Equestrian at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Individual jumping
# Equestrian at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Individual jumping

The individual show jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was held from 29 July to 1 August 1996 at the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 82 competitors from 24 nations. Each nation could have up to 4 riders. The event was won by Ulrich Kirchhoff of Germany, the nation's second consecutive victory in the individual jumping (and third overall, tying Italy for second-most all-time after France's four). It was the fourth consecutive Games at which Germany competed that the nation reached the podium in the event—gold in 1936 and bronze in 1952 (with no Games in 1940 or 1944, Germany disinvited in 1948, and either United Team of Germany or separate West Germany and East Germany teams competing from 1956 to 1988), before gold again in 1992 and 1996. The silver medal went to Wilhelm Melliger of Switzerland and the bronze to Alexandra Ledermann of France, the two of whom came out on top of a seven-way jump-off for second place.

## Background

This was the 20th 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.

Seven of the top 10 riders from the 1992 Games returned: gold medalist Ludger Beerbaum of Germany, fourth-place finisher Hervé Godignon of France, fifth-place finisher (and 1988 seventh-place finisher) Jan Tops of the Netherlands, sixth-place finisher Maria Gretzer of Sweden, seventh-place finisher Ludo Philippaerts of Belgium, ninth-place finisher Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, and tenth-place finisher Michael Matz of the United States. The reigning World Champion was Franke Sloothaak of Germany.

Saudi Arabia made its debut in the event. France competed for the 18th time, most of any nation.

## Competition format

The competition underwent a smaller format change than in the two previous Games. The three-run qualifying and two-run final continued, though the number of finalists was reduced to 25 (from half the field) and there was no cut during the qualifying round or during the final round (only between qualifying and the final). The qualifying round also returned to the traditional fault scoring, rather than the positive points system used in 1988 and 1992.

All riders competed in the three runs of the qualifying round. The three-run total counted as the qualifying score. The top 25 riders advanced to the final, with a maximum of three riders per nation. The final consisted of two runs. The total of the two runs was used for the final score. A jump-off would be used if necessary to break ties for medal positions; other ties would not be broken.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

| Date | Time | Round |
| - | - | - |
| Monday, 29 July 1996 | 8:30 | Qualifying round 1 |
| Thursday, 1 August 1996 | 8:30 14:00 | Qualifying round 2 Qualifying round 3 |
| Sunday, 4 August 1996 | 14:00 | Final round 1 Final round 2 |

## Results

Top 25 riders advanced to the final round, maximum of three riders per nation. Qualification round held 21 to 24 July. All scores were reset to zero after the third qualifying round. Final held 4 August 1996. 7 riders tied for second so an additional jump-off round was held.

The Argentine team was disqualified for animal cruelty during training.

