Jill Medinger2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Cross Country Course Designer, Alec Lochore. (Photo courtesy of Alec Lochore/Musketeer Events)
When British course designer Alec Lochore first walked the grounds of Santa Anita Park, he wasn’t thinking about the 2028 Olympics. He was simply assessing a venue. Then came the phone call.
“I was pretty shocked,” he admitted. “And very humbled. It’s a great honor, but it comes with pressure. I feel that pressure every day.”
Lochore, 53, was unanimously appointed by the FEI Board to design the cross-country course for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games — a role that comes with a unique challenge: building a world-class XC track at a thoroughbred racing venue. All equestrian events at LA28 will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, July 14–30, 2028.
For those wondering whether there’s enough room, Lochore has a ready answer. “Every time I go there, I think, ‘This is actually quite a big space,'” he said. “Google Earth doesn’t give you perspective. The grandstand alone is nearly a quarter mile long.” The course will use approximately three-quarters of the turf track — ground once graced by thoroughbred legends. “That’s quite unusual,” he said. “But also quite special.”
Lochore is no stranger to the Olympics, having served as Eventing Manager at both London 2012 and Tokyo 2020. He draws on a lineage steeped in the sport — his mother, Polly Lochore, was a European Champion and team gold medalist in 1969. Eventing, he says, wasn’t something he discovered. It was a world he grew up inside.
His goal for LA28 is straightforward: “We want horses to have a good experience. We want them to progress.”