| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Equestrian | ||
Representing  Great Britain | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 1968 Mexico City | Team eventing |
| European Championships | ||
| 1967 Punchestown | Team eventing |
| 1969 Haras-du-Pin | Team eventing |
 | 1965 Moscow | Team eventing |
Reuben "Ben" Jones (born 19 October 1932 in Newport, Shropshire, England; died 3 January 1990 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) was a British Olympic equestrian rider who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. [1]
Jones was part of the British team that travelled to Tokyo in 1964 to compete in team eventing. Eventing is an equestrian event which comprises dressage, cross-country and show jumping. Other team members were Michael Bullen, Richard Meade, and James Templar. The team was eliminated out of medal contention. [2] Jones finished ninth on an individual basis [1] riding a horse called The Poacher.[ citation needed ] He was the first non-commissioned officer to compete for Great Britain in the equestrian portion of the Olympic Games. [1]
Jones and the team from Great Britain at the 1968 Summer Olympics won the gold medal in the team eventing equestrian event. Teammates for the 1968 win were Derek Allhusen, Jane Bullen, and Richard Meade. [3] Jones finished fifth on an individual basis that year. Jones also won gold medals in 1967 and 1969 at the European Championships as part of the British team. [1]
Jones was an accomplished horseman; as a young man his ambition was to become a jockey, but he was too tall. He chose to join the army as a way to work with horses.
Jones was a sergeant of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, in charge of equitation. In 1968, he was posted to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps; after his commission he was transferred to the General Service Corps at Melton Mowbray. There he was in charge of training at the RAVC remount depot. After retirement, he died in 1990 aged 57 while training a young horse. [1]
In Newport there is a residential street named "Ben Jones Avenue" after him.
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years on leap years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent Games were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place.
The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.
Equestrian competitions at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico featured team and individual competitions in show jumping, eventing, and dressage. Mexico City proved a challenging site since it was 2,300 meters above sea level, resulting in 30% less oxygen in the air. The horses at the 1955 Pan American Games, which was also held in Mexico City, arrived a few weeks before the Games to adjust, but had difficulty in the competition. However, racehorses that competed at the same location and who were shipped in the day before, and left the day after the race, performed fine. It was discovered that although horses would adjust immediately to the high altitude during the first few days after arrival, they showed weakness and decreased performance around Day 10, which continued to Day 20. Therefore, nations were advised to ship in horses 3–4 weeks before the competition, which would allow them time to recover from the long travel, as well as adjust to the difference in altitude. Argentina, Ireland, and the USSR were the first to ship horses over, who arrived mid-September. France and Germany were the last countries to send their horses, who arrived 28 September 20 days before the competition was to start.
James E. Day was a Canadian Olympic equestrian show jumping champion and Thoroughbred horse trainer.
The equestrian events at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich included show jumping, dressage and eventing. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The equestrian competitions were held at 3 sites: an existing equestrian facility at Riem for the individual show jumping and eventing competitions, the Olympic Stadium in Munich for the Nations Cup, and Nymphenburg, a Baroque palace garden, for the sold-out dressage. 179 entries, including 31 women, competed from 27 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, German Democratic Republic (GDR), France, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. The youngest participant was Kurt Maeder from Switzerland at 19 years old, while the oldest rider was Lorna Johnstone from Great Britain at 70 years old.
The equestrian events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo included show jumping, dressage and eventing. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 16 to 24 October 1964. These events took place at Karuizawa, which would become the first city to host Summer and Winter Olympic event when it hosted the curling events for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
James William George Roycroft, OBE was an Australian Olympic equestrian champion. He grew up on a dairy farm and learnt to ride horses there. After serving in the army in World War II, he moved with his family to a soldier's block in western Victoria near Camperdown, where he raised his three sons, all of whom went on to compete alongside their father in the Olympics. At his first Olympics, the 1960 Rome Games, he played a key role on the final day of the team three-day event, despite being thrown off his horse the day before, allowing Australia to win the gold medal in the competition. He went on to compete in four more Olympics from 1964 to 1976, winning bronze medals in team eventing at the 1968 Mexico City and 1976 Montreal Games. He later served as coach of the Australian eventing team.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 225 competitors, 175 men and 50 women, took part in 133 events in 16 sports. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games.
