You had to leave Aichi-Nagoya and head to Tokyo to witness the first equestrian medals being awarded at these 2026 Asian Games. And eventing saved its verdict for the final day. Leading after the dressage and showjumping, Japan seemed to have done the hard part. That was without counting on a faultless Thai team on the cross-country. Individually, however, Alex Hua Tian never really allowed any doubt to creep in: with Manjushri, the Chinese rider retained his title without adding a single point to his dressage score.

Tokyo, Far from the Games but at the Heart of the Game

Funny geography for these 2026 Asian Games. The event carries the name Aichi-Nagoya, but the horses are in Tokyo. The equestrian events are indeed being held at the Equestrian Park, already used during the Olympic Games.

And to open the ball, eventing had prepared a rather fine script.

After two tests, Japan was in front. 97.3 points, against 109.4 for Hong Kong and 109.9 for Thailand. Twelve points and a little change in hand before the cross-country: enough to feel comfortable, certainly not enough to sleep peacefully.

Thailand would quickly prove that.

Three Thais, Three Clears

The course measured 3,640 metres. Twenty-four obstacles, thirty efforts and, above all, an optimum time of seven minutes that would weigh far more heavily than it first appeared.

The Thais did not hesitate.

Woraphat Sittiju and Uster de Chanay, Korntawat Samran and Billy Elmy, and Weerapat Pitakanonda and Carnival March all completed their rounds without adding the slightest penalty.

Not one jumping fault. Not one time penalty.

Thailand’s score therefore stayed exactly where it had been the previous day: 109.9.

Except this time, it was worth gold.

The medal was even secured before the final Japanese combination set off.

Japan, precisely, did not enjoy the same calm. Ryo Murata and Brookpark Vikenti, still third individually before the cross-country, left 20 points at the fences and 10.8 against the clock. The Japanese eventually finished on 115.2, 5.3 points behind the new champions.

The Republic of Korea took bronze on 143.5, narrowly ahead of Hong Kong, fourth on 144.7.

A Cross-Country That Cleared the Deck

The numbers tell the story of the day rather well.

Of the 31 combinations at the start, 17 finished without jumping faults. But only seven managed to come home inside the time without adding anything to their score. Five combinations were eliminated and two others retired.

The cross-country had in fact been postponed to Wednesday after the heavy rain brought by Typhoon Dujuan. The organisers thereby gained time to prepare the ground, which had generated plenty of discussion before the test.

China, the defending team champion, saw all its ambitions disappear there. The elimination of Yuying Shu and Diabolo D’Ems AA proved fatal: with only three combinations entered, the Chinese had no score to discard.

Thailand Finally Harvests Gold

This title, however, did not come from nowhere.

In 2018 in Jakarta, Thailand took team bronze. Same metal five years later in Hangzhou. In between, it became FEI Asian champion in Pattaya in 2019, before doing it again in 2025.

In other words, something had been cooking for a few years.

Korntawat Samran and Weerapat Pitakanonda re two of the faces of that progression. The first was part of the Asian championship-winning teams in 2019 and 2025 and also took individual silver at the Hangzhou Games. The second was also present for both continental titles, as well as for the 2023 bronze.

With Woraphat Sittiju and Supap Khaw-Ngam, they changed the colour of the medal this time.

« We kept training and we never stopped improving, ”, Pitakanonda explained. " We had around three years to improve what we were missing and try to do better this time. »

For him, the story also had something personal about it. His horse Carnival March has been part of his career for eight years and already knew the place rather well.

« Without the horses, we could not win this medal. Carnival March has been with me for eight years and I also rode him at the Tokyo Olympic Games. To come back here and win gold is a very special moment. »

Hua Tian Gave Nothing to Anyone

Individually, there was far less suspense.

Alex Hua Tian took the lead from the dressage with Manjushri Manjushri and his 26.9 points. He never let it go.

The showjumping round had already started shaking up the standings. Only eight of the 32 combinations came out without penalties. Hua Tian and his nine-year-old gelding were among them.

That left the cross-country and its famous clock.

The Chinese rider had said the day before that he thought the time could play an important role. He solved the problem himself: 6:49, eleven seconds inside the optimum.

Manjushri therefore finished the three tests exactly as he had finished the first: on 26.9 points.

« I am mainly very relieved ,,” Hua Tian admitted. “There is inevitably pressure when you come into a championship to defend a gold medal, especially with a horse as good as Manjushri. I did not want to let him down, or let his owners down.”

Three years after his Hangzhou title with Poseidons Admiral, Hua Tian therefore retains his title with another horse.

Clean.

Sittiju Adds Silver

Thailand did not settle for the team title either.

Woraphat Sittiju and Uster de Chanay also came through the competition without adding anything to their dressage score. With 30.1 points, they leave with individual silver.

Japan still found its place on the podium thanks to Yoshiaki Oiwa and Ottawa des Desig. Their only addition of the competition: 0.4 time penalties on the cross-country. Total: 31.7, and bronze.

The first equestrian chapter of these Asian Games therefore closes with two quite different images. On one side, Alex Hua Tian, installed in front from day one and impossible to dislodge. On the other, a Thai team that was third before the cross-country and waited until the final kilometres of the competition to take gold.

Full results here

(So Horse with FEI. Photos © FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi Photography