Greenwich Park London Hosts Dressage, Eventing and Show Jumping for the Olympic Games 2012

Greenwich Park is London's oldest Royal Park, dating back to 1433. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1997. Within the Park is The Royal Observatory and the home of Greenwich Mean Time. Greenwich Park includes the Old Royal Naval College and National Maritime Museum, which, together with Greenwich Park, are part of a World Heritage Site. A temporary Cross Country course is being designed for the Park, while a temporary main arena will also be built within the grounds of the National Maritime Museum.

To find out more about plans for the venue – and to have your say – visit the Greenwich Park mini-site, where you'll find lots of information and an online form for you to give your views.

During the Games Greenwich Park will host the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian competitions, plus the combined running and shooting event of the Modern Pentathlon. The temporary structures will be taken down after the Games. Dressagedirect will inform you regularly about the Games, plans and riders working towards the 2012 Olympic Games. Stay tuned!

Some facts and figures Olympic history:
A total of 200 athletes will compete for the gold medals in the sport of Equestrian during the 2012 Games. In dressage five gold medals are at stake: three for each individual member of the gold winning team, one for the individual winner of the Olympic Special and one for the individual winner of the Olympic Freestyle.

• Equestrian is the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete against each other on equal terms. It is also the only one in which humans and animals compete together.
• At the Helsinki 1952 Games, Denmark's Lis Hartel won silver in Dressage despite being paralysed below the knees.
• At the Olympic Games horses must be at least eight-years-old for Dressage and Eventing, and nine-years-old for Jumping.

Timeschedule dressage:
Date / time / Sport / Venue

• 2 August 11:00 - 15:30 Equestrian - Dressage Greenwich Park Team Dressage: day 1
• 3 August 11:00 - 15:30 Equestrian - Dressage Greenwich Park Team Dressage: day 2
• 7 August 10:00 - 16:15 Equestrian - Dressage Greenwich Park Team Dressage: finals, victory ceremony
• 9 August 12:30 - 16:30 Equestrian - Dressage Greenwich Park Individual Dressage: grand prix freestyle, victory ceremony