Heike Holsten to get Irish Olympic Equestrian campaign underway this weekend

  • 23 July 2021, 16:15

The draw has been made for the opening equestrian competitions at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where Heike Holsten and her Irish-bred mare Sambuca will be the first Irish combination in action at 9.36am Irish time Sunday morning in the Dressage competition. From the 60 competitors that take part in the opening Grand Prix, the top 18 will qualify for the individual final on Wednesday (July 28th) after which the individual Dressage medals will be presented.

Ireland’s Heike Holstein with Sambuca during the Dressage 1st horse inspection at the Equestrian Park during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Pierre Costabadie/Sportsfile

The Irish Eventing team of Sam Watson, Cathal Daniels, Sarah Ennis and Austin O’Connor (reserve), managed by Sally Corscadden, are among the teams tipped to be in medal contention and they get their Olympic campaign underway on Friday (July 30th) with the opening Dressage phase. This will be followed by Cross Country on Sunday August 1st before the Eventing team and individual Olympic medals are decided following the jumping phase on Monday August 2nd.

The Irish Show Jumping team arrive in Tokyo as some peoples favourites to challenge for the team gold medal. Michael Blake’s team of Bertram Allen, Darragh Kenny, Cian O’Connor and Shane Sweetnam (reserve) will first compete in the individual competition on Tuesday August 3rd, with 30 of the 75 starters set to qualify for the individual final on Wednesday August 4th. The first round of the Show Jumping team competition takes place on Friday August 6th, with 10 of the 20 teams looking to book a place in the team final on Saturday August 7th.

Where To Watch

RTE are the official Olympic broadcaster for Ireland and will show the Games on RTE TV and on the RTE Player. You will also find comprehensive coverage on BBC TV, BBC Red Button and on Eurosport TV.

You can view the Equestrian timetable for the Tokyo Olympic Games HERE

For a full detailed guide to Irish Equestrian participation at the Games click HERE