Jim Dunn, pictured left, recently received the OAM in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. I wonder whether the celebrations were put on hold till the all important decision regarding selection of the 2004 Athens Olympic Eventing Team, as Jim has the unenviable task of being Chairman of Selectors for what could go down as the most important decision in Eventing Olympic history as Australia looks to come home with their 4th in a row Gold medals in this discipline.

Nominations will be submitted to the AOC once any appeals against non-nomination are received and finalised. Riders that have missed out on a nomination have until 11am on Thursday, 01 July 2004 to lodge their intention to appeal.

The combinations to be nominated to the Australian Olympic Committee for selection in the 2004 team are:

Olivia Bunn and GV Top of the Line
Phillip Dutton and Nova Top
Andrew Hoy and Mr Pracatan
Rebel Morrow and Oaklea Groover
Stuart Tinney and Jeepster

The following reserve horses and riders, plus the above named team, will be attending team training camp with the Australian-based horses and riders traveling to England on 17 July and being joined by the UK and USA based team and reserve horse and riders in a final team camp in Marlborough on 01August.:

Claudia Graham and Diamond B Vogue
Sam Griffiths and Private Colin
Andrew Hoy and Moonfleet or Master Monarch
Sammi McLeod and Enchanted
Matt Ryan and Bonza Puzzle
Stuart Tinney and Carrera

No doubt there will be many "armchair critics" around the world reading this list and asking why one rider is on and another left off but I also have no doubt that the Selectors have thought long and hard about the two lists and will have good reason for every ommision and inclusion.

jumpingaround.com were privelaged to be invited to view the Irish Olympic Team training last week and it was interesting hearing the reasoning behind some of the decisions made - now these may be "blatantly obvious" to those officianados of eventing" but it was something which fascinated us and I suspect that selectors in all countries have similar ideas - each team horse has an 'understudy', meaning that the reserve horse for a strong dressage phase team horse will also be strong in dressage and so on for each phase - not being eventing officianados ourselves it is hard to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the horses listed - but it is food for thought when pondering the selections listed.

Jim Dunn, Chairman of Selectors, said of the selection announcement: “This was a very difficult decision due to the depth of talent of the horses and riders available for selection. The team will give Australia every possible chance of doing well and we now focus on the preparation and training of the team and the reserve horses leading up to the Games.”

National Eventing coach Wayne Roycroft commented: “I am very excited about the team that
the Selectors have chosen. It has a good blend of experienced riders and horses along with
younger, yet highly talented combinations”.

Australia has won the Team gold medal at the past three Olympic Games, which is an Olympic record. A gold medal in Athens will extend the record that the team created when it won gold in front of home supporters at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The Australian Eventing team is one of the most successful Australian Olympic teams having won 4 team gold medals (Rome 1960, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000), 2 Individual Gold medals (Lawrie Morgan 1960 and Matt Ryan 1992), 2 Individual Silver medals (Neale Lavis 1960, Andrew Hoy 2000) and 2 Team Bronze medals (Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976)

In what could be an Olympic first, we will see Australia's elder stateseman, Andrew Hoy living in Australian Team quarters in Athens, while his wife, German National, Bettina Hoy (pictured left) looks set to be in the German Team quarters which will see husband and wife pitted against each other.

Forty five year old Andrew Hoy (pictured right) will be competing at his 6th Olympic Games, which would have been 7 if it were not for the Moscow boycott in 1980. Hoy, who hails from Culcairn (NSW) but who is based in England, will be looking to set an Olympic record of

his own with a 4th consecutive gold medal in the same event.

Phillip Dutton (40 years) from Nyngan (NSW) but based in USA, is aiming for a 3rd consecutive gold medal in the same event. A father of twin girls (born after the Sydney Olympic Games), Phillip has been a regular member of the Australian team since the 1994 World Equestrian Games.

Rebel Morrow (27 years) from Kilcoy (Qld) has made her first Australian team with her selection for Athens. A rising star in the Eventing world Rebel and her chestnut gelding Oaklea Groover signalled their talent with a 5th placing at the Adelaide 4-star event in 2003. Her selection was sealed with victory in the final selection trial at the Sydney Athens Format event held last weekend.

Olivia Bunn (25 years) from Eurongilly (NSW) makes her Olympic debut having been a reserve at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Olivia was the highest placed member of the Australian team at the 1998 World Equestrian Games as a 19 year old, placing 7th, a feat she repeated at the 2002 World Games.

Stuart Tinney (39 years) from Maraylya (NSW) will be competing at his second Olympic Games having anchored the Three Day Event team to gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and ended up the highest placed horse and rider combination in the team event. Stuart’s horse Jeepster is
the only horse from the 2000 team to be selected in the team for 2004.Stuart and Jeepster competed at the 1998 and 2002 World Games where they placed 9th and 16th respectively.

The horses and riders fly to Athens on a special horse charter flight on 10 August. The competition starts on 15 and concludes 18 August. A reserve combination will be flown to Athens along with the team horses. The reserve combination will be determined during the training camp in England. Team riders are only permitted to ride one horse at the Games and the reserve combination and any substitutions required will be based on the best available horse and rider combination eligible to compete in the team. Substitutions on veterinary grounds are permitted up to one hour before the first veterinary horse inspection scheduled for 14 August.

The format for the Athens event includes all five team riders completing the dressage, crosscountry and showjumping tests. The Team medals are determined by the scores of the best three riders from each nation. All five riders will, however, receive a medal. The top 25 individuals progress through to complete an extra showjumping round to determine the Individual medals. A maximum of three riders per nation are permitted to progress into the individual showjumping round.