With the Paris Olympics just days away from kicking off, both riders and horses are getting ready for an equestrian competition that has several potential history-making records on the line.

Equestrian at the 2024 Paris Games will be once again split into its three disciplines, with team and individual competitions in eventing, dressage and jumping. Several of equestrian's all-time greats will look to cement their legacies and defend their Tokyo titles, while a number of athletes will look to break through and unseat the defending champions.

Read below to find out who will be looking to make history in Paris, and which dark horse competitors to keep an eye on.

Eventing is often considered the "equestrian triathlon," as athletes compete in three phases—dressage, cross-country and eventing—over the course of four days.

Individual Eventing

Tokyo gold medalist Julia Krajewski will have a chance to defend her title in Paris after it was announced that she would replace Sandra Auffarth as a member of Germany's eventing team. While Krajewski became the first woman to capture the Olympic individual eventing title in Tokyo, she will face fierce competition if she is going to repeat that feat this summer.

Great Britain's Rosalind Canter will be one of the gold medal favorites heading into Pari and enters her first Olympic games as the FEI's top ranked eventing athlete. Canter also captured the individual eventing title at the 2023 European Championships. Canter will face stiff competition from Tokyo silver medalist and British teammate Tom McEwen, who will return to competition in Paris as the No. 3-ranked eventing athlete in the world by the FEI. He will look to secure his third Olympic medal with another successful Games this summer. Notably absent for Great Britain is No. 2 ranked Oliver Townend, who pulled out from contention citing his horse's "welfare and happiness."

Boyd Martin of the United States is also poised for a strong competition, entering as the world No. 6. Martin will compete in his fourth games after securing his best results in Tokyo with sixth in the team event. He will be joined by fellow American Caroline Pamukcu who secured the individual eventing title at the 2023 Pan American Games ahead of her Olympic debut. Pamukcu will be the youngest rider for Team USA.

Team Eventing

Great Britain is poised to defend its Olympic title after ending a 50-year team eventing gold medal drought in Tokyo. Joining both McEwan and Canter on the British team is Laura Collett, who won gold at both the Tokyo Olympics and 2023 European Championship as a member of Great Britain's eventing team. The British boast incredible depth in the eventing competition, with 10 of the world's top 20 eventing athletes.

Host-nation France is also primed for a strong showing after narrowly missing out on silver in 2020. The French team grabbed bronze in Tokyo as well as at the 2023 European Eventing Championship and will hope to continue its success in front of the home crowd. Leading France will be five-time Olympian and world No. 12 Nicolas Touzaint, who won team gold in 2004 along with his Tokyo bronze medal. He will be joined by Tokyo teammate Karim Laghouag and first-time Olympian Stephane Landois.

The United States has put together a strong team after finishing off the podium in Tokyo. In 2022, the squad grabbed silver at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships, securing their first medal in the event in 20 years. Traveling reserve Liz Halliday-Sharp will complete the U.S. team after replacing Will Coleman, who's horse was pulled from competition for health reasons.

*Eventing rankings as of July 3, 2024.

In equestrian's most precise event, dressage tests a horse's agility and discipline over several rounds of competition.

Individual Dressage

Titans of the sport will clash in a potentially historic individual dressage competition. World No. 2 Isabell Werth from Germany enters the Paris Games as the all-time leader in equestrian Olympic medals, having captured 7 gold and 12 total medals over the course of her six previous Games. In her seventh — and possibly final Olympics — Werth will look to reclaim the Olympic title and extend her all-time lead after finishing second in Tokyo. She enters the Games with two consecutive Grand Prix wins under her belt. Challenging Werth will be Tokyo Olympic champion and world No. 1 Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, the defending European and World Cup champion. Von Bredow-Werndl has held the world No. 1 ranking since June 2023 and looks prepared to fully establish herself as Werth's successor to the dressage throne.

No. 3 Charlotte Fry (GBR) will also be in contention for a medal in Paris, entering the Games as the reigning World Champion. The youngest ever dressage World Champion and the 2023 European Championships silver medalist will look to challenge the German duo this summer. She will be joined by British teammates No. 10 Carl Hester and No. 15 Becky Moody, who replaced No. 4 Charlotte Dujardin. 

Five-time Olympian and three-time medalist Steffen Peters will lead the way for the United States after returning from a health scare in December 2023. He will be joined by two-time Olympian Adrienne Lyle and first-time Olympian Marcus Orlob.

