Heath Ryan’s Paris Eventing guide: They’re in the starting gates!

Main image: Shane Rose and Virgil, by FEI/Benjamin Clark.

Inside Paris | Presented by International Horse Breeders

The draw is up and the dye is cast.

Australia’s order of go is:

5.36pm AEST Shane Rose riding Virgil (Vivant x North Pole xx, by Distinctly North)
8.30pm AEST Kevin McNab riding Don Quidam (Quidam x Nairoby, by Amethist)
12.24am AEST Chris Burton riding Shadow Man (Fidjy of Colors x Favorite van de Keezerswinning, by Winningmood)

We have drawn number 2 out of 16 in the Teams competition. Not a great draw! At least it is better than the Germans who have drawn number 1.

First to go and ice breaking for Australia is Shane Rose and Virgil. For this position you need a super tough competitor, super reliable under pressure, needs to be competitive right from the get-go and yet capable of handling unexpected influencing factors in each of the phases. Don’t worry, these unexpected torpedos will be there. They are coming!! In the Dressage, the early riders in a competition are traditionally marked a little more toughly by the judges as the judges settle down and hit their straps. It’s just a human phenomena. Suck it up!! Shane Rose and Virgil are born for this ice breaking position and Australia has a top of the range gladiator going out for us in Shane and Virgil at 5.36pm (AEST) this afternoon. You have to watch this legend of a partnership and support them with everything you have.

Chris Burton and Shadow Man. Image by FEI/Benjamin Clark.

Australia is probably ranked in third team place or bronze medal before the competition starts.

Heath’s top 10 team rankings:

1. Great Britain

2. Germany

3. Australia

4. France

5. Japan

6. USA

7. New Zealand

8. Ireland

9. Switzerland

10. Belgium

To be in a team medal each rider has to finish the three-day event with less than 30 penalties. That means from the start a rider needs to score 70% as a minimum in the Dressage phase.

Better than 70% is what we are all hoping for tonight from our Australian riders. That equates to less than 30 penalties.

Shane Rose and Virgil have previously scored 71.9% or in penalty terms, 28.1 penalties. Despite being second out, we need Shane and Virgil to do a personal best.

Kevin McNab and Don Quidam have a personal best dressage score of 74.3% or in penalty terms, 25.7 penalties. We need Kevin McNab and Don Quidam to step up tonight and equal their personal best dressage score.

We would be delighted with 78% from Chris Burton and Shadow Man tonight. I just think it might be achievable. Shadow Man has never done a score like this, but he is on an improving graph where he is already breaking personal best scores. A 78% would be a PB and in penalty terms would represent 22 penalties. This would leave Chris and Shadow Man really threatening an individual gold medal and blazing a pathway through for a team medal, maybe even gold. Goddamn we need Chris Burton and Shadow Man to come good, I mean really good!!

Two British riders are going to battle out the number one dressage score at Paris. Rosalind Canter on Lordships Graffalo (Birkhof’s Grafenstolz TSF x Cornish Queen, by Rock King) has a personal best score of 21.3 penalties or 78.7%. Laura Collett on London 52 (Landos x Vernante, by Quinar Z) has a personal best score of 19.3 penalties or 80.7%. If these two girls are on form this makes the British team almost invincible.

The only other dressage challenger will be Michael Jung from Germany on Chipmunk FRH (Contendro I x Havanna, by Heraldik) who has a record of scoring 19.4 penalties or 80.6%. Michael Jung is so so steady and so so good. This is going to be one hell of a performance.

The above two British girls, Laura Collett and Rosalind Canter and then the German rider, Michael Jung, are right now the three that will go head-to-head for the individual gold medal. The three of them are just amazing.