The biggest news in 1952 Olympic equestrianism was the change in the eligibility rules. Prior to 1952 equestrian competitors had to be military officers, and this was highlighted in 1948 when Sweden’s [Gehnäll Persson] was found to be “only” a sergeant, and he and his Swedish team was disqualified in the dressage. Beginning in Helsinki equestrian competitors no longer had to be officers, nor did they have to be in the military. Further, women were allowed to compete in 1952 in the dressage, and four did, and in coming years, all the equestrian events would be opened to women.

As was common in this era, the show jumping competition took place in the main Olympic Stadium. The dressage was held at the Ruskeasuon liikuntapuisto, or Ruskeasuo Sports Park, while the eventing cross-country took place at Hämeenkylä. The program was the standard of individual and team events in dressage, eventing, and show jumping.

Sweden was the top nation in equestrianism in 1952, winning four gold medals and four medals in all. Germany also won four medals, with a silver and three bronze, while France won three medals, one of each color.

The equestrian events at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 28 July to 3 August 1952.

One of the biggest changes at the 1952 Olympics was the demographics of competitors. Before this, most of the riders were officers (41 of 44 starters at the 1948 Olympics were riding in uniform), whereas the Helsinki Games saw over 50% of competitors from the civilian ranks. Additionally, women were now allowed to compete for the first time in equestrian events. At the 1952 Games, they were permitted in the dressage competition, although prohibited from the jumping (per a ruling in 1951) and most definitely not in eventing which was considered too dangerous. A total of 4 women competed out of 138 riders.

25 nations competed: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. This was the first appearance for Canada, Egypt, Korea, and the Soviet Union. Russia had sent riders to the 1912 Games, but had not competed since. The youngest participant was Walter Staley (19) from the United States, while the oldest rider was the Danish Kristian Jensen (63).

The dressage program again included piaffe and passage, and was expanded to 15 minutes. Women were allowed to compete in dressage in 1952 and four took that opportunity – [Lis Hartel] (DEN), [Ida von Nagel] (GER), [Else Christophersen] (NOR), and [Marjorie Haines] (USA).

Hartel, however, was the big story of the event. In September 1944, while pregnant, she developed poliomyelitis. Unable to walk for awhile, Hartel eventually developed the ability to walk with braces, although she remained partially paralyzed below her knees. At Helsinki, she still had to be helped on and off her horse but she came through to win the silver medal, trailing Sweden’s [Henri Saint Cyr], who won quite easily. At the victory ceremony, Saint Cyr helped Hartel ascend the podium.

Saint Cyr returned in 1956 and repeated as the gold medalist, and Hartel also repeated as the silver medalist. Bronze medalist [André Jousseaumé] had also competed at the 1932, 1936 and 1948 Olympics, and would return in 1956 as well. The three other women finished 10th (von Nagel), 15th (Christophersen), and 17th (Haines).

The individual dressage at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place between 28 and 29 July, at the Ruskeasuo Equestrian Hall.

Competitors were given 15 minutes to complete their corresponding tests. For each second over the 15-minute mark, contestants lost half a point.

Eight countries entered with three-person teams, with all three scores to count towards the team score. In 1948 the Swedish team of [Henri Saint Cyr], [Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern, Jr.], and [Gehnäll Persson] had seemingly won this gold medal, until Persson was disqualified because he was a sergeant, and not a military officer. With the restrictions on competitors lifted in 1952 the same Swedish team returned and did win the gold medal in Helsinki, and they would also win again, with the exact same team members, in 1956 at Stockholm. Switzerland took the silver medal, with Germany winning bronze. One of the German members was [Heinz Pollay] who had won the individual dressage gold medal in 1936 at Berlin.

The team dressage at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place between 28 and 29 July at the Ruskeasuo Equestrian Hall. Competitors were given 15 minutes to complete their corresponding tests. For each second over the 15-minute mark, contestants lost half a point. Each team was ranked according to the total scores from their three members.

There were 59 entrants from 21 countries, but only 34 riders would finish the event. The cross-country test consisted of 7 km on roads and paths, followed by a 4 km steeplechase, then 15 km again on roads and paths, followed by 8 km cross-country, finishing with 2 km on the flat. The jumping was contested over 12 obstacles up to 1.20 metres in height.

