Team, Open

The United States came in as the defending champions and led after the first round, tied with Switzerland. Canada was fourth after round one, but moved up in round two and tied the United States with 20 faults, as Switzerland dropped back and would settle for the bronze medal. This was the second time that the team jumping required a jump-off at the Olympics, the first time occurring in 2004. The first three American riders – McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, and Will Simpson – went clear, giving the US a team score of 0.00 for the jump-off. Canada had only three riders, after Mac Cone’s horse Ole was injured and could not compete. When Canadian Jill Henselwood missed an obstacle, the gold medal went to the United States. Canada was led by Ian Millar, who was competing in his ninth Olympics, which tied the Olympic best held by Austrian sailor Hubert Raudaschl. This was Millar’s first medal, and he would return in 2012 and compete at his 10th Olympic Games, a record.

Switzerland won the bronze medal, as noted, but originally Norway had finished ahead of them. However, Norway was disqualified when Tony André Hansen’s horse Camiro tested positive for capsaicin, a topical anti-inflammatory medication often applied to horses’ legs so they do not hurt when they hit obstacles. Without his scores, Norway dropped to eighth place. Germany was also affected by drug controls when Christian Ahlmann’s horse, Cöster, also tested positive for capsaicin. Two years later another German, Marco Kutscher, would be disqualified for a positive doping test in the event, which meant that Germany did not officially have three riders finish the course in either round, although they had originally tied the Netherlands for fourth place.