Dressage-News

Mar. 19, 2018

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Dressage at the 2019 Pan American Games provides for 10 teams and a total of 48 horse and rider combinations but the makeup of the national squads between Big and Small Tour pairs is not yet available with less than two weeks to the start of qualifying, according to details issued by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

For the first time, the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru will require dressage spots unfilled by regional qualifying to be allocated to pairs on the FEI world rankings though there are no rankings for small tour combinations, only for Grand Prix and youth divisions.

Aside from Brazil, Canada and the United States with multiple combinations on the world rankings, only six other nations in the Americas have horses on the current global ranking list of Grand Prix combinations–Dominican Republic (two horses owned by the same rider), Mexico 2, and one each in Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala; no horse and rider from the host nation of Peru.

Further, only Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States have scheduled CDI3* or higher rated events in all of 2018 that enable combinations to earn world ranking points anywhere in the two continents–North and South America.

Qualifying for the Pan Ams runs from April 1, 2018 to Mar. 31, 2019.

The World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina in September is also a qualifier for the 2020 Olympics with six nations able to earn a team start in Tokyo.

The Nations Cup at Wellington, Florida that also tested formats for the 2015 Pan Ams is scheduled for the end of this month with countries given the option of small tour horses but one Grand Prix combination required. Only Canada and the United States have entered teams from the Americas.

The number of dressage participants in Lima that will mirror the three Olympic disciplines will be 48, the same as for eventing and with 54 in jumping for a total of 150. The numbers for dressage are an increase of three in total and one more team than at the 2015 Pan Ams in Toronto.

The Pan Ams was traditionally at small tour so as to include as many nations but in 2015 included teams with Grand Prix pairs. Canada, that took silver, and the United States winning gold had two from each division. Argentina also started two pairs at Grand Pix while the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Uruguay each had one Big Tour duo.

The Pan Ams, staged once every four years since 1951 is a qualifier for the summer Olympics that are staged a year later. With more than 5,600 athletes from 42 countries participating, the Pan Ams are the second largest sporting event behind only the Olympics.

Qualification procedures for teams, except for the host nation of Peru that is automatically allocated a start, are:

–Four best teams from the Central American and Caribbean Games in Baranquilla, Colombia July 20-31 this year;

–Three best teams from a South American qualifier in Buenos Aires Nov. 21-25, and

–Two best teams in North America based on world rankings.

For the eight individual places:

–Four best ranked individuals from Central America and the Caribbean not qualified with a team at the Barranquilla Games;

–Three best ranked individuals from South American nations not qualified with a team based on world rankings, and

–One individual from North America based on world rankings, not qualified with a team or two individuals.