With an uncertain immediate future for horse sports in Europe in the wake of the EHV-1 outbreak and suspension of competition there, it has been decided that U.S. Olympic dressage team candidates will not be going abroad as usual for their final selection outing.
Instead, an observation of the short list riders will be held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington June 8-12, when it is believe the heat and humidity will be at a comparable level to what he team will encounter at the Games in Tokyo.
The event will be mandatory for the horse and rider pairings selected to the short list after the end of the qualifying period on April 25, according to the U.S. Equestrian Federation.
Steffen Peters leads the ranking of U.S. Olympic dressage team candidates with Suppenkasper. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
“After much consideration, USEF, alongside program leaders and team selectors, have made the decision to continue team selection preparations in the U.S., as the window of opportunity to prepare effectively in Europe is very small and should anything change, it would be too late to formulate an alternative selection plan,” according to a federation statement.
“Given the competition opportunities made available to combinations over the past few months, it is has been determined that the team can prepare effectively in the U.S. by utilizing existing competitions and the final Observation Event.”
The horse inspection will take place on Tuesday, June 8, and combinations will compete in the FEI Grand Prix on Wednesday, June 9, with the group draw order determined by the FEI World Rankings List. The FEI Grand Prix Special Test to Music will be held on Friday, June 11.
The U.S. Dressage program intends to facilitate and support overseas travel to Europe for additional teams this year, including Young Rider, U-25, and senior teams, to continue building momentum towards the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark, the first team qualifying opportunity for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Confirmation of additional team events will be announced over the course of the next several weeks.