Andrew Hoy riding Lanfranco
©Kit Houghton

Ahead of the commencement of the FEI Sports Forum, National Federations have been asked by the FEI to submit feedback on the FEI’s proposals on the future format of Championships.

The proposals have been prompted by Olympic Agenda 2020 – an initiative by the IOC which is calling upon all Olympic sports to review the formats of their sport. The FEI is undertaking this review with a view to develop equestrian sports, solidify its position within the Olympic movement and increase awareness and popularity of the sport globally.

National Federations have been actively involved in the FEI’s review process and in turn EA has sought the feedback of key stakeholders in preparing its feedback for the FEI. This has included consultation with EA’s Olympic Discipline Committees, National Performance Directors, current and former Australian team selectors, current and former athletes and State Branch/State Sport Committees.
 

Some of the feedback provided by EA:
 

Eventing

• At the Olympic Games teams should consist of four and a reserve horse/rider combination.
• EA does not support there being no drop score at the Olympic Games.
• At the Olympic Games EA supports five minute dressage tests as this would allow Dressage to be conducted on one day. EA does not agree with the deletion of collective marks but does support removal of judges’ comments in order to promote time efficiency.
• As the team’s event is most important team Jumping tests should take place ahead of the individual jumping tests. Teams should jump in reverse order and the individual final should be made up of the top 25 placed individuals. EA does not support all nations’ riders in the arena together but does support riders jumping consecutively according to individual rankings.
• Australia supports the inclusion of composite teams in the sport of Eventing at Olympic Games.  This is a proven way of encouraging both individuals and Nations to participate.
• EA believes that the Olympic Games and WEG should remain at the current standards. We agree with the encouragement of more nations at the Olympic Games and the WEG format should be decided upon by the sport and not automatically follow the Olympic format.
•  EA is comfortable with negative scoring as it currently exists the lowest score wins, however we would welcome additional research and data regarding removal of the coefficient scoring system.
•  EA supports the hiring of a branding agency by the FEI to explore changing of the sport’s name.
   

Dressage

• There should be three riders in a team with a reserve combination/horse.
• The reserve combination must be able to be substituted for medical or veterinary reasons. until after the Horse Inspection and on same day as Horse Inspection.
• There should be 15 teams in the Olympic Games as well as 15 individuals (only one individual per country) and that the quality of this field will depend on the qualification score required for the MES. This could well be raised from 64% to 65/66%.
• EA supports proposal B on the grounds that in broad principle it is more easily understood by the public, is shorter in terms of number of days.
• EA has reservations about the “heat” concept as illustrated to determine the qualified riders for the Individual final.    The final make-up of the riders qualified for the Freestyle must be the Best Performed.
• EA has requested clarification regarding how the Groups in Option A are allocated and whether this this dependent on the World rankings at the time or the Olympic World ranking list.
• The number of horses in the Freestyle should be up to 24 rather than 15 to 18.
• In the Freestyle no country should have more than two riders qualified.
• EA recommends that the current WEG format be retained and not follow any new Olympic Games format for Dressage. WEG should be the peak event for the discipline rather than designed around the media and public which is the case for Olympics.
   

Jumping

EA in principle supports the proposals made for Jumping in both the Olympic Games and WEG.
In principle;

• EA supports a more compact competition format
• The individual event should be completely separate from the team’s event
• The individual event should run prior to the team event
• There should be three athletes per team (plus one reserve combination)
• There should be no drop score in the team competitions.

Para-Equestrian

• EA supports changes to logistics to make the competition shorter in duration and allow for more nations to compete, but does not believe that enhancements to the sport are needed. To this end EA has proposed a number of alternative formats for the FEI’s consideration.

General comments

Australia would further support additional research and investigation around the presentation of the sport both visually and via broadcast.  This may include adjusting commentary, analysis, review and preview from experienced profile broadcasters and technical experts.

Australia supports the FEI in its plan to hire a brand agency to advise on potential options. We are of the opinion this is highly valuable to investigate further opportunities for the wider community to be become engaged in the sport.

EA is of the very strong opinion that Equestrian sports must remain in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Competition figures following Barcelona proved the influence on number of riders who participate in the sport for Australia.  Our presence at the Olympics is a critical piece in the Australian Sporting landscape.  Equestrian Australia will look to support the changes necessary in the format in Equestrian that will ensure our continued participation in the Olympic Games.

FEI Sports Forum 2016 live on FEI TV

The FEI Sports Forum 2016, which will be held at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne (SUI) on 4 and 5 April, will be live-streamed free of charge on FEI TV, the FEI's official online video platform.

This year's Sports Forum turns the spotlight onto the career pathway, education, appointment and remuneration of FEI Officials on the first day, and then the Olympic and FEI World Equestrian Games™ competition formats and Eventing rules revisions take centre stage on day two.

Timetable of live-streaming sessions:

4 April?Morning session 09.00-13.15 CET?Afternoon session 14.15-18.00 CET
5 April?Morning session 09.00-13.15 CET?Afternoon session 14.30-16.30 CET
Users who do not have an FEI TV login will need to register to view the FEI Sports Forum.

 

Source: Equestrian Australia media release