Finland’s [Mauno Roiha] led after the dressage phase, ahead of Germany’s [Willi Büsing]. However, Roiha was disqualified in the cross-country phase, which was led by Sweden’s [Hans von Blixen-Finecke, Jr.], who also moved into the lead entering the jumping phase, trailed by his teammate [Olof Stahre] and France’s [Guy Lefrant], as Büsing dropped back to fifth place. Büsing was one of nine riders to go clear in the jumping phase, which moved him up to the bronze medal. Both von Blixen-Finecke, Jr. and Lefrant had 10 faults in jumping, but it was good enough for them to win the gold and silver medals, respectively.

Von Blixen-Finecke, Jr.’s father had won a bronze medal in 1912 individual dressage. His aunt was Karen von Blixen-Finecke, better known by her nom de plume of Isak Dinesen, under which she was a well-known author, especially for her work, Out of Africa, which became a popular movie in 1985. Guy Lefrant would win two other Olympics medals, a bronze in 1960 team eventing, and a silver in 1964 team jumping.

There were 19 teams entered, with each team having three riders, and all three scores to count. However, only six teams had all three riders finish the course. Italy led the dressage phase with Sweden in second place. None of the Italian riders finished the cross-country course and they were eliminated. Sweden won the cross-country phase, with Germany close behind, and no other teams close. After two phases, Sweden and Germany were far ahead. Germany had the best score in the jumping phase, but it was not enough to catch Sweden, even though they were only fifth of the remaining six teams, as Sweden won the gold medal and Germany the silver. The United States, who was the defending gold medalist, was far behind those two teams, but won the bronze medal fairly easily over Portugal.

The show jumping consisted of two rounds, with total scores to count for the final placements. The course consisted of 13 obstacles, although the sixth obstacle was a three-part one, with a 1.40 m fence, then a 3.00 m water jump, and then a 1.50 m wall of horizontal birch poles. The eighth obstacle also had two parts, a double birch fence followed by a double fence with a hedge between. The course was designed by Björn Strandell, and was 786 metres long, with a time allowance of 1:57.2. The height of the obstacles was up to 1.60 metres, with the water jump 5.00 metres in width.

On a sunny, warm day, France's [Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola] was one of five riders to have a total of 8.00 faults for his two rounds. In the jump-off, which was held over six raised obstacles, Jonquères d'Oriola went clear, with no faults, the only rider to do so, which won him the gold medal. Chile's [Óscar Cristi] had only 4.00 faults in the jump-off, which brought him the silver medal. Cristi would also lead Chile to a silver medal in team jumping, and the two silver medals remain the only equestrian medals won by Chile at the Olympics through 2012. The bronze medal was decided on time, as both Germany's [Fritz Thiedemann] and Brazil's [Eloy de Menezes] had 8.00 faults in the jump-off, but Thiedemann's time of 38.5 was 6.5 seconds faster than de Menezes' and brought him the silver medal.

Jonquères d'Oriola would return and win another gold medal in this event in 1964, and he won the 1966 World Championships. Thiedemann would win team jumping gold medals in 1956 and 1960. At Helsinki, he won two bronze medals, one in this event, and one in team dressage.

The event consisted of two rounds with each team having three riders, all three scores in both rounds to count towards the team score. The gold medal in this event came down to Great Britain against the surprising team from Chile, led by [Óscar Cristi], who won a silver medal in individual jumping. In the second round of jumping the final rider for Britain was [Harry Llewellyn] aboard [Foxhunter]. Llewellyn needed a ride with only 4.00 faults for Great Britain to win gold, but Foxhunter was perfect and they rode a clean round. Chile’s silver medal, along with Cristi’s silver in the individual, are the only Olympic equestrian medals won by Chile through 2012. The bronze medal went to the United States, which had never before won a medal in this event.

Llewellyn was feted in Britain for his efforts, as this was the only gold medal Great Britain won in 1952, in the final medal event on the last day of competition at Helsinki, but Foxhunter was the real star. He won the King George V Gold Cup three times in his career (1948, 1950, 1953), and was on 12 winning Nations’ Cup Teams. Llewellyn often received autograph requests for Foxhunter. After his death, the Foxhunter Jumping Championship was started to introduce young riders in Britain to show jumping. His skeleton was preserved by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.