The individual show jumping at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place on 17 June, at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. The event was open to men and women, with two women competing. It was the 10th appearance of the event. There were 66 competitors from 24 nations, with each nation able to send a team of up to three riders and the team and individual events sharing results. The event was won by Hans Günter Winkler of the United Team of Germany, a victory in the debut for that nation though Germany had won in 1936. Brothers Raimondo D'Inzeo and Piero D'Inzeo took silver and bronze, respectively, the first medals for Italy in individual jumping since 1924.

Background

This was the 10th appearance of the event, which had first been held at the 1900 Summer Olympics and has been held at every Summer Olympics at which equestrian sports have been featured (that is, excluding 1896, 1904, and 1908). It is the oldest event on the current programme, the only one that was held in 1900.

Five of the top 10 riders from the 1952 competition returned: gold medalist Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, bronze medalist Fritz Thiedemann of Germany (now competing as the United Team of Germany), fourth-place finisher Eloy de Menezes of Brazil, fifth-place finisher Wilfred White of Great Britain, and seventh-place finisher Raimondo D'Inzeo of Italy. The first two World Champions in the event, Paco Goyoaga of Spain (1953) and Hans Günter Winkler of the United Team of Germany (1954 and 1955) were present, with Winkler favored in the competition.

Australia, Cambodia, and Venezuela each made their debut in the event; East and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the first time. France and Sweden both competed for the ninth time, tied for the most of any nation; Sweden had missed only the inaugural 1900 competition, while France missed the individual jumping in 1932.

Competition format

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1952. Scores from the two runs were added together for a total score.

The team and individual jumping competitions used the same results. The course had 13 obstacles. The time limit was 1 minute, 56.1 seconds. Penalty points were received for obstacle faults (3, 4, 6, or 8 points based on severity) or exceeding the time limit (0.25 points per second or fraction thereof over the limit). A third refusal or jumping an obstacle out of order resulted in elimination.

Schedule

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round Sunday, 17 June 1956 9:0016:00 Round 1Round 2

Results

66 riders competed.Official Report, pp. 246–51. For the first time since 1932, no jump-off was required to determine the medalists.

Winkler led after one round with 4 faults. In second was defending champion Jonquères d'Oriola at 7. There were five riders tied for third at 8, including both D'Inzeo brothers. Winkler suffered a pulled groin and would have withdrawn except that doing so would cost his teammates a chance at a team event medal (Germany led, but all three riders had to finish). He rode the second round dosed with (visibly insufficient) painkillers and coffee.

Despite those impediments, Winkler was one of three riders to ride a clean second round (though one, López, had a .75 time penalty). He both took the individual gold and led Germany to the team gold. The other rider to come out of round 2 with no faults was the younger D'Inzeo, Raimondo. With Jonquères d'Oriola having a relatively poor second round (at 8 faults), the Frenchman fell to sixth—leaped over by 4 of the 5 men who had been tied for third after round 1. Raimondo's clean round earned him silver; his elder brother Piero's 3 second-round faults was good for bronze. Thiedemann and White each had 4 faults in the second round, tying for fourth.

The first two women to compete in the event, Pat Smythe and Brigitte Schockaert, finished 10th and 34th, respectively.

Rank Rider Horse Nation Round 1 Round 2 Total Faults Time Total Faults Time Total Halla 4 0 4 0 0 0 4 Merano 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 Uruguay 8 0 8 3 0 3 11 4 Meteor 8 0 8 4 0 4 12 Nizefela 8 0 8 4 0 4 12 6 Voulette 7 0 7 7 1 8 15 7 Martingil 12 0 12 4 0 4 16 8 Discutido 15 0 15 4 0 4 19 9 Insh' Allah 16 0 16 4 0 4 20 10 Flanagan 8 0 8 11 2 13 21 11 Aranyos 16 0 16 8 0 8 24 Trail Guide 16 0 16 8 0 8 24 Ala 16 0 16 8 0 8 24 14 Tapatío 27 0 27 0 0.75 0.75 27.75 15 Fahnenkönig 20 0 20 8 0 8 28 Night Owl 20 0 20 8 0 8 28 17 Coriolano 16 0 16 16 0 16 32 18 Ballyneety 23 0 23 12 0 12 35 19 Va-Vite 20 0 20 16 0 16 36 Scorchin 16 0 16 20 0 20 36 21 Maneuvr 20 0 20 20 0 20 40 Nefertity II 20 0 20 20 0 20 40 23 Liffey Vale 24 0 24 20 0 20 44 24 Pagoro 19 4 23 24 0 24 47 25 Ramito 16 0 16 19 13.5 32.5 48.5 26 Fuji 28 0 28 24 0 24 52 27 Belair 35 1.25 36.25 16 0 16 52.25 Ballynonty 19 0 19 29 4.25 33.25 52.25 29 Doria 12 0 12 39 1.75 40.75 52.75 30 Basak 24 0 24 28 1.25 29.25 53.25 31 Eforegiot 20 0 20 32 2.25 34.25 54.25 32 Röhäll 32 0 32 19 4 23 55 33 Relincho 32 0 32 23 3 26 58 34 Muscadin 32 0 32 27 0 27 59 Bricole 27 0 27 32 0 32 59 36 Gracieux 21 12.5 33.5 28 0 28 61.5 37 Duroc 25 3.5 28.5 36 0 36 64.5 38 Esmer Altin 29 4.25 33.25 32 0 32 65.25 39 Kodex 32 0 32 27 17.5 44.5 76.5 40 Lojal 47 0 47 36 0 36 83 41 Biguá 31 25.25 56.25 25 3.75 28.75 85 42 Bibelot 21 8.25 29.25 41 15.25 56.25 85.5 43 Dandy 39 11.5 50.5 36 0 36 86.5 44 Virtuoso 41 13.75 54.75 32 0 32 86.75 45 Rouquade 35 8.25 43.25 39 18.75 57.75 101 — Hicamboy 12 0 12 Eliminated Eliminated Auer 69 19.5 88.5 Eliminated Eliminated Lassi 37 7.5 44.5 Eliminated Eliminated Dobos Eliminated 47 4.25 51.25 Eliminated Marras Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Boston Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Domino Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Higany Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Limerick Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Licorne Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Tamanaco Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Murachi Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Sorocaima Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Rienzi Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Schönbrunn Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Bianka Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Osira Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Bimbo Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Dumbell Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Saing Pen Pompon Eliminated Did not start Eliminated Isoup Ganthy Flatteur II Eliminated Did not start Eliminated

References