The FEI’s Proposal for the Paris 2024 Olympics retains the teams of three format across all the equestrian disciplines. This is the format used for the first time at the Tokyo Olympics where only three riders were permitted per team. Prior to this, teams of four were selected with the worst score being discarded.

The FEI General Assembly voted in favour of this format change for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in November of 2016. After the vote FEI President Ingmar De Vos said:

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”

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 a number of national federations and big name riders who expressed their concerns at the time of the vote on the format changes. This was followed by criticism of the new format from a number of the riders who then participated in the Tokyo Olympics. This lead to a number of negative media headlines reporting on the riders concerns, such as the article in Horse & Hound Magazine entitled “New three-rider format causes ‘carnage’ in Olympic showjumping, say riders”.

The riders’ concerns have in large part arisen out of concerns for the welfare of their horses. Commenting on the new format and the dramatic fall of Shane Sweetnam’s Alejandro during the show jumping team qualifier, Nick Skeleton said in the Equnews article entitled “Nick Skelton: “Shane Sweetnam should never had been put in such a position. We need to change the format!” :

… the new format was a disaster and the FEI needs to be held responsible for that – no onus for the scenes we saw in Tokyo should be placed on the riders.

I know Shane Sweetnam received a lot of flack on social media for his round, but he was absolutely not at fault – he was only put in that position by the new rules. We could all see what was going to happen after the second jump and it was uncomfortable to watch, but he had to get round or his country lost all chance. On TV that did not look good.

Luckily the horse is going to be OK, but he should never have been put under that kind of pressure. There needs to be a clear rule about ringing the bell in that situation and perhaps there should be a professional rider in the judges’ box helping to make that call.

Despite these concerns, the FEI has proposed the same format for the Paris Olympics. They gave the national federations and stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the format by 15 October 2021. The comments received can be viewed in section C of the FEI’s Equestrian qualification system proposal for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It is in relation to show jumping that the majority of concerns have been expressed as regards the teams of three rule. The following national federations objected to the format by the 15 October deadline, with Great Britain saying they will comment in due course:

  • Austria;
  • Czech Republic;
  • France;
  • Germany;
  • Ireland;
  • Netherlands;
  • Switzerland; and
  • USA.

For ease of reference, we have quoted below each of the national federation’s objections to the teams of three rule in show jumping. We have also quoted their concerns over horse welfare.

Austria

Support 4 per team for all disciplines.

Olympic international standard means that some top riders (e.g. from the top 30 of the world ranking list) from strong regions do not get a qualification, whereas riders from weak regions have it easier in this respect. Nevertheless, certain minimum criteria should be fulfilled, so that an Olympic-size course can be managed in a way that is suitable for the horse. If these minimum criteria are not met, the places should go to the individual quota places, the overall FEI Olympic Ranking, so that a minimum level of equestrian quality is also maintained in terms of animal welfare.

Czech Republic

Jumping: teams of 4, while maintaining advance of 2 teams from the special qualifying competition of our qualifying group C, as per proposal

France

Competition format: Support teams of 4. This statement is strengthened after Tokyo2020 Games format experience where we are forced to recognize that there have been more drifts with horse welfare issues than in previous ones : riders overstraining their horses, combinations level below safety standards. By underestimated the singular animal factor within our sport format we are threatening the place of our sport in the Olympic movement and in society. We support to have more flags as long as it is not compromising horse welfare and that all participants qualify on fair worldwide procedures to ensure safety and to have the best of our sport at the olympics. To increase the number of flags we would recommend to prioritize on the best individuals from upcoming nations instead of having teams not fully composed by safe enough combination

Germany

Jumping: In order to maintain the total quota of 60 Team Athletes, we propose to amend to have 15 teams of 4. We are aware that the tables must then be changed accordingly and suggest that the responsible bodies make proposals to best achieve a fair allocation.

