July 28, 2024 
Making the time proved to be a formidable challenge for the 64 three-day eventing competitors who braved Pierre le Goupil’s Paris Olympic Games cross-country course Sunday across the immaculate French gardens of the Château de Versailles.
Even overnight leader, Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 who put in a record-breaking 17.3 dressage score the day before, accumulated just .80 time penalties after a master-class run across the 28-fence track. That fractional addition left the door open for second-place rider Germany’s Michael Jung to inch into the lead.
Jung attacked the course with his seasoned and highly accoladed mount, Chipmunk FRH. No one has clinched three individual gold medals in eventing at the Olympic Games, but Jung is certainly in contention to do so, as he breezed through the finish flags with seconds to spare against the 9:02 optimum time.
“Every jump was easy, Chipmunk was listening and connected with me today,” said Jung. “He was so powerful galloping, I checked the time and said, ‘okay, slow down, slow down.’ It was an unbelievable feeling.”
Most riders added time penalties to their dressage scores Sunday, shaking up the leaderboard. But Australia’s Christopher Burton added no time with Shadow Man to remain in third on his dressage score of 22. Collett dropped to second on an 18.3 score ahead of show jumping Monday.
“It was amazing. The crowds are unbelievable from start to finish and it was such a buzz. London 52 is just a horse of a lifetime and incredible,” Collett said after her ride. “He lost a front shoe quite early on so I had to be careful around the tight turns, but it shows what a good horse he is.”
Great Britain remains in No. 1 team position going into the final day of competition after Tom McEwen with JL Dublin went double-clear on cross-country. But it wasn’t without controversy—Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo picked up 15 penalties for a fallen flag on course, significantly shortening their lead over the No. 2 team, France. It’s possible the penalties could be removed after further review.
The elimination of rider Christopher Wahler after a fall from Carjatan S on course has taken Germany out of podium contention. In third place is Japan.
American riders made it home on cross-country and will live to fight another day. Olympic rookie Caroline Pamukcu received 32 penalties with HSH Blake after some trouble at the ditch. She is in 47th place.
“The course was riding like a dream and then I came to that bank and fell in the ditch, so I did the smartest option and going long by jumping the different element,” Pamukcu explained. “When you fall into a ditch like that, you only have a couple of options. I’m riding for the team, I did the best option I could in the moment.
“I’m disappointed I had to slow down after that option. He was really on it, and answered all the the questions. Going long cost me,” she continued. “He’s fearless. He trust me 100%.”
Boyd Martin and Fedarman B added just 1.60 time penalties to end the day on 32.10 in 17th place. Liz Halliday and Nutcraker added 6 time penalties to have a score of 34 going into show jumping Monday in 22nd place.
Five riders were eliminated Sunday, which included at least three falls on course. All horses and riders were reported in good health at the end of competition and ahead of the final jog inspection before Monday’s show jumping competition.
Catch up on the full results after day two of eventing here.
Next up:
On Monday, July 29:
Show Jumping Team: 11 a.m. GMT+2 / 5 a.m. – 7 a.m. EST
Show Jumping Individual (top 25): 3 p.m. GMT+2 / 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. EST
* For U.S. viewers, all Olympic coverage is available via NBC or Peacock.
The Olympic format:
The Paris Games is a 5-star short test, which runs over three days. Individual and team competitions run during the same schedule. Three members make up a team with no drop score.
The top 25 individual riders qualify to compete in a second show jumping round (which takes place after the team show jumping round), which will determine individual scoring. That means top 25 riders who are also on a team will jump twice on the last day of competition.
