Kermond says Olympic medal on Australian equestrian team's radar

Having already locked up Olympic Games qualification, Australian champion showjumper Jamie Kermond says they have two years to focus on winning a medal.

While Kermond's back in Australia and will be at the NSW Showjumping Championships in Canberra this week, his horse Constellation is still in quarantine in Europe, where it will have to spend two weeks before spending another fortnight in Australian quarantine.

Kermond said their sixth place at the World Equestrian Games in North Carolina last month put them in the hunt for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

It meant they automatically qualified for Tokyo, a luxury they normally didn't have.

Instead of spending the next two years trying to get into the Olympics, they can spend it preparing.

"We were probably expected to come midfield, but to finish sixth and get the qualification was really exciting for Australian jumping," Kermond said.

"We had a bit of bad luck on the second day. If things had've gone our way we would've been right up there and we wouldn't have been too far away from a medal.

"With a bit of planning we should be heading to the Olympics thinking about getting a medal, not just going there to make up the numbers."

Kermond said finishing on the podium would be the goal of the Australian team, while for himself he would aim to make the final of the showjumping.

But first he has to get there. Just because he helped the team qualify doesn't mean he's guaranteed a spot in the team.

He won't compete at the titles at Equestrian Park, which begin on Wednesday, he'll be there supporting his wife Jamie Winning-Kermond instead.

The championships run until Sunday.

"As a team we'd go in with the goal to be fighting for a medal. Individually I would be aiming to qualify for the final," Kermond said.

"Then you'd just be 'fingers crossed'. You have a bit of luck and you never know."

Kermond took part in the Channel Seven show Jump Off, which took thoroughbred race horses and turned them into eventers.

He had a horse from Melbourne Cup winning jockey turned trainer Michelle Payne's stable.

It's a process all too familiar to Kermond, whose parents were involved in the racing industry.

"It's quite different, but quite enjoyable. The first couple of episodes I've seen have been quite good," he said.

"They all went pretty well, they did a good job, the horses."

Article courtesy of Fairfax Digital and The Canberra Times