August 15, 2016 
The Rio Olympics are comprised of 28 sports, many of which have little in common, especially when it comes to the playing surface. From the swimming pool to the hardwood, the soccer pitch to a ping pong table, every sport has its own “field of battle,” and while everyone is focused on the world-class athletes in action, there are many people on hand to ensure every athlete in every competition is playing on equal footing.
Christian Bauer is one such person. As the FEI’s footing expert, his job is critical to the success of the equestrian competitions, directly impacting every horse and rider in competition. And yet, few outside of the competitors themselves will pay it any mind. Unless of course, something goes wrong.
Footing has been a major area of focus for the FEI in recent years. In 2014, the Federation published “the world’s most extensive study into the effect of arena surfaces on the orthopaedic health of sport horses in the seven FEI disciplines and in racing.”
So what exactly goes into the footing at a world-class venue like the Olympics? Bauer and his crew began supervising the installation of a free-drainage layer consisting of rubber mats to separate the base from the footing. The footing is a blend of silica sand, polyester fibers, and geo-textiles.
This formula creates a structure that responds much like natural turf. The polyester fibers mimic roots while the geo-textiles help maintain the moisture.
Now that the competitions are under way, Bauer’s focus here in Rio is now in maintenance mode. For the first time, the FEI is measuring and recording every conceivable detail of the footing to ensure the safest, fairest surface for all competitors.
“The footing on the top is a bit looser for dressage than it will be for the jumping,” he said. “Before the show jumping we start doing some more compaction processes. We do continuous measuring of the surface so that we see how the surface is responding to the treatment. We have full data on how much water we use each day, we monitor how much the material shifts and control how much material we move around. All so we can respond better to the riders.”
Ah yes, the riders.
Who better to offer feedback then the athletes themselves? Indeed, the FEI has placed a major emphasis on rider feedback in its quest to formulate the perfect footing for every competition. As Bauer explains, the FEI closely measured the footing at over 400 shows, asking each rider for feedback after each one.
“We measure five things in terms of footing: responsiveness, grip, uniformity, cushioning and ‘impact firmness’ over time. But our job is only a success if the riders are happy with the product.”
