© Stefano Grasso/LGCT
By Ellie Jolley
With the coronavirus now officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, equestrian events across the globe have continued to be disrupted.
Following the French Government’s decision to ban gatherings of more than 1000 people, the highly anticipated 5-star Saut Hermes Horse Show set to take place in Paris next weekend has been cancelled.
The Dutch Masters in s’Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, is continuing ahead this weekend. Organisers had announced a spectator limit of 1000 but decided that the next leg of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show jumping on March 15 will be held behind closed doors with no spectators allowed. However, the FEI Dressage World Cup qualifier to be held at the same event has been cancelled.
In Europe, Italy has been the hardest hit by COVID-19 with 15,113 confirmed cases as of Friday morning. All sporting events in Italy have been suspended with competitions such as the Montelibretti CCI meant to be held April 9-12 cancelled.
The three Longines Global Champions Tours & GCL competitions to take place in Mexico City (March 26-29), Miami (April 2-4), and Shanghai (May 8-10) have all been postponed.
All Spanish Equestrian Federation national and international events must now be closed to all spectators, like the Mediterranean Horse Tour during all of March in Oliva Nova. While the CDI in Madrid has been postponed.
With more international events likely to be cancelled and postponed in the coming weeks, all eyes are on the International Olympic Committee as they forge ahead with plans for the Tokyo Games set to start on July 24.
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