The individual show jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 2004 Summer Olympics, was held from 22 to 27 August 2004 in the Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Markopoulo in the Attica region of Greece. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 77 competitors from 27 nations. Each nation could send up to 4 riders. Cian O'Connor of Ireland initially received the gold medal, but that medal was stripped from him due to doping. After his disqualification, the event was won by Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. Silver went to Chris Kappler of the United States, with bronze to Marco Kutscher of Germany.
Gem Twist was a world champion American Thoroughbred show jumping horse registered under the name Icey Twist. Bred by equestrian Frank Chapot, Gem Twist had an incredible career at the Grand Prix level. The gelding is the only horse to have won the "American Grand Prix Association Horse of the Year" title three times, and is regarded as one of the best show-jumpers in history. Two genetic clones of Gem Twist were subsequently foaled after Gem's 2006 death: the first named Gemini, and later a second named Murka's Gem.
Anne Kindig Kursinski is an American showjumper and two-time Olympic silver medalist in team jumping, at Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996. Representing the United States, she was a member of five Olympic teams, forty-seven Nations Cup teams, and three World Equestrian Games teams. In 2017, she was inducted into the Showjumping Hall of Fame.
Brentina is an Olympic-level dressage horse ridden by Debbie McDonald. She is owned by E. Parry Thomas.
Chris Kappler is an American show jumper and horse trainer. He is an Olympic gold and silver medalist, and the winner of over 100 Grand Prixs. He is a founder of the North American Riders Group.
Joseph "Joe" Halpin Fargis IV is an American showjumper and Olympic champion. Fargis won showjumping individual gold and team gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He won showjumping team silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the owner of Sandron Farm.
Peter Wylde is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion.
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.
McLain Ward is an American show jumping competitor and four-time Olympic medalist.
Bertalan de Némethy was a cavalry officer in Hungary and later became the show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team. He was influential in developing riding and training methods used by show jumpers today.
Laura Kraut is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion.
Leslie Burr-Howard is an American equestrian and an Olympic champion in showjumping. She won team gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, as well as team silver at the 1999 Winnipeg Pan American Games.
Authentic, nicknamed "Bud", is a Dutch Warmblood gelding that used to compete in show jumping. He has won three Olympic medals and two World Equestrian Games medals. He is owned by Abigail Wexner, and was ridden by Olympic medalist Beezie Madden. Authentic is a bay with a star and snip and stands 16.1 hands high. He was retired from competition in 2009 and is now in Cazanovia, NY, at the Madden's farm.
Georgina Leigh Bloomberg is the owner of the equestrian team New York Empire, a professional equestrian, and a philanthropist. She is the daughter of Susan Brown and Michael Bloomberg – former New York City mayor, founder of Bloomberg LP.
Francis Davis "Frank" Chapot was an American equestrian who competed at six consecutive Olympic Games - from 1956 to 1976 - and won two silver medals in team show jumping, at Rome 1960 and Munich 1972. Chapot was chef d'equipe of the American equestrian team from 1980 to 2004, leading them to their first Olympic team gold at Los Angeles 1984. Additionally, he coached the American show jumping team from 1968 until his retirement in 2005. Chapot is also known for breeding and training Gem Twist, a champion showjumper named World's Best Horse in 1990. In later life, Chapot became a jump course designer and judge. In 2001, he was awarded the United States Equestrian Federation's Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to horse sport.
André Thieme is a German rider who competes in show jumping.
Peter Leone is an American equestrian. He won a silver medal in team show jumping at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, together with Leslie Burr-Howard, Anne Kursinski and Michael R. Matz.Leone trained with many prominent horsemen including Bertlan DeNemethy, Frank Chapot, George Morris, and Michael Matz. After completing a successful junior career, Peter won the International Jumping Derby in Newport, Rhode Island, then regarded as the most challenging show jumping event in the nation. In 1982, he helped the United States finish fourth in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. Together with his two brothers Armand and Mark, he was named the 1984 Horseman of the Year by the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board in the United States of America.
Andres Rodríguez was a Venezuelan businessman and an international show jumping competitor. He travelled between Caracas, Paris, and Florida. Rodriguez trained with rider and coach Eddie Macken. His achievements included the team silver medal at the 2005 Bolivarian Games, the team bronze medal at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, an individual silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games of Toronto, and subsequent qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Rodriguez entered the world top 50 for the first time in August 2015, and the subsequent series of results enabled him to be world no. 42 in the Longines rankings of October 2015 and no. 2 in the Latin America rankings.
Flim Flam was a Hanoverian dressage horse who, along with rider Sue Blinks, competed for the United States at the 2000 Olympics. The pair was eighth in the individual competition and was part of the bronze medal-winning US team. Flim Flam was sired by the stallion Wilhelm Tell I, out of the mare, Cilia.
HH Azur is a horse ridden by McLain Ward. The duo competed at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016 and earned 9th place individually as well as earning a team silver medal. The pair also went on to win the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final and have won many other notable classes.
