The Troll, Beastie, Red and Happy will be out to put an end to German domination of three-day eventing at the Rio Olympics and carry the United States to a gold medal they have not held for over three decades.
An eclectic mix of man and beast; Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Clark Montgomery and Lauren Kieffer come from backgrounds that are as different as their horses’ personalities but together give the US a chance to end a 32-year medal drought.
At one end of the spectrum is Dutton, who at 52 is the oldest member of the entire United States Olympic team, competing in his sixth Summer Games, the first three riding for Australia.
At the other end is first time Olympian Kieffer, who got into the sport when her father sold his motorcycle to buy her a horse.
In between, is the Australian-born Boyd, the son of two Olympian parents, his mother a speedskater and father a cross-country skier, and Montgomery, who has spent the last three-plus years in England preparing for his Olympic moment.
But in Rio the four riders will share the spotlight with their mounts Veronica (The Troll), Mighty Nice (Happy), Loughan Glen (Beastie) and Blackfoot Mystery (Red).
“My horse is Veronica but her nickname around the barn is the Troll because she is very feisty,” explained Kieffer, during the team’s pre-Games press conference last weekend.
“But she is a very good competitor and she likes to go out and win whether it is competing or walking out to the field. Hopefully, she brought that here in Rio.”
The horses’ backgrounds are no less diverse but most importantly it is the chemistry with the rider that will ultimately determine success.
While some horses are bred specifically for eventing, others like Blackfoot Mystery are discovered.
“He (Blackfoot Mystery) was supposed to be a race horse. Unfortunately, he was a terrible race horse,” said Boyd.
“So the owners retired him and gave him to a donation programme so he was a freebie. I think I’m at a little of a disadvantage having only known my horse for a year but we clicked very quickly.
“In our sport we are team-mates.”
Germany have dominated the three-day eventing, a competition that is the equestrian version of a triathlon that includes dressage, cross-country and show jumping.
At the last two Olympics, Germany has stood atop the podium in both the team and individual competitions.
The US, meanwhile, has not won a medal in the team event since taking bronze at the 2000 Sydney Games.
“The last couple of Olympics we haven’t had the results we wanted,” said Kieffer.
“But we are certainly looking to get back on top at the Olympics this time around.”