The FEI General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed format changes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
Under the new proposals, the number of athletes in national teams will be reduced from four to three, and the drop score, which previously allowed for a team’s worst score to be discarded, will be removed. The use of a reserve combination will remain in place for teams, but will be even more important and will be a key element in ensuring horse welfare.
Despite a recent campaign by the International Jumper Riders Club (IJRC) and the North American Riders Group (NARG) advocating for the four-team/drop score format, only 11 of the 107 National Federations represented voted against the proposal. (Those were Albania, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Romania and Switzerland.)
Voting on the proposed sport-specific changes to the three individual Olympic disciplines—Jumping, Dressage and Eventing —was unanimously in favour. While the vote on the Paralympic formats saw one National Federation—Great Britain—against the proposed changes.
“This was a really important vote for the future of our sport if we are to increase universality in accordance with the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said after the vote.
“We need to increase the number of participating nations at the Olympic Games but within our existing quota of 200. Reducing team members to three per nation was probably the only way to boost the number of flags. Of course this now has to be approved by the IOC, but it opens the door to countries that previously could only see the Olympics as a distant dream.
“There were some National Federations that didn’t agree with the proposal, but that’s all part of the democratic process. Now we need to work together to make this a success.”
The proposed changes are as follows:
Jumping
- Teams of three horse/athlete combinations per nation, plus one reserve combination, no drop score
- 20 teams (60 horse/athlete combinations)
- 15 slots for nations not qualified with a team (maximum one horse/athlete combination per nation)
- Individual event will now take place before Team event
- Cut-off score: the exact cut-off and resulting penalty will be finalised in the Olympic Regulations
- The exact penalty for any horse/athlete combination that is eliminated, or does not complete their round for any reason, will be finalised in the Olympic Regulations
Dressage
- Teams of three horse/athlete combinations per nation, no drop score
- Each directly qualified team may bring a reserve rider/horse combination, or horse only
- One individual per nation not represented by a qualified team (no composite teams)
- Determine Team medals solely through results of Grand Prix Special (no longer a combination of Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special scores)
- Introduce new “heat system” (including “lucky losers”) for Grand Prix: 18 individuals to qualify from Grand Prix to Grand Prix Freestyle (best two from each of the 6 heats, plus the next 6 with the best overall results)
- 8 top teams (24 starters) from Grand Prix to qualify for Grand Prix Special
- Introduce new system for starting order in Grand Prix
- Conduct Grand Prix Special to music
Eventing
- Teams of three horse/athlete combinations per nation, no drop score
- One reserve combination per team will be allowed. If a reserve combination is substituted, it will incur a penalty for the team. The exact penalty will be finalised in the Olympic Regulations
- Maximum of two individuals per nation not represented by a team
- Order of tests to remain unchanged (1st Dressage; 2nd Cross Country; 3rd Jumping Team; 4th Jumping Individual)
- Olympic Eventing to take place over three days (Dressage test reduced to one day)
- Technical level of the three tests to be defined as the “Olympic level”: Dressage and Jumping 4*; Cross Country: 10-minute optimum time, 45 jumping efforts, and 3* technical difficulty
- Qualification of athletes/horses to be achieved on the same Cross Country technical level to ensure implementation of the recommendations of the FEI Independent Audit in Eventing
- For the purpose of the Team classification only: any horse/athlete combinations not completing a test can continue to the next test if accepted as fit to compete at the relevant Horse Inspection
- For the purpose of the Team classification only: penalties for the non-completion of a test for any reason, Dressage =100 points, Cross Country = 150, Jumping = 100
- Rules for the Individual event remain unchanged
Para-Equestrian Dressage
- Teams of three horse/athlete combinations per nation, no drop score
- Each directly qualified team is entitled to bring four horse/athlete combinations, of which three will have to be declared to compete on the team after the Individual Championships test, in which all four will compete as Individuals.
- Maximum of two individuals per nation not represented by a team (no composite teams)
- Determine Team medals solely through results of Team test (no longer a combination of Team and Individual test scores)
- Top 8 per grade from the Individual test to qualify for the Freestyle test
- Order of tests: Individual Championship test, Team test, Freestyle
- Team test to be set to music
The FEI-approved proposal will now go to the IOC Executive Board for final approval in 2017.