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Olympian Boyd Martin Replaces his Horse for Tokyo Olympics 2021
This week, US Equestrian announced the team for the dressage and eventing events for the Tokyo Olympics 2021. However, there’s been a big change in the eventing scenario as former World Champion Boyd Martin replaces his horse.
Tsetserleg replaces Luke 140 for Tokyo Olympics 2021
Boyd Martin and Luke 140 have won twice in the last ten months at CCI4*-L Eventing National Championships. These wins carried the rider and the horse to the Olympics for eventing, but only one of them will travel to Tokyo.
According to US Eventing, Luke 140 picked up a minor injury during his training and they withdrew his name from the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Although the injury is minor, they’d rather replace the horse than reduce their chances of winning at the Tokyo Games.
US Equestrian has announced a horse substitution for the U.S. Eventing Olympic Team ahead of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Luke 140, the selected mount for Boyd Martin, will be replaced by Martin’s first direct reserve, Tsetserleg. https://t.co/nb1uidg9IX
— U.S. Eventing (@USEventing) June 22, 2021
Luke 140’s replacement is Boyd Martin’s reserve horse, Tsetserleg. The stallion is a 14-year-old Trakehner gelding, owned by the Turner family, Christine, Thomas and Tommie. Luke 140 is also a gelding who has a pretty long claim to fame. Unfortunately, his claim to fame might stop right before his biggest test.
Boyd Martin will look to pick up a big win for the US Equestrian team, especially after their spectacular performance in the 2016 Rio Olympics. US equestrian legend Phillip Dutton won bronze in Brazil, putting a lot of pressure on him and his teammates ahead of the Tokyo Games. Their biggest prayer would be that Tsetserleg holds up his end of the bargain.
US Eventing team for the Olympics
Apart from the jumping team, we’ve seen US Equestrian announce the line-up for the dressage and the eventing games. It includes former Olympians and a bunch of surprise participants who impressed fans in the Pan American Games.
Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Liz Halliday-Sharp will set the course on fire at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 in eventing. Dutton, a former medallist, will make his seventh Olympic appearance, a monumental achievement for any athlete irrespective of the sport. Halliday-Sharp, the only woman in the team, was a former racecar driver.
The dressage team comprises the legendary German-born rider Steffen Peters, Sabine Schut-Kery and Adrienne Lyle. Peters and Lyle will return to the Olympic Games while Schut-Kery makes her debut at 53. The announcement for the final event, jumping, will be out on July 5th.
Read more: What Are the Two Types of Athletic Events at Tokyo Olympics 2021?
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