HEIKE Holstein will be the first Irish equestrian athlete to trot down the centre line at the Tokyo Olympic Games tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 9.36am.

Holstein’s home-bred mare Sambuca (Samarant x Limmerick) passed Friday morning’s vet check at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park in Tokyo and has been drawn to ride her Grand Prix test midway through Group D on Sunday.

Heike Holstein said the venue is “amazing” and Sambuca is feeling ready ahead of their Grand Prix test. Heike is being trained by Kyra Kirkland, who is also the Portuguese team trainer, in Tokyo as Horse Sport Ireland High Performance director Johann Hinnemann is not at the Games.

“She is going really really well,” Heike said on Friday evening, adding that the temperatures get much cooler in the evening. “It is lovely in the evenings. At about 5pm, a breeze comes and the sun goes down, and it is dark by 7pm, so it is lovely.

“The venue is amazing. The best of everything is in the stables; they are testing and watering the ground all the time, testing how bouncy it is. The place is spotless, they are big on recycling. The stables are mucked out into bags and it goes straight into a skip so there is no smell and no mess.”

Some 60 combinations start in the Grand Prix which runs over two days, beginning today (Saturday). The Grand Prix serves as a qualifier for the Grand Prix Special (team final) on Tuesday and the Freestyle (individual final) on Wednesday.

Exciting format

The athletes compete in six groups of 10 and just 18 qualify for the individual final – two from each group, plus the next best six scores overall. Eight of the 15 teams will qualify for the Special. So far, Judy Reynolds is the only Irish dressage rider to ever qualify for an Olympic final.

Talking about her group, Heike said: “There are some strong ones in it, we will have to do our very best [to be in the top two]. There are seven judges instead of five and they won’t miss a beat. We will give it our best.”

Heike thanked the fans for the phenomenal sport shown towards her on social media and elsewhere, saying: “I do feel the whole country is behind me. It feels like they are here with me.”

Competition is set to be fierce in Tokyo and the format will make it most exciting for fans to watch. The final Group F on Sunday afternoon will include both reigning Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin (Gio) and reigning world and European champion Isabell Werth (Bella Rose).

The opening ceremony took place on Friday night with close to 10,000 people attending – approximately 6,000 athletes and team offcials, 900 guests of honour and 3,500 members of the media.

There will be no fans present at any Olympic events as Japan remains in a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eventing

The eventing horses, athletes and support staff arrived in Tokyo earlier this week before their competition kicks off next Friday with the first day of dressage, beginning at 12.30am on Friday morning, Irish time.

The show jumping horses finished their Aachen quarantine yesterday (Friday) and began their journey to Tokyo at midnight.

How to watch

  • NBC, which is a broadcasting rights holder for the Olympic Games, will be live-streaming all equestrian events. Viewers can pay €6.99 for a month-long subscription. (www.nbcolympics.com)
  • Discovery Plus is streaming all equestrian events. Viewers can pay €6.99 for a month-long subscription. (www.discoveryplus.co.uk)
  • Eurosport is showing all equestrian sports.
  • The dressage Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle final will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer (player is available in the UK only). It is expected BBC will also show most of the eventing and show jumping competition.
  • RTÉ2 will show equestrian events, subject to what other Irish athletes are in action. The Irish Field’s Brendan McArdle will head the commentary team for the equestrian coverage for Tokyo. He will be joined by Ciaran Glynn for eventing, and Tom Freyne will be in studio as a guest analyst.