Competition format: Asking to return to the format of 4 riders in a team with the lowest score at the end dropped. It is kinder to the horses because it puts less pressure on a rider if the combination makes a mistake or the rider feels he should not continue a bad round. In a team of 3, riders are at risk to overstrain their horses if they know they must complete the round because otherwise their country will be out. In a four-to-a-team format, nations could still continue in the competition if a combination was retired or eliminated. We must not compromise Horse Welfare for the sake of having more flags

Eventing: return to the format of 4 riders in a team with the lowest score at the end dropped. It is kinder to the horses because it puts less pressure on a rider if the combination makes a mistake or the rider feels he should not continue a bad round. In a team of 3, riders are at risk to overstrain their horses if they know they must complete the round because otherwise their country will be basically out. There is a huge risk that teams get eliminated and then all efforts spent over years to prepare for this most important event were in vain. We recognize the fact that there is a 100/200 points score for athletes dropping out and the team stays in the rankings. Still such a team is basically out. In a four-to-a-team format, nations could still continue in the competition if a combination was retired or eliminated. We must not compromise Horse Welfare for the sake of having more flags. Therefore, we have to amend

Ireland

Competition format: Consensus of IRL NF discussions: the format did not serve the athletes, the horses or the global image of equestrian sport very well. I believe all NF’s wish to see equestrian sport as a brand leader, an exciting and vibrant sport to be involved, so unique in every sense, while maintain the core values of horse first, perform as one, fair and equal, for today and tomorrow.

Jumping: The IRL NF propose a simple format: Team of 4 in round one of Teams. With drop score Reducing to 3 for final and the Team event to take place before Individual

Netherlands

Number of Members/team: Support 4 per team for all disciplines.

Switzerland

Number of Members/team: Support 4 per team for all disciplines.

USA

Tokyo OG & Competition format debrief: Request that this takes place at GA. Vote on Qualification procedures to be delayed

Number of Members/team: Opinion Teams of 4 with a discard are essential for the good of the sport and horse welfare, especially in Jumping and Eventing. We believe this actually benefits weaker Nations. Also support return to 4 with discard for Dressage

Competition format –Jumping: Return to Teams of 4 with a discard is required, especially for the first round of the Team

The qualification system (which includes teams of three) is to be reviewed as a priority for approval by the FEI General Assembly on 17 November 2021.

The USA’s proposal is to delay the vote on the qualification system and teams of three until after a debrief has taken place at the General Assembly on the Tokyo Olympics and how the new format worked in practice. This seems a sensible proposal and the Technical Committees are to review the comments received by the 15 October 2021 deadline to discuss them with the FEI Board. The outcome of those discussions will then be provided to the national federations ahead of the General Assembly.

However, it seems unlikely that the FEI will agree to delay the vote on the proposed qualification system given that there is not long after the General Assembly before the IOC Executive Board have to approve the qualification procedure for all sports in February 2022. The debrief following the Tokyo Olympics should already have taken place before the proposals on the qualification system were published.

Also, given the FEI’s current one country, one vote rule and the fact that only eight out of the 137 members have commented in objection to the teams of three rule so far, it seems likely that the qualification system will be approved in the form proposed (i.e. with teams of three remaining). Whilst this voting rule is democratic, this needs to be balanced against concerns over horse welfare and what is best for the public perception and promotion of the sport. Riders have previously complained that unpopular changes, such as the no drop score format, have been “pushed through” by countries without active participation in the equestrian discipline.

The addition of new FEI members and increased participation in the sport is to be welcomed. However, it is important that they demonstrate a certain level of active participation in and understanding of the highest level of the sport, as well as promoting horse welfare standards before being given equal voting rights. This should help decisions to be made with more regard to horse welfare and the public perception of the sport internationally. The FEI appear to have recognised this and, as reported by Pippa Cuckson in Horse Sport, the FEI has also proposed a constitutional change to be considered at the General Assembly. This would create a new “Associate” tier of membership with no voting rights until the new country is admitted as a full member.

Even if the new membership structure is approved though, it will not assist with the vote on the teams of three rule. It will only apply to new members joining after the new membership/voting structure has been implemented. The proposed new wording on the different membership classes can be viewed here.

If you have any questions or would like advice on the issues raised in this article, please get in touch. We are solicitors specialising in equine law.