Both the 2016 and the 2020 individual Olympic Champions had produced record-breaking seasons at the age of ten years old. If a successful ten-year-old season foresees future championship success, we look at the best ten-year-old horses of 2023, before next year’s Paris Olympics.

The Ten-Year-Old Class of 2023

James Kann Cruz: Leading since Day 1

Rider: Shane Sweetnam
Breeder: Patrick & Shane Connolly

This incredible Irish-bred gelding has been the talk of the sport for the last two seasons. After finishing his nine-year-old year as the highest-rated of his age, producing one of the Top 5 best nine-year-old seasons since recording started in 2010.

His success carried through in the following year when three podium finishes in five-star Grand Prix, got the Irish pair selected to represent their country at the Jumping European Championship in Milan last summer where they helped Ireland win Team Silver. This is also the year where Shane and JKC pick up their first ever World Cup victory. 

These results have allowed James Kann Cruz to keep his spot at the top of the ratings throughout the entirety of 2023. Finishing the year on an Elo rating of 774 also means that James Kann Cruz rates among the current Top 3 highest-rated horses in the world (of all ages!).

Dubai du Cedre: A Shot up the Ratings

Rider: Julien Epaillard
Breeder: Sylvain Pitois & Perrine Cateline

Unlike was the case for James Kann Cruz, only very few people would have heard the name Dubai du Cedre 12 months ago. The ten-year-old mare made her 160 debut in January of this year after only being a part of Julien’s string for 7 weeks. 

While they had already picked up wins and placings at the lower levels, they started getting accustomed to the upper levels in May, when Dubai and Julien produced a clear round in the five-star Grand Prix of Rome. They followed up that performance with a double clear round in the Nations Cup of La Baule the following week.

Their real breakthrough came in the summer at the Jumping European Championships in Milan. An extremely fast first round immediately put them in a good position and they retained good form throughout the week to claim Individual Bronze. 

Since then there has been no stopping these two. A win in the Lyon Grand Prix, followed by a runner-up position in the World Cup, as well as their superb victory in the LGCT Prague Super Grand Prix saw them shoot up the ratings and make a name for themselves among the world's best. In just 12 months, Dubai du Cedre has boosted her Elo by 129 points and now ranks among the current Top 5 highest-rated horses in the world.

Dynamix de Belheme: Going for Gold & Consistent Clears

Rider: Steve Guerdat
Breeder: Frederic Aimez

Steve and Dynamix gave us one of the greatest sporting moments of 2023 as they produced a picture-perfect European Championship in Milan last summer. As the only combination to complete five rounds of jumping without knocking a single rail, they were deservedly crowned Individual European Champions. 

Their consistency was not just reserved for the Europeans. With 18 five-star 160 rounds jumped in 2023 and 13 completed with a zero on the scoreboard, Dynamix maintained a clear rate of 72%. A number that very few have managed to match. 

Most recently, we saw the pair finish in the Top 5 of the World Cup of Stuttgart and complete their 2023 season landing just shy of a podium finish in the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva. With the experience of winning the Gold at the European Championships, Steve has a serious Paris contender in Dynamix.

Today’s Top 3 Among the All-Time Top 10

Can we Name the 2024 Olympic Champion?

If we look at the strongest ten-year-old seasons produced since we started recording in 2010. Only two horses managed to build higher Elo ratings than James Kann Cruz. It just so happens that those two horses are also the last two individual Olympic Champions. 

In 2013, Big Star reached an Elo of 776 at the age of ten years old. Just three years later, the beautiful bay stallion would be crowned the Olympic Champion at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with British rider Nick Skelton in the saddle. 

Another young gun lined out for the next Olympic cycle. Aged ten in 2019, Explosion W broke the seal on the Elo ratings and became the first horse to reach the 800s. With a high of 804, the chestnut gelding not only held the record for highest-rated ten-year-old, no horse of any age would manage to match or improve on that rating until 4 years later. With the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, Explosion W was 12 years old when he brought home the Individual Gold Medal in 2021.

Hopeful for Home Soil Success

As next year’s Olympic Games will take place in the French capital, Julien Epaillard will have his eyes set on a spot on the team to defend his country’s honour on home soil. He has a superb partner in Dubai du Cedre, currently sporting an Elo rating of 770. On point higher than Flora de Mariposa managed in 2015, the year before she would go on to help the French team win Team Gold at the Rio Olympics. 

Among Accomplished Athletes

This year’s European Champion finished the season among the Top 10 highest-rated horses of 2023 thanks to an Elo of 769. Three other horses finished their ten-year-old season on an Elo of 769 and went on to have elaborate and successful jumping careers. Previously mentioned Flora de Mariposa is a Team Gold Olympic medalist, Peder Fredricson’s Hansson WL is still among the current Top 5 highest-rated horses in the world and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z is one of just three horses who has ever managed to reach an Elo rating of over 800.