle competition. She scored 86.927% on Dolton to break the previous record of 84.750% set by Sophie Christiansen (GBR) in London 2012. The ever-brilliant Rihards Snikus (LAT) took his second silver in Tokyo on King of the Dance with 82.087% and third place went to Sara Morganti (ITA) on Royal Delight, with 81.100%.
Grade I was the only Grade to have three athletes with a score of over 80% on the podium.
Sir Lee Pearson (GBR) became the most successful athlete in the entire competition by taking his third gold medal of Tokyo 2020, the 14th of his Paralympic career, in the Grade II Freestyle.
His relatively inexperienced and home-bred partner, Breezer, took him to a massive 82.447% to win the title ahead of Pepo Puch (AUT) who rode Sailor’s Blue to a score of 81.007%. Meanwhile Lee’s young teammate, Georgia Wilson (GBR), added another brilliant bronze to her collection on Sakura with 76.754%, which is not a bad result for the reserve rider who was called to Tokyo as a last minute replacement for Sophie Christiansen.
Tobias Thorning Jorgensen (DEN) rode Jolene Hill to his second gold of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the Grade III Freestyle. Together they scored a massive 84.347% to take the title ahead of Natasha Baker (GBR), who finished on 77.614% on Keystone Daw Chorus. Anne Katrin Lubbe (NOR) took the bronze on La Costa Majlund with 76.477%.
Sanne Voets (NED) stormed to victory in the Grade IV Freestyle with a massive personal best score of 82.085% to win her class. Riding Demantur N.O.P. to the stirring music of Dutch artists HAEVN, she finished comfortably ahead of silver medallist Louise Etzner Jakobbson (SWE) who scored 75.935% on Goldstrike B.J. Manon Claeys (BEL) took bronze on San Dior 2 with 75.680%.
Louise’s silver was even more remarkable given that she had broken her leg falling off her bike just a couple of months prior to the Tokyo Games and had only got back on a horse two weeks before the start of the competition during the horses’ quarantine in Aachen (GER).
Michele George (BEL) was dominant again in the Grade V Freestyle, defending her London 2012 and Rio 2016 titles with aplomb. She scored 80.590% on Best of 8 to pip Frank Hosmar (NED) to the title by just 0.350 of a point. Frank, riding Alphaville N.O.P. scored 80.240% to take the silver, while Regine Mispelkamp (GER) took bronze with 76.820% on Highlander Delight’s.
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