Frenchman and #2 show jumper in the world Simon Delestre announced on his Facebook page this morning that he will not compete in the Olympic Games in Rio due to an injury Hermes Ryan sustained in his hock.
“It’s with deepest regret that I announce the forfeit of Hermes Ryan for the Olympic Games,” Simon explains. “Last exams have revealed a micro-fracture of the hock. An unfortunate injury that ends all my Olympic dreams, and those of Hermes Ryan’s family but our priority is his health. All team will take prior care of him so that he comes back in perfect shape for the next major events.”
“I’ll support my teammates of the France Team along their way through these Olympic Games.”
This is a crushing blow for Simon, as he was not only a major medal contender and critical component of the French show jumping team, but also because he had qualified on numerous other horses.
In Simon’s stash of world class horses is Qlassic Bois Margot, Chesall Zimequest, and Stardust Quinhon, all of whom were qualified were Rio and had major victories in the past year, according to the FEI Database. It is unclear when or how the injury manifested, but just a few more days of notice and the world class rider may have been able to make a modest substitution.
Simon and Ryan are likely to be replaced on the French team by alternates Philippe Rozier and Rahotep de Toscane. Philippe is a veteran of the French show jumping scene, having been apart of Olympic teams in 1984 and 2000. He is currently ranked #133 in the FEI Global Rankings, and #84 in the Western European Jumping League. We are awaiting confirmation of the alternate from the FEI, and will update the story as soon as we know more.
Our well wishes to Simon, Ryan and all their connections on this heartbreaking development, and we hope to see Ryan back in action soon.