The FEI President has welcomed the announcement of the new dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will run from July 23 to August 8, 2021, and for the Paralympic Games from August 24 until September 5, 2021.
“While it was of course demoralizing for everyone that the Games had to be postponed from their original dates in 2020, the decision was absolutely right in the current terrible global pandemic, but it is really good to have the new dates agreed so soon,” Ingmar De Vos said.
“The decision was taken in full consultation with all the International Federations, including the FEI, and we all had the opportunity to voice our opinions. Now, once the COVID-19 crisis is over, our athletes across both Games can get their training back on track with confidence, knowing exactly when they and their horse need to be at their peak.
“We are conscious of the fact that this has been a very complex decision for the IOC to make, with multiple factors to be taken into consideration. The athletes’ health and well-being across both Games, not just for equestrian sport, has to be the top priority, and we have all the protocols in place to protect our athletes – both human and equine – and help them to optimize their performance in the challenging climate we can expect in Tokyo.
“Of course there will be an impact on the international calendar across all sports, and from an FEI perspective this includes four major European Championships, but we are already looking at ways we can minimize that impact. The remit for our discipline-specific task forces that are evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 calendar has now been expanded to cover 2021. Now we have confirmed dates for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we need to explore possible alternatives for a number of major FEI events, notably the European Championships in jumping, dressage, and para dressage in Budapest, and the European Eventing Championships in Haras du Pin, France. This process will be started immediately.”
The five-discipline European Championships in Budapest (HUN), which also includes driving and vaulting, are currently due to run from August 23-30, 2021, and the Eventing Championships in Haras du Pin (FRA) from August 11-15, 2021.
“We need to also look at deadlines for obtaining minimum eligibility requirements and extending the deadline for registration of ownership for Olympic horses and will announce those as soon as possible, but we have had confirmation from both the IOC and IPC that National Olympic and Paralympic Committees which have been allocated Olympic or Paralympic quota places will retain them despite the postponement of the Games to next year.”
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.
Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.