The individual eventing in equestrian at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin was held on the May Field (dressage), in Döberitz (cross-country), and at the Olympiastadion (jumping) from 13 to 16 August.[1] Of the 50 horse and rider pairs to begin the competition, only 27 finished.[2] Three horses died during the competition.[3]
The fourth jump was a relatively novel obstacle: a jump over a hurdle into a pond.[4] Of the 46 pairs remaining by that point in the competition, 28 had a fall of the horse or the rider at that obstacle.[4] This included one of the equine fatalities, the American horse Slippery Slim.[5] The International Equestrian Federation subsequently temporarily banned such jumps.[6]
Competition format
The team and individual eventing competitions used the same scores. Eventing consisted of a dressage test, a cross-country test, and a jumping test.
The dressage test was a 12 section test. The maximum time allotted was 13 minutes; points were deducted over that time. The maximum score was 400 points, though the results typically listed the difference between the score and that maximum (that is, a score of 250 would be listed as a "loss of points" of 150).[7]
The 36 km cross-country test had five phases: (1) a 7 km road stretch; (2) a 4 km, 12 obstacle steeplechase; (3) a 15 km road stretch; (4) an 8 km, 35 obstacle cross-country course; and (5) a 2 km road stretch.[8] Points could be lost for refusals or falls at the obstacles in the second a fourth phases, with three refusals at the same obstacle resulting in elimination.[9] Points could also be lost if maximum time limits for each phase were exceeded; however, points could be gained instead if the pair finished the obstacle phases under the allotted time.[9]
The jumping test featured 12 obstacles and had a time limit of 155 seconds. Points were lost for faults (including elimination for the third refusal on the course) and for exceeding the time limit.[9]