WEG Eventing By The Numbers (And Records)

WEG Eventing By The Numbers (And Records)

The 2018 World Equestrian Games' Eventing final was one for the books. Not only were the team and individual results down to the wire, but the athletes were also breaking national and world records left and right.

Say what you will about the state of the venue, facilities, and overall management of the event, the actual sport is what we're all, as a collective industry/group of passionate horse lovers, excited to see. And why wouldn't we be? The best in the world have converged in one location to display their strengths, preparation, and determination that would earn them the title of 'World Champion'.

The first week and the upcoming will reveal who exactly those champions are but what we've seen thus far is that there have been multiple occurrences now where 'World Champion' holds additional value.

By 'additional value', we mean that no other nation or individual holds that specific statistic or bragging right.

"Our focus has always been on performance. Improving our performance across the board, individually and as a team."

The story of gold medal-winning Great Britain and individual gold medalist Rosalind Canter has been splashed across the headlines of WEG results this week, but Team GB and all of their impressive accomplishments aren't the only details to be recognized from the completion of Eventing.

Here are some numbers, records, and facts that you should take away from the 2018 WEG Eventing competition:

  • The percentage of athletes who rode a clear round in the show jumping phase of Monday's final: 23% This number is also the average jumping clear rate of every World Championship to date.

  • Out of the 70 combinations that competed in the show jumping final, only four riders concluded their WEG campaign without adding a single penalty to their initial dressage score. These four riders are: Ireland's Sam Watson and Padraig McCarthy, the GBR's Rosalind Canter, and Andrew Hoy of Australia.

  • Ten teams set national records for finishing on their own lowest-ever team score: Team Ireland (93.0), France (99.8), Japan (113.9), Australia (135.8), Italy (164.3), Belgium (166.6), Spain (175.8), Brazil (217.7), and Switzerland (332.7).

Great Britain's Bragging Rights:

  • Most Team World Championship Golds [7]

  • Most Individual World Championship Golds [5]

  • The second lowest winning individual score [24.6]

  • The lowest-finishing team score in the history of the Games [88.8]

Did you know:

This was Rosalind Canter's first time anchoring a senior team and her first World Championships and she walked away with double gold... damn!

This marks the first time Tom McEwen has completed a senior team competition on Toledo de Kerser.

This is also the first WEG medal for Great Britain since 2006.

Ireland's Bragging Rights:

  • First major team championship medal since 1966 [Team Silver]

  • First individual championship medal since 1995 [Padraig McCarthy, individual silver medalist]

Did you know:

Sam Watson's father, John Watson, won an individual Eventing silver at the World Games in Lexington in 1978. Forty years apart and now Sam earns a team silver. Like father, like son.

When asked, how it feels to now have two WEG medals in the family, Sam Watson replied:

"My view is medals just happen. Sometimes you get them because others have a tough day, sometimes you just earn them. Our focus has always been on performance. Improving our performance across the board, individually and as a team. I love training with the great people we have around us, in all three phases. I love competing and competing with this horse. It's been a fantastic journey and to have the medal is just a bonus."

Many thanks to Equiratings, the FEI, and Team Ireland Equestrian for sharing this information.

Feature photo: Shannon Brinkman