Above: Equestrian Park in Tokyo.

In just over three week’s time, the much-awaited Jumping program at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be underway and we thought it was time to have a look at what we can look forward to during the first week of August.

A couple of weeks ago ESNZ announced the team (click HERE), however, this week it was announced that an injury had necessitated a change to the team (click HERE).

Last week, Bruce Goodin and Backatorps Danny V wrapped up their competitive preparations by producing some solid results competing in Italy at Gorla Minore, while Daniel Meech and Cinca 3 were competing in St Tropez in France. Uma O’Neill and the stallion Clockwise of Greenhill Z were last seen competing at FEI level at Upperville in the USA in mid-June

With the Withdrawal of Sharn Wordley and and Verdini D’Houtveld Z, Tom Tarver and Popeye will now head to Tokyo to act as the travelling reserve

The Olympic Competition will be run differently in Tokyo than any previous competition. For the first time in Olympic Jumping history, there will only be three combinations representing each team. This means that there will be no drop-score, so the pressure will be on each and every combination in the competition. One slip up and more than likely the chances of a medal will be dashed. Also, in a change from previous Olympics, the individual competition will be held prior to the team competition.

The Olympic Jumping program is scheduled to run in the second week of the games. The venue for the Jumping competition will be the very aptly named ‘Equestrian Park’, which was the venue used for the Jumping competition at the 1964 Tokyo Games, which was also the first time that New Zealand had a team in the Jumping competition at the Olympics.

The Individual Jumping Competition will be held on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 August. On the first day, 75 of the best combinations in the world (including the three New Zealand combinations) will compete, with the top 30 placed combinations qualifying to come back the following evening to compete for the medals.

After a rest day, the Teams Competition commences on Friday 6 August. There will be 20 teams involved, each of three combinations, with aggregate scores determining the placings. The top 10 teams will return the following evening, Saturday 7 August to battle it out for the medals.

The action commences at 7pm each night Tokyo time, which means 10pm starts for us in New Zealand.

We understand that Sky TV has confirmed that TVNZ will be its free-to-air partner for the Tokyo Olympics and that there will be a combination of live-streaming and broadcasts across 12 high- definition channels and streaming platforms. However, we suggest that you do your own research to make sure you don’t mis out on the best way to watch what promises to be a spectacular and exciting Jumping program.

With less than three weeks remaining now until the Jumping competition starts we are looking forward to the anticipation building and the opportunity to cheer on our New Zealand Team.