Individual, Men

The eventing endurance course was separated into five sections, with the total course covering 34.36 km. The course was noted to be almost ridiculously difficult and it cost the lives of two horses. In addition, the Roma organizers did not provide adequate veterinary care. The Danish horse Rolf II was badly injured and bleeding. Rolf II had been trapped after a fall in a ditch, and was rescued by Italian Piero D’Inzeo, who was not competing in the event, but D’Inzeo sent for ropes and a block and tackle to pull the horse from the ditch, taking ½-an-hour to remove him. He lay bleeding for almost 2½ hours before a veterinarian appeared to help him. His rider, Poul Erik Bæk, tenderly placed the horse’s head on his saddle, and he and spectators covered Rolf II with a blanket and gave him ice cubes while they waited.

This was better than what happened to the Romanian horse Mures II, who somehow finished the course despite a fatal injury, dying shortly after he crossed the line, but the OCOG did not have this contingency planned for and Mures II lay there for hours before he was removed.

In this setting the results of the competition become secondary. It was won by Australia’s Lawrence Morgan, with the silver going to his teammate Neale Lavis.