By Philip Barker
The year of 2021 marks the centenary of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and all being well the horses will be in Tokyo, but 60 years ago the equestrian events were held in Rome.
That the events were staged close to the centre of the Olympic city was in sharp contrast to 1956. Melbourne had been awarded the Games, but difficulties over equine quarantine laws made it necessary for the equestrian events to be held in Stockholm earlier in the summer.
It seems an appropriate time to share a collection of colour pictures. Taken by an unknown enthusiast, the pictures offer a delightful view of the competition. They are of remarkable quality at a time when colour film was still relatively expensive and in pre-digital days, required careful husbandry.
As with cinematic film, photographs are an often underrated source, but in this case they provide valuable information about weather conditions and how the venue was dressed for competition.
The main centre used was in the Villa Borghesi, with magnificent parklands in the heart of the city.
This was an area which had been part of the original plan for the 1908 Olympics, initially awarded to Rome but ultimately took place in London.
52 years later when the Olympics finally reached the eternal city, the Piazza di Siena in the Villa Borghesi duly hosted individual dressage and jumping and those same elements for the eventing competition.
The tree lined Piazza de Siena which figures in many of the shots is still used for international competition to this day.
The pictures show Pat Smythe of Great Britain, who in 1956 had become the first woman to win a show jumping medal.
The cross country section of the three day event was held at the National equestrian centre at Pratoni del Vivaro in a valley near Rocca di Papa some 35 kms from Rome.
The official report records that this was chosen “for the special variety of the ground, which was considered highly suitable for the requirements of the competition, and for the large stretches of grassy meadows and natural obstacles.”
In those days, the team show jumping had become the traditional finale to the Games. The gold medal was decided in the main stadium to be swiftly followed by the closing ceremony.
At this time, the Italian brothers Raimondo and Piero D’Inzeo were in their pomp, but although they respectively claimed gold and silver in the individual jumping, it was the united German team which won team gold thanks to Hans Gunter Winkler, Fritz Thiedemann and Alwin Schockemöhle. Silver went to the USA and the Italians had to settle for bronze. The photograph is also a valuable record of how the stadium looked before its modernization ahead of the 1990
World Cup.
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