The Olympic Games is the greatest sporting event in the world, and we are all very proud of the spectacular accomplishments of our equestrian teams at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Team USA Equestrian finished the Games as one of only two countries to win medals in all three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing, and show jumping, with Germany being the other. I know you all join me in offering congratulations to all our teams on their outstanding results at the Olympic Games.
There is no greater honor than to represent your country at the Olympic Games, and there is no other event where all the finest athletes in the world gather together. Being a part of Team USA and cheering on so many of our exceptional athletes to medal-winning and record-breaking performances is truly thrilling and inspiring. Having members of Team USA from a diverse range of sports in the stands supporting our equestrian athletes is truly unique. This support and encouragement is what is so special about being a member of the United States Olympic Committee's Family.
The accomplishments of our teams and athletes in Rio were a stunning turnaround from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Over the past four years our coaches, athletes, sport staff, support personnel, and families behind each of the athletes made huge time commitments and personal sacrifice to develop and implement the programs that resulted in our success.
Our dressage team, Allison Brock on Claudine and Fritz Kundrun's Rosevelt, Laura Graves on her own Verdades, Kasey Perry-Glass on Diane Perry's Dublet, and Steffen Peters on Four Winds Farm's Legolas 92, were triumphant in winning the Team Bronze medal, the first Olympic medal of any kind for our dressage team since 2004. Laura and Verdades gave a brilliant performance in the Individual Final to finish fourth overall.
The show jumping team of Lucy Davis on Old Oak Farm's Barron, Kent Farrington on Amalaya Investment's Voyeur, Beezie Madden on Abigail Wexner's Cortes 'C', and McLain Ward on Double H Farm and Francois Mathy's Azur secured the Team Silver medal. In the Individual Final, Kent and Voyeur were one of six combinations to jump-off for medal honors, finishing fifth overall.
The eventing team included Phillip Dutton on HND Group's Mighty Nice, Lauren Kieffer on Team Rebecca, LLC's Veronica, Boyd Martin on Blackfoot Mystery Syndicate, LLC's Blackfoot Mystery, and Clark Montgomery on Holly and William Becker, Kathryn Kraft, and Jessica Montgomery's Loughan Glen. The competition was highlighted by an Individual Bronze medal win for Phillip and Mighty Nice.
We are extremely grateful to the owners of our horses who provide these world-class equine athletes that make it possible to field teams and win medals. It takes years of training and competing to build these remarkable horse and rider partnerships.
I especially want to thank you, our members, for your support of our programs over the past four years. Your donations and support for our high performance athletes is vital to the development of our teams and success at the highest level of the sport. The Olympic Games is sport's grandest stage where all eyes are upon us. It is a unique and great opportunity to promote and raise awareness of equestrian sport in our country.
Additionally, we greatly appreciate the on-going support of the USET Foundation and its donors. It would not be possible to support our high performance programs and athletes at the level we do without their tremendous generosity.
Our Director of Sport wrote a blog, "Live from Rio with Will Connell" on the USEF Network during the Games, which I hope many had a chance to read. He provided colorful insights into the trials and tribulations of working under the difficult and ever changing circumstances, as well as the complex movements of athletes, support personnel, and horses.
This year we had greater numbers than ever watching through numerous different media. For the first time in Games history, NBC provided live online coverage of every equestrian event and broadcast nearly every U.S. ride live on television. Equestrian also garnered great mainstream media coverage in outlets including Reuters, USA Today, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Additionally, our social media engagement reached historic highs as fans were treated to behind-the-scenes access and real-time competition updates.
The quadrennial cycle begins again in 2017 and we already have our Project Tokyo program in the works. There are ongoing discussions with the FEI about changing equestrian sport formats for Tokyo to make the competitions shorter and more exciting. This is yet another step in attracting more participants and spectators to our sport. As we institute our new strategic plan in 2017, our progressive changes to the sport will be beneficial to all of our breeds and disciplines.
While we celebrate our remarkable Olympic Games accomplishments, let us also look forward to working together to bring the joy of horse sports to as many people as possible.
Best Regards,
Chrystine J. Tauber
President