Team Dressage

No team has won more medals in Olympic team dressage than Germany, which enters the competition as the heavy favorites to win a 14th medal. The German team has won the dressage gold in every Olympic Games since 1984, with the exception of the 2012 London Games where they placed second. Its two stars, Werth and Bredow-Werndl, will be joined by first-time Olympian Frederic Wandres.

Chasing Germany will be the United States, which will look to make history and secure its first ever team gold medal in Olympic dressage this summer. Despite having the second most total team medals in Olympic dressage history with 9, the United States has never won gold, and its silver medal in Tokyo was tied for the team's best-ever finish. The U.S. will try and unseat the Germans after brining back two of the Tokyo medalists in Peters and Lyle.

Great Britain and Denmark will also enter the competition as medal favorites and title contenders. After claiming bronze in Tokyo, the British team led by Fry secured gold at the 2023 European Championships and silver at the 2022 World Championships. As the only team to beat Germany to an Olympic team dressage gold since 1984, Great Britain will depend on its stars to give them an edge. Meanwhile, the Danish have had a strong comeback since finishing fourth in Tokyo, claiming gold at the 2022 World Championships and third at the 2023 European Championships. With a roster that includes world No. 5 Nanna Skodborg Merrald, No. 7 Cathrine Dufour and No. 9 Daniel Bachmann Andersen, Denmark will be a tough team to beat in Paris.

*Dressage rankings of July 1, 2024.

As the final equestrian discipline in Paris, there are high expectations for the individual and team competitions, which are set to excite.

Individual Jumping

World No. 1 Henrik Von Eckermann of Sweden enters the Olympics as the undisputed king of equestrian jumping. After finishing fourth in Tokyo, Von Eckermann has been dominant, capturing gold at both the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 and 2024 World Cups. He has held the world No. 1 ranking since March 2023, and is only missing an Olympic individual title in order to complete a perfect résumé. With his form over the past competitions, the title will be his to lose.

Von Eckermann will face some of his stiffest competition in the form of the Swiss riders No. 4, Steve Guerdat, and No. 8, Martin Fuchs. Guerdat is a three-time World Cup champion, with his last title coming in 2019. He is also a five-time Olympian and won the individual jumping gold medal at the London Games. Fuchs won the World Cup in 2022, the last athlete beside Von Eckermann to win the event, and finished runner-up in both the 2018 World Championships and the 2021 European Championships. Defending Olympic champion and world No. 2 Ben Maher of Great Britain will also be in contention, finishing sixth at the 2024 World Cup and 2022 World Championships.

For Team USA, three-time Olympian and world No. 6 Kent Farrington will be pushing for a podium finish in Paris after finishing fourth at the 2024 World Cup.

Team Jumping

Sweden will look to repeat as Olympic champions in team jumping with strong performances from Tokyo  individual silver medalist No. 14 Peder Fredricson and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson alongside Von Eckermann. Following a gold medal in Tokyo, the Swedish team went on to win gold at the 2022 World and 2023 European Championships, making it the overwhelming favorites heading into the Games. Team Sweden is currently fourth in the all-time team jumping Olympic medal standings with 6 medals, but has the second most gold medals of any country with four.

A number of nations will be looking to replace the Swedes at the top of the tournament, including the hosts. Team France — led by No. 5 Julien Epaillard — will be looking to bounce back after a stunning Tokyo Olympics that saw them enter the tournament as gold medal favorites, but get knocked out of contention after Penelope Leprovost suffered a surprise elimination that kept France off the podium. The Swiss team will also be pushing to win its first ever Olympic gold team jumping medal with a strong performance from Pius Schwizer alongside Guerdat and Fuchs.

A veteran Team USA will look to return the country to the top step of the podium after consecutive silver medal finishes in Tokyo and Rio. With a team made up of three Olympic medalists — including Laura Kraut and McLain Ward, both of whom were a part of Team USA's last team gold in 2008 — the United States will draw on all of its experience to upset the defending champions.

*Jumping rankings as of June 30, 2024.

The six equestrian events will run between Saturday, July 27, and Tuesday, Aug. 6. Competition will kick off on July 27 with the first rounds of the team eventing and individual dressage, and conclude on Aug. 6 with individual jumping.