Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Oakville, Ontario, Canada | 13 September 1980
Sport | |
Country | Canada |
Sport | Equestrian |
Event | Show jumping |
Achievements and titles | |
World finals | Tryon 2018 Herning 2022 |
Erynn Ballard (born 13 September 1980) is a Canadian show jumping competitor. [1] She represented Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon and the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning. She took also part in the 2023 World Cup Finals in Omaha. [2] [3]
Ballard has been selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris to represent the Canadian team, which will be her first appearance at the Olympic Games. [4]
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive Summer Olympic Games, since 1990. Prior to that year, all ten of the FEI's individual disciplines held separate championships, usually in separate countries. The modern WEG runs over two weeks and, like the Olympics, the location rotates to different parts of the world. Riders and horses competing at WEG go through a rigorous selection process, and each participating country sends teams that have distinguished themselves through competition as the nation's best in each respective discipline. At the 2010 Games, 57 countries were represented by 800 people and their horses.
Rodrigo de Paula Pessoa is a Brazilian equestrian specialized in show jumping. The son of fellow equestrian Nelson Pessoa, Pessoa is considered one of the most talented of his generation, being an Olympic Games gold medalist in individual jumping and having over 70 Grand Prix wins. He has represented Brazil at 8 Olympic Games second most appearances behind Ian Millar which has 10.
Equestrian sports were first included in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris. They were again included in 1912, and have been included in every subsequent edition of the Games. Currently, the Olympic equestrian disciplines are dressage, eventing, and show jumping. In each discipline, both individual and team medals are awarded. Since the XV Olympiad in Helsinki in 1952, women and men compete on equal terms.
Eva Maria "Evi" Pracht was a Canadian equestrian who competed in dressage in the 1984 Summer Olympics and was part of the bronze-medallist team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Isabell Werth is a German equestrian who has competed in dressage at seven Olympic Games —1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2024— winning the gold medal in the team event in all seven, and one gold and six silver medals in the individual event. She stands alone in having medals from seven Olympics, or across a span of 32 years; her 14 medals are the most for any German or equestrian. She also has numerous titles in the World and European Championships and World Cups.
Elizabeth Madden is an American Olympic champion equestrian competing in show jumping. She has two Olympic golds and one silver in team jumping, and an individual bronze. She won the FEI Show Jumping World Cup twice; won two silvers and two bronzes at World Championships; and won two golds, one silver and two bronzes at the Pan American Games. She was the first American to break into the international top three show jumping ranking, and the first woman to win over one million dollars in show jumping prize money.
Eric Lamaze is a Canadian showjumper and Olympic champion. He won individual gold and team silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, riding Hickstead. Lamaze has won three Olympic medals, as well as four Pan American Games medals and one World Equestrian Games bronze. He is considered one of Canada's best showjumpers. He is currently banned from participating in equestrian activities until 2027.
Benjamin Richard Maher MBE is a British show jumper. He represented Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 European Championships in Windsor, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. He won the team jumping gold at the London Olympics with Team GB, their first team jumping gold medal for 60 years, an individual gold for Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and team jumping gold again at the 2024 Paris Summer Games. That win tied him with three-day eventer Richard Meade and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin as the most successful British Olympic equestrians.
Carlos Paro is an event rider who won a team bronze medal in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007, a team silver medal in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada and an Individual Bronze and team Silver in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru in eventing for Brazil. He has competed in four Olympic games: the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin is a British dressage rider, equestrian, and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. She held the complete set of available individual elite dressage titles at one point: the individual Olympic freestyle, World freestyle and Grand Prix Special, World Cup individual dressage and European freestyle, and Grand Prix Special titles. Dujardin was the first rider to hold this complete set of titles at the same time.
Daniel Bluman is an Olympic show jumping rider. Born in Colombia, he represents Israel internationally and competed for his country of birth in the past. Bluman qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but did not compete due to a clerical error in his horse's registration. Bluman represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Palace of Versailles in individual jumping and team jumping.
Sarah Ennis is an Irish eventing rider. Representing Ireland, she has competed at two editions of World Equestrian Games. Her best achievements came at the 2018 edition of the Games, held in Tryon, North Carolina, where she won a silver medal with an Irish team and placed 5th individually.
Ashlee Bond is an Israeli Olympic show jumping rider who competes for Israel. Born in the United States, she is an Israeli citizen. She represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, coming in 11th. Bond represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in team jumping at the Palace of Versailles, and with Team Israel came in 9th.
Nayel Nassar is an Egyptian American professional equestrian. He first began riding at age five and jumping at ten. Nassar qualified for the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) Show Jumping World Cup Finals in 2013, 2014, and 2017, and the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2014. He competed at the Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Paris and regularly competes on the international Grand Prix circuit.
Katie Ann Laurie is an Australian equestrian. She competed for New Zealand in show jumping at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The equestrian events at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were run from 27 July to 6 August at the Palace of Versailles, featuring 200 riders across three disciplines for both individual and team competitions, namely dressage, eventing, and jumping. Men and women compete together on equal terms.
The 200 quota places for equestrian at the 2024 Summer Olympics were divided between the three disciplines. Teams in each discipline consisted of three horse and rider pairs; any NOC that qualified a team also received three entries in the individual competition for that discipline. NOCs that did not qualify teams could earn one individual place in dressage and jumping and up to two individual places in eventing, for a total of 15 entries in jumping and dressage and 17 for eventing. Teams qualify primarily through specific competitions, while individuals qualify through rankings. The host nation, France, automatically qualified a team in each discipline.
Amre Hamcho is a Syrian equestrian. He secured a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics, making him the country's second-ever equestrian qualified for Olympics. Hamcho has many achievements in show jumping, receiving trophies and medals throughout his career. His elder brother, Ahmad, was the first Syrian equestrian to participate in the Olympics, competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Ioli Mytilineou is a Greek equestrian competing in show jumping. She is the daughter of Olympic show jumper Hannah Roberson-Mytilinaiou. She competed at the 2022 FEI World Equestrian Games and at the 2021 and 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck and Milan. She is currently the highest ranked Greek rider in the FEI World Ranking in Show-Jumping.
Wiktoria Knap is a Polish equestrian.