2011 Pan American Games Primer

About 5,900 athletes from 36 sports?representing 43 disciplines, including jumping, dressage and eventing?will descend on Guadalajara, Mexico, for the 2011 Pan American Games, October 14?20. Read on for a quick brush up on the how the event evolved and what riders and horses can expect this year.

Fun Facts

  • The Pan American Games were discussed as early as 1926 as a way to strengthen sport activities in the Americas. However, the first Games were not held until 1951, partly because of World War II.
  • The first Games were in Buenos Aires, with 2,513 athletes from 14 nations. By contrast, the 2007 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had 5,633 competitors from 42 countries.
  • The competition is held every four years?the year before the Summer Olympic Games. Jumping, dressage and eventing have been included since the inaugural event. Each discipline has one individual competition and one team competition.
  • The equestrian competitions at the 2011 Pan American Games will be qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympic Games: The top two teams in dressage and eventing and the top three teams in jumping will qualify.

2011 Pan Am Equestrian Facts

Dressage

Dates: October 16?19
Location: Guadalajara Country Club
Competition: Riders will compete in the small tour (Prix St. Georges, Intermediaire I and Intermediaire I Freestyle). Team medals will be decided in the Prix St. Georges test. The top 25 pairs will qualify for the Intermediaire I test, and the top 15 pairs from that will advance to the Freestyle. Scores from the three rounds will be averaged to determine the three individual medalists.
Olympic Notes: Teams can qualify for the 2012 Olympics, but individuals can’t because the event is not at the Grand Prix level, as it is in the Olympics. The U.S. team already qualified for the Olympics at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Officials: Ground Jury President Stephen Clarke (GBR), Gabriel Armando (ARG), Cara Whitham (CAN), Liselotte Fore (USA), Raphael Saleh (FRA)
2007 Pan Am Games team results:Gold: United States, Silver: Canada, Bronze: Brazil

Eventing

Dates: October 21?23
Location: Club Hipica & Santa Sofia Golf Club
Competition: CCI**Cross-country: 37 efforts maximum; maximum fixed height: 1.15 meters
Stadium jumping:
11 obstacles; 14 efforts; maximum distance: 600 meters; speed: 350 meters/minute; height: 1.20 meters. First jumping test determines team medals; second shorter jumping test (360 to 450 meters) determines individual medals
Course Designer: John Williams (USA)
Olympic Notes: The two best-placed teams from the North American and Central/South American groups will qualify for the Olympics, but those riders must have their three-star certificate of capability.
2007 Pan Am Games team results:Gold: United States, Silver: Canada, Bronze: Brazil

Show Jumping

Dates: October 25?29
Location: Guadalajara Country Club
Competition: A first competition will count toward scores for both individual and team medals. The second competition will determine team medals and count toward individual-medal scores; it will be two rounds (with a jumpoff in case of a tie). A third competition will include two rounds. Athletes with the fewest penalties in each competition (not including penalties in the second competition jumpoff) will be awarded individual medals.
Course Designer: Javier Fernandez (MEX)
2007 Pan Am Games team results:Gold: Brazil, Silver: Canada, Bronze: United States

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