The 18 ^th Olympic Games, held in Japan’s capital city, Tokyo, were the first to be held in Asia. These only the second Olympics ? after Los Angeles in 1932 ? for which most horses had to travel across the world. Unlike 1932, when only six nations had been represented, 116 riders from 20 countries competed in Tokyo. There was no economic crisis as there had been in the 30s and there was now air transport.

HORSES LEARN TO FLY

Most horses came by aircraft, three had to be destroyed. The US Eventer Markham panicked on departure from Newark. Chile lost a Jumping horse on the way to Tokyo after a heart attack, and an Argentinean horse had to be destroyed on the flight home. The German team departed from Amsterdam on 28 September at noon and arrived, with a stop-over in Anchorage, Alaska, on 29 September at 3pm. From Tokyo airport, after a quarantine period in Yokohama, the Eventing horse had a five-hour road transport to Karuizawa where the competition was to begin two weeks later. The Soviet horses sill came by sea and were caught in the typhoon Wilda.

RELATIONS WITH THE IOC

The relations between the IOC and the FEI, which had been tense after the judging scandal of 1956, had eased. But problematic questions, especially concerning military personnel, remained. In November 1963, IOC President Avery Brundage had written to all International Federations to inform them of a decision that military personnel could only be exempted from regular duty for three days to train for the Olympics. It was even suggested that officers should be excluded altogether form the Games.

The IOC also insisted that there should be one medal for one effort. This was not a problem for Dressage ? the Grand Prix decided the team medals and the ride-off / Grand Prix Special the individual medals ? nor was it for Jumping where two separate competitions had been held since Rome in 1960. At the time, no one saw a solution for Eventing.

Key Facts and Figures (general):

• ·                  93 nations
• ·                  5,151 athletes (678 women; 4,473 men)
• ·                  19 sports
• ·                  The last carrier of the flame, Yoshinori Sakai, was chosen because he was born on 6 August 1945, the day the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, in homage to the victims and as a call for peace in the world.

Key Facts and Figures (equestrian):

• ·                  20 nations (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA)
• ·                  Four nations had full teams in all three disciplines: Japan, Germany, the Soviet Union, and the USA.
• ·                  116 entries (46 in Jumping; 22 in Dressage; 48 in Eventing)

JUMPING (46 riders from 17 nations)

The course, which was difficult but fair, measured 780 meters. It was designed by Shunzo Kido, Olympic rider of 1928 and 1932, who had visited many European shows beforehand. There were 14 obstacles, necessitating 17 jumping efforts. The major obstacles came at the end: next to last, the water at 5m, then, after a left turn, an oxer measuring 1.45 x 1.50 x 1.85m. Only six riders did the water faultlessly in both rounds, only three riders jumped the oxer twice without faults. Rain had fallen for days which had made the ground very deep and soft, but luckily not slippery.

The Germans had again, as in 1960, to field a unified team. While in Eventing they settled on two riders from the West and two from the East, there was a selection trial in Jumping. The result was devastating for the German Democratic Republic.

For the first time a former Olympic Jumping champion repeated his victory. Forty-four year old Pierre Jonque res d’Oriola, the champion in 1952 with Ali Baba, won, this time with the nine-year old Lutteur B, son of Furioso.

DRESSAGE (22 riders from 9 nations)

The big worry in the lead up to the Olympic Dressage competition was the question: would there be six teams to guarantee a team competition as demanded by the IOC? Germany, Switzerland and the Soviet Union were sure entries. One could count on the USA, and Japan tried everything to get three riders and horses ready. Sweden was the hope for the sixth spot. Could and would they, after the retirement of their mainstays Persson and Boltenstern, and after the serious car accident suffered by Henri St-Cyr, get three pairs together who would justify the high costs of travelling to Japan? They did.

Three former Olympic riders of 1936 judged the competition: Frantisek Jandl, Gustaf Nyblaeus and Georges Margot. They judged well. The Grand Prix programme was 12 min 30s; the Grand Prix Special was 6 min 30s. In the Grand Prix the scores were announced after each ride. In the ride-off, which was filmed and then re-examined by the judges, the participants, the press and the public had to wait for two hours before the final scores were announced.

Multi-European champion Henri Chammartin (SUI) was a deserved winner. The 13-year old Swedish-bred Woerman had only travelled as a reserve horse behind his stable-mate and reigning European champion Wolfdietrich, who was lame in Tokyo.

EVENTING (48 riders from 12 nations)

Eventing was held in the resort site of Karuizawa, 150km north-west of Tokyo, at an altitude of 1,000m, overlooked by a still active volcano, the Asama. On endurance day, the weather was cold with heavy rain and fog. The Cross-Country course, with its 31 obstacles, was straightforward and was criticized for not being of Olympic standard.

The demands on endurance day in Karuizawa were as follows:

A.        6,000m                         240m/min

B.        3,600m                         600m/min

C.        13,920m                       240m/min

D.        7,200m                         450m/min

E.         1,980m   330m/min

In the team competition Italy, with its Irish horses, was in the lead after endurance day, ahead of Germany and the United States. They kept the gold, but the US moved past Germany to earn silver.

For the first time a woman competed in an Olympic three-day event: Lana du Pont of the USA. Twenty-seven years later, as Mrs Wright, she won a team gold medal at the Paris Driving World Championship.

To find out more about the equestrian events includes ,? to see the medallists and full results of 1964 Olympic Games. click here .

The medallists and full results?can be found here .