The Olympia Horse Show started today in London, England, and we’re positively giddy to celebrate “The World’s Best Equestrian Christmas Party”. To ring in this festive occasion, we’re bringing you a handful of fast facts about this incredible venue and what to expect!

  1. One Show, Many Disciplines – The London Olympia is the only show in the UK to feature FEI level Jumping, Driving, and Dressage at one event, and they draw the best of the best in all the sports. There are also numerous exhibitions from other sports and equine novelties.
  2. Laura Kraut will be the only American competing this week. While many competitors have headed stateside or are wrapping up big weeks in Spain or Switzerland, Laura has a full string (Cavalia, Constable, and Rio Reserve mount Zeremonie) ready for Olympia.
  3. It takes a Village. There are more than 280 stables which house more than 400 horses and ponies during the seven-day event.
  4. Sounds Expensive – More than 32 tons of shavings are used during the show.
  5. Adios, Valegro. If you haven’t already heard, Dressage King and Cinderella man Valegro will be retired at this year’s Olympia. While he doesn’t technically fall under our realm, we’re pretty fond of him and all he’s accomplished in his career, and we’ll all get to see him with Charlotte Dujardin one last time.
  6. Olympia is famous for their Christmas Puissance – the record is held by Patric Caron of France and his mount Gui Sanda, who jumped 7 feet, 5.5 inches in 1980. In 2006, John Whitaker, Robert Whitaker, and Markus Fuchs had a three-way tie at an ever-so-close to record-breaking height of 7 feet 4 inches.
  7. Watch the Action – There will be a mix of live coverage available – some of the smaller events will be live streamed on www.olympiahorseshow.com, and the FEI events will only be available on FEI TV, for which you will need a subscription. In the meantime, you can watch a spectacular preview here:

Keep it locked on JN for a full preview and early updates from Olympia, and Go Jumping!