Equestrian

August 6–9 (eventing); August 10–12 and 15 (dressage); August 14–19 (showjumping) Dead cert Germany for eventing team gold for the third time running; short of freak bad luck, nothing will stop this well-prepared juggernaut and they could dominate all three disciplines, as they did in Seoul in 1988 Best of British Reigning Olympic, World and European dressage champions Charlotte Dujardin and her ‘dancing horse’ Valegro ( bottom); eventer William Fox-pitt ( below), miraculously back in action after a serious head injury. Showjumper John Whitaker ( right), 61 on Friday, is competing in his sixth Olympics and his brother, Michael, in his fifth Corinthian contender Showjumper Nick Skelton, contesting his seventh Games aged 58, came out of retirement in 2002, after breaking his neck and despite wonky hips, knees and back. ‘Real jobs’ are nothing new among eventers: the 2008 gold medallist Hinrich Romeike (German) is a dentist, Irish rider Clare Abbott is a maths teacher and Brazilian Marcia Jorge is an anaesthetist Beat that In 1988, legendary New Zealander Mark Todd (who’s at his seventh Olympics, aged 60) won back-to-back eventing gold on his little black horse Charisma, which, at 16, had been written off by critics Golden moment A dead heat between Britain’s unexpected showjumping gold in London and Valegro cantering merrily along to Land of Hope and Glory en route to taking this country’s first Olympic dressage title, an occurrence once thought as likely as flying to the Moon Need to know Test Match Special’s Aggers (Jonathan Agnew) will make his equestrian commentating debut in Rio for the BBC