The United States equestrian team has seemed determined to turn each Pan-American Games gold medal in Toronto into a golden ticket to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. After securing the only Olympic qualifying spot for the dressage team competition last week, the Americans won the eventing team slot on Sunday (19 July), as confirmed by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

Considered the ‘equestrian triathlon’, eventing is often said to be the most challenging event in the sport. Riders have to perform all three disciplines – dressage, cross country and jumping – and avoid accumulating penalty points for errors.

Formed by Marilyn Little (riding RF Scandalous), Boyd Martin (on Pancho Villa), Phillip Dutton (on Fernhill Fugitive) and Lauren Keiffer (on Meadowbrooks Scarlett), Team USA displayed almost perfect harmony between man and horse, finishing the competition with an overall score of 133.00 points, compared with the 140.70 scored by the Brazilians (silver) and 163.00 by the Canadians (bronze).

So far, Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, Canada and the United States have places secured in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games eventing team competition. Follow the race to qualify for Rio 2016 by clicking here.

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.