| Rank | Rider | Horse | Nation | Qualifying | Qualifying | Qualifying | Qualifying | Final | Final | Final | Jump-off |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rank | Rider | Horse | Nation | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total | Jump-off |
| | Ulrich Kirchhoff | Jus De Pommes | Germany | 4.00 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 5.50 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | — |
| | Wilhelm Melliger | Calvaro | Switzerland | 4.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 16.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 |
| | Alexandra Ledermann | Rochet M | France | 8.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 16.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 |
| 4 | Hugo Simon | ET | Austria | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 | 16.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| 5 | Urs Fah | Jeremia | Switzerland | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 | 16.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| 6 | Geoff Billington | It's Otto | Great Britain | 0.25 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 12.25 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| 7 | Jan Tops | Top Gun | Netherlands | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 |
| 8 | Álvaro de Miranda Neto | Aspen | Brazil | 8.00 | 0.25 | 8.00 | 16.25 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 16.00 |
| 9 | Rodrigo de Paula Pessoa | Tomboy | Brazil | 1.25 | 0.00 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 0.25 | 4.25 | — |
| 9 | John Whitaker | Welham | Great Britain | 4.00 | 4.00 | 14.50 | 22.50 | 4.00 | 0.25 | 4.25 | — |
| 11 | Anton-Martin Bauer | Vesuve Paluelle | Austria | 4.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | — |
| 11 | Leslie Burr-Howard | Extreme | United States | 0.00 | 14.00 | 0.00 | 14.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 | — |
| 11 | Peter Charles | Beneton | Ireland | 13.75 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 17.75 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | — |
| 11 | Jozef Lansink | Carthago | Netherlands | 4.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 20.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 | — |
| 11 | Beat Maendli | City Banking | Switzerland | 4.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 16.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 | — |
| 11 | Fernando Sarasola | Ennio | Spain | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 10.25 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | — |
| 17 | Herve Godignon | Viking Du Tillard | France | 4.25 | 4.25 | 0.00 | 8.50 | 0.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 | — |
| 18 | Andre Bier Johannpeter | Calei | Brazil | 8.25 | 4.25 | 8.00 | 20.50 | 4.00 | 8.00 | 12.00 | — |
| 19 | Jerry Smit | Constantijn | Italy | 8.25 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 16.25 | 4.00 | 8.25 | 12.25 | — |
| 20 | Anne Kursinski | Feliciano | United States | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 12.00 | 16.00 | — |
| 20 | Ludo Philippaerts | King Darko | Belgium | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 12.00 | 16.00 | — |
| 20 | Lars Nieberg | For Pleasure | Germany | 8.00 | 0.00 | 12.00 | 20.00 | 0.00 | 16.00 | 16.00 | — |
| 23 | Nick Skelton | Show Time | Great Britain | 12.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 24.00 | 4.00 | 12.25 | 16.25 | — |
| 24 | Rutherford Latham | Sourire d'Aze | Spain | 5.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 21.00 | 4.00 | 12.50 | 16.50 | — |
| 25 | Helmut Morbitzer | Racal | Austria | 0.00 | 16.00 | 4.00 | 20.00 | 4.00 | 25.00 | 29.00 | — |
| 26 | Ludger Beerbaum | Ratina | Germany | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | | — |
| 27 | Michael Matz | Rhum | United States | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 12.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 27 | Valerio Sozzi | Gaston M | Italy | 0.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 12.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 28 | Roger-Yves Bost | Souviens Toi | France | 4.75 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 12.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 29 | Takeshi Shirai | Vicomte Du Mesnil | Japan | 2.00 | 8.25 | 4.50 | 14.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 30 | Peter Eriksson | Robin | Sweden | 4.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 16.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 30 | Peter Leone | Legato | United States | 12.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 16.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 32 | Patrice Delaveau | Roxane De Gruchy | France | 0.50 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 16.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 33 | Jaime Guerra | Risueno | Mexico | 4.00 | 9.50 | 4.00 | 17.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 35 | Alejandro Jordá | Hernando Du Sablon | Spain | 5.00 | 5.00 | 8.50 | 18.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 36 | Natale Chiaudani | Rheingold De Luyne | Italy | 4.00 | 12.00 | 4.00 | 20.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 36 | Emile Hendrix | Finesse | Netherlands | 4.00 | 12.00 | 4.00 | 20.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 38 | Jessica Chesney-Kürten | Diamond Exchange | Ireland | 8.00 | 8.50 | 4.00 | 20.