Matthew Morgan "Matt" Ryan, OAM is an Olympic-level equestrian rider. He is a triple Olympic gold medalist who competed for Australia. Matt has three older brothers, including the internationally successful eventer and dressage rider, Heath Ryan. In 1984. he travelled to Britain to train with the great Richard Meade, before returning home the following year, and then went back to the UK in 1989 to set up a stable.
The individual show jumping was an equestrian event held as part of the Equestrian at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. The event was held on 24 October. There were 46 competitors from 17 nations. Each nation could have up to three riders. The event was won by Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, the first rider to win two gold medals in individual jumping; he did so 12 years apart, with his first in 1952. It was France's third gold medal in the event overall, moving out of a tie with Italy at two for most all-time. Hermann Schridde, representing the United Team of Germany, took silver. Great Britain earned its second consecutive bronze in the event, this time with Peter Robeson taking the honors.
The modern pentathlon at the 1964 Summer Olympics was represented by two events : Individual competition and Team competition. As usual in Olympic modern pentathlon, one competition was held and each competitor's score was included to the Individual competition event results table and was also added to his teammates' scores to be included to the Team competition event results table. This competition consisted of 5 disciplines:
Major Derek Swithin Allhusen, CVO was an English equestrian who was a 54-year-old grandfather when he rode Lochinvar to team gold and individual silver medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico.
Richard John Hannay Meade was Britain's most successful male equestrian at the Olympics. He was a triple Olympic gold medalist and the first British rider to win an individual Olympic title. He also won five World Championship medals, including team golds in 1970 and 1982.
Henri Chammartin was a Swiss equestrian who won an individual gold medal in dressage at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
John Michael Plumb is an American equestrian and Olympic champion who competes in the sport of three-day eventing. He holds the title of the US Olympic competitor who has competed in the greatest number of Olympics, winning two team gold medals, three team silvers and one individual silver.
Jane Mary Elizabeth Holderness-Roddam is a British event rider, winning Badminton Horse Trials in 1968 and 1978. She also won Burghley Horse Trials in 1976, and competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, winning team gold for Great Britain, alongside Richard Meade, Reuben Jones and Derek Allhusen.
Gustav Fischer was a Swiss equestrian athlete who competed at five Summer Olympic Games, winning a total of five medals. He won medals in the team dressage events in the 1952, 1956, 1964, and 1968 games; there was no team dressage event held in 1960, but he won an individual dressage medal in that year.
Kevin John Freeman was an American equestrian who competed at three Olympic Games, winning silver medals in team eventing in 1964, 1968, and 1972.
Jack Louis Joseph Marie Le Goff was a French equestrian, best known as the coach of the American three-day eventing team from 1970 to 1984. He coached the team to multiple international championships, winning 18 international medals, including several in the Olympics. Le Goff is known for having a large impact on the American eventing world, and the era in which he coached has been called the golden era for American equestrianism.
The individual show jumping at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place on 23 October. The event was open to men and women. There were 42 competitors from 15 nations. Each nation was limited to three riders. The event was won by William Steinkraus of the United States, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. Marion Coakes of Great Britain was the first female rider to win a medal in individual jumping, taking silver. Great Britain also earned its third consecutive bronze medal in the event, with David Broome earning his second to become the fifth person to win multiple medals in the event.
Jennie Loriston-Clarke MBE is a British equestrian. She competed at the 1972, 1976, 1984 and the 1988 Summer Olympics. After her riding career, Loriston-Clarke was active as an international Eventing and Dressage judge on 4* level and as Technical Delegate.
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