August 16, 2016 
BRA-ZIL! BRA-ZIL! BRA-ZIL!
It was the chant of a few thousand Brazilian show jumping fans as riders from the host country set hoof in Deodoro Olympic Park stadium today for the 1st Team Jumping Qualifier. It was an electric atmosphere in Rio and the Brazilian riders didn’t disappoint.
Eduardo Menezes, Doda de Miranda, and Pedro Veniss posted clear trips over Guilherme Jorge’s technical course, sending the packed stadium into a frenzy of deafening applause—each round greeted more enthusiastically than the last.
“It’s unbelievable,” said de Miranda of the boisterous crowd. “You want so hard to give to the crowd a clear round. I was very, very happy.”
While it made for dramatic sport, Veniss said it was not an unexpected reaction.
“I was here in 2007 for the Pan American Games when we won the gold medal, so I have very good memories,” said the team anchor rider. “We are going to try to stay focused to do the same tomorrow.”
Brazil’s Stephan de Freitas Barcha did not fair as well as his teammates. Second to go in the order, the 26-year-old incurred eight faults on course, then was disqualified for overuse of the spurs.
As the most inexperienced rider on the team (he’d only contested two five star competitions prior to the Games), de Freitas Barcha was already a controversial choice for the Rio Games. Chef d’equipe George Morris elected to name the young rider to the Brazilian squad instead of 2004 Olympic gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa.
The top eight teams return for tomorrow’s medal round. Brazil is now tied for first on zero faults with the USA, the Netherlands, and Germany. France is hot on their heels with just a time fault on the board while Canada carries four faults into the team final. Sweden and Switzerland are behind on eight faults apiece.
We can expect an even tougher course tomorrow and a hotter day. The forecast calls for a high of 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
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