An Increase to 10 Teams from 8 Proposed for 2024 Paris Olympic Dressage
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April 25, 2024
An increase to 10 from eight dressage teams at the 2024 Paris Olympics was proposed at the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Sports Forum Monday.
The proposal to boost the number of three-member teams with no drop score to 10 from the Tokyo Games limit of eight and decided by the Grand Prix Special appeared to gain widespread support.
The Tokyo format provided for 60 rider and horse combinations–15 teams of three plus 15 individuals–to start in the Grand Prix.
The top eight nations–Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United States–advanced to the Grand Prix Special with a clean slate to determine medals.
The proposal for 2024 is to increase the number of teams–qualifying primarily through the world championships in August this year and the European Championships and the Pan American Games next year.
The minimum eligibility score for the Olympics–tentatively scheduled for July 26 to Aug. 11, 2024–was also proposed to be raised to 67% from 66%.
The proposals put to the Sports Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland were drawn up after what the FEI described as a “widespread consultation process” to decide on formats and other requirements covering the three disciplines of dressage, eventing and jumping.
The proposals for dressage were introduced by FEI Dressage Committee Chair Maribel Alonso of Mexico; FEI Dressage, Para Dressage and Vaulting Director Bettina De Rham and three-time Olympian and Dressage Committee Member Patrick Kittel of Sweden.
The same deadline principles applied for Tokyo should be maintained for Paris, they proposed, as well as keeping the current system for the allocation of qualifying events. The list of 2024 qualifiers for qualifying scores would be published in December, 2023.
The rest day has been proposed following the second day of the Grand Prix and before the Grand Prix Special as occurred in Tokyo.
The team test music option that allowed riders to submit music for the Grand Prix Special would be removed and instead be provided “so that all of the music is fair and that volume and quality are controlled.”
Also, scoring displays in percentages as is the norm in dressage instead of points was also proposed.
Will Connell of the United States requested running scores visible during the team final. Jason Brautigam from British Dressage proposing better graphic information. Klaus Roeser of the International Dressage Riders Club suggested setting up a working group to look at proposals to boost sports presentation to allow viewers to better understand the sport.
