The Olympic dressage format which shall be used on the Paris 2024 Video games shall be similar to the format utilized in Tokyo – however it is going to look very totally different to older Video games.
A complete of 60 athlete mixtures will trip down the centre line in Paris, with 15 groups every comprising three pairs in addition to 15 particular person riders who won’t compete as a part of a staff. Every staff may carry a travelling reserve mixture, which could be substituted between the grand prix and the grand prix particular beneath sure circumstances.
Not like on the European Championships, or the Olympics pre-Tokyo, there shall be no drop rating within the staff competitors. This provides additional drama and suspense as a result of it means every mixture’s rating issues – a pricey mistake, or an elimination, can have a devastating affect on a staff’s medal prospects.
How are the staff medals determined?
Solely the grand prix particular counts in direction of the staff medals.
Nevertheless, the grand prix continues to be essential as a result of it acts because the qualifying competitors for each the particular and the grand prix freestyle – which decides the person medals.
All 60 mixtures should compete within the grand prix. They are going to be separated into six seeded teams which can be primarily based on the FEI dressage world horse rankings on the date of the particular entries.
Three teams will compete every day, with the highest two from every group, together with the following six highest total ranked pairs, advancing to the freestyle.
The highest 10-ranked groups as soon as all of the scores have been mixed after the grand prix will transfer on to the particular, together with these tied for tenth place.
No particular person athletes – that’s athletes who didn’t journey to Paris as a part of a staff – are allowed to compete within the particular. If one staff drops out earlier than the beginning of the particular, it’s changed by the following highest-ranked staff.
The particular is run as three teams of 10 mixtures. One mixture per nation will begin in every group.
The group distribution shall be determined by every nation’s chef d’equipe, who should declare which mixture begins within the first group, within the second group and the final group.
The chef d’equipe should ship a sealed envelope containing the order of go of the mixtures inside their staff to the technical delegate, no later than half-hour after the top of the grand prix. In every group, the mixtures will begin in reverse order of the staff’s total outcomes from the grand prix.
The staff with the best mixed rating from all three riders within the particular will win gold.
If two groups are tied, the successful staff is the one with the best-scoring lowest-classified mixture within the particular.
If nonetheless tied, the identical rule shall be utilized to the second lowest categorised mixture and so forth. If nonetheless tied, the groups will share the rank.
How are the person medals determined?
Solely the freestyle counts in direction of the ultimate particular person medals and is open to the 18 mixtures certified from the grand prix.
The 18 mixtures embrace the highest two mixtures from every of the six teams within the grand prix, plus the mixtures with the six subsequent highest total scores.
If a mixture drops out, the vacant spot is crammed by the following highest-placed mixture to fill the variety of mixtures allowed as much as two hours earlier than the beginning of the freestyle.
The beginning order is decided by a draw inside three teams of six, with the mixtures positioned 13–18 within the grand prix beginning first and the mixtures positioned 1-6 final to go.
If two athletes have the identical last rating, the upper inventive marks would be the tiebreaker. If nonetheless tied the upper marks for concord will resolve it. In the event that they’re nonetheless tied – how thrilling would that be? – it’ll be whoever has the upper marks for choreography.
Within the outstanding state of affairs that tied mixtures can nonetheless not be separated, they’ll share the rank.
How do substitutions work?
Every staff can have a travelling reserve mixture.
A substitution could solely be made throughout the interval between the grand prix and as much as two hours earlier than the beginning of the particular. A staff’s chef d’equipe could solely substitute one mixture for the travelling reserves.
Nevertheless, these substitutions can’t be tactical and it’s not a easy course of.
Substitutions will solely be allowed within the occasion of an accident or sickness of an athlete or horse and upon the presentation of the suitable medical or veterinary certificates of the staff physician or staff veterinarian.
All substitutions should even be validated by the Organising Committees for the Olympic Video games (OCOG) competitors administration, the FEI and the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC).
The substituted mixture can not compete within the freestyle.
What if a mixture will get eradicated?
As soon as the grand prix or the particular has began substitutions can’t be made and every rating counts.
If a mixture is eradicated from both their rating doesn’t depend.
This primarily reduces the staff’s efficient rating to solely two riders, which locations them at a big drawback in comparison with groups that may depend all three scores.
Subsequently, if a rider is eradicated it’s virtually unimaginable to compete for staff medals.
How essential are the horse inspections?
There shall be two horse inspections on the Paris Olympics. The primary will happen earlier than the grand prix and every staff can current all 4 of their travelling mixtures – together with the reserve.
If a horse doesn’t go the primary inspection the travelling reserve can step in.
All horses certified for the freestyle should even be offered at and go the second horse inspection.
Moreover, horses from the following six highest-ranked mixtures from the grand prix shall be offered as reserve horses.
If a professional mixture withdraws or retires earlier than the second inspection or shouldn’t be accepted, the following best-ranked mixture from the grand prix not already certified will substitute them.
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Lottie Fry and Glamourdale competing on the Den Bosch World Cup leg in March 2023.
Credit score: FEI
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale on the 2023 Dressage European Championship in Riesenbeck.
Credit score: FEI/Leanjo de Koster
Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep after their grand prix on the European Dressage Championships. The pair are among the many British entries for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Credit score: Benjamin Clark
Credit score: Future
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H&H dressage and sport horse editor
Oscar graduated from York St John College with a grasp’s diploma in Literature in 2021 and joined Horse & Hound in October 2023. Oscar labored for high dressage rider Emile Faurie for 4 years after ending an equine administration course at school. Underneath Emile’s tutelage, Oscar competed on the 2015 Nationwide Dressage Championships and travelled with Emile’s horses to CDIs at Aachen, Vidauban, Saumur and Achlieiten. Oscar continues to compete in dressage, alongside his day job.