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 39 | Eddie Macken | Schalkhaar | Ireland | 4.00 | 4.00 | 14.00 | 22.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 40 | Ramzy Al-Duhami | Let's Talk About | Saudi Arabia | 1.50 | 5.00 | 16.75 | 23.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 41 | Bert Romp | Samantha | Netherlands | 4.00 | 8.00 | 12.00 | 24.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 41 | Pedro Sanchez | Riccarda | Spain | 4.00 | 8.00 | 12.00 | 24.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 41 | Manuel Torres | Cartagena | Colombia | 12.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 24.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 44 | Khaled el-Eid | Eastern Knight | Saudi Arabia | 8.25 | 8.50 | 8.00 | 24.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 45 | Maria Gretzer | Marcoville | Sweden | 9.00 | 4.00 | 12.50 | 25.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 46 | Rolf-Goran Bengtsson | Paradiso | Sweden | 4.00 | 4.00 | 20.00 | 28.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 46 | Ian Millar | Play It Again | Canada | 8.00 | 12.00 | 8.00 | 28.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 48 | Luiz Felipe de Azevedo | Cassiana | Brazil | 17.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 29.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 48 | Malin Baryard | Corrmint | Sweden | 12.50 | 12.25 | 4.25 | 29.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 50 | Antonio Chedraui | Elastique | Mexico | 4.00 | 20.00 | 8.00 | 32.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 50 | Stanny Van Paesschen | Mulga Bill | Belgium | 12.00 | 12.00 | 8.00 | 32.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 52 | Malcolm Cone | Elute | Canada | 8.25 | 12.00 | 12.00 | 32.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 53 | Michel Blaton | Revoulino | Belgium | 9.00 | 17.75 | 8.50 | 35.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 54 | José Madariaga | Genius | Mexico | 0.50 | 20.00 | 16.25 | 36.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 55 | Vicki Roycroft | Coalminer | Australia | 8.00 | 16.00 | 16.00 | 40.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 56 | Arnaldo Bologni | Eileen | Italy | 8.00 | 12.00 | 24.00 | 44.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 57 | Yoshihiro Nakano | Sisal De Jalesnes | Japan | 16.50 | 8.00 | 20.00 | 44.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 58 | Miguel Leal | Surcouf De Revel | Portugal | 12.00 | 21.00 | 12.50 | 45.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 58 | Linda Southern-Heathcott | Advantage | Canada | 12.75 | 12.00 | 20.75 | 45.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 60 | Alfonso Romo | Flash | Mexico | 27.75 | 12.00 | 8.00 | 47.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 61 | Russell Johnstone | Southern Contrast | Australia | 12.00 | 24.00 | 12.00 | 48.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 62 | Taizo Sugitani | Countryman | Japan | 16.75 | 16.00 | 16.00 | 48.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 63 | Michael Whitaker | Two Step | Great Britain | 22.25 | 16.00 | 12.00 | 50.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 64 | Damian Gardiner | Arthos | Ireland | 8.00 | 28.50 | 16.00 | 52.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 65 | Markus Fuchs | Adelfos | Switzerland | 31.25 | 8.00 | 16.00 | 55.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 66 | Christopher Delia | Silent Sam | Canada | 8.00 | 16.00 | 32.00 | 56.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 67 | Eric Wauters | Bon Ami | Belgium | 4.00 | 16.00 | 37.50 | 57.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 68 | Antonio Vozone | Mr. Cer | Portugal | 13.75 | 17.25 | 28.25 | 59.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 69 | Daniel Meech | Future Vision | New Zealand | 40.25 | 12.00 | 8.00 | 60.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 70 | Denise Cojuangco | Chouman | Philippines | 9.75 | 27.25 | 26.00 | 63.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| 71 | David Cooper | Red Sails | Australia | 24.00 | 40.25 | 24.00 | 88.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Alexander Earle | Same Old Song | Puerto Rico | 16.50 | Elim. | 34.75 | Elim. | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Jennifer Parlevliet | Another Flood | Australia | 5.75 | 37.00 | — | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Kenji Morimoto | Alcazar | Japan | 5.00 | Elim. | — | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Kamal Bahamdan | Missouri | Saudi Arabia | 8.00 | 24.25 | — | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Alejandro Davila | Ejmplo | Colombia | 16.00 | 36.25 | — | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Franke Sloothaak | Joly | Germany | 4.00 | Elim. | — | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Thomas Metzger | Royal Flash | Austria | Elim. | — | — | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Justo Albarracin | Dinastia Pampero | Argentina | 12.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 24.00 DSQ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Ricardo Kierkegaard | Renomme | Argentina | 4.50 | 20.00 | 5.25 | 29.75 DSQ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Federico Castaing | Landlord | Argentina | 28.00 | 16.00 | 24.00 | 68.00 DSQ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
| — | Oscar Fuentes | Henry J. Speed | Argentina | 12.75 | Elim. | — | DNF DSQ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | — |
