While 2019 is set to be another busy year for international horse sport, potential bidders are already vying for the possibility of hosting FEI World Championships in 2022. The FEI has already received some exciting expressions of interest for 2022, with more submissions expected before the 28 February deadline.
“I am delighted to say that the level of interest and the quality of submissions to host FEI World Championships in 2022 has been very high so far, and we are confident that we will have an interesting pool of candidates to choose from when the allocations are made later this year,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
The FEI initiated a bid process for individual FEI World Championships in all disciplines for 2022 at the FEI General Assembly in Manama (BRN) in November last year.
The FEI President stressed at the time that this does not necessarily mean the end of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ concept, and bids to host the full seven disciplines together for 2022 will be considered.
The FEI Board unanimously approved the opening of a bidding process for individual world championships in all disciplines for 2022, with preference being given to multi-discipline bids. The Board also agreed that ideally the FEI World Championships for Dressage and Para Dressage should be combined. The world championships for 2022 in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines will serve as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Games.
“Equestrian sport has become increasingly globalised, but there are relatively few countries that have the capacity to host world championships in all disciplines simultaneously,” the FEI President said.
“The new bid process allows for the sustainable and cost-effective use of existing equestrian sports facilities and for the FEI to partner with national federations that may have hesitated putting forward multi-discipline bids in the past. The door is now open for these federations to consider submitting an expression of interest for an individual world championship in the discipline of their choice.”
In a key change to the bid process, the FEI will host an interactive workshop at the end of March in Lausanne for all national federations/organizing committees that submit an expression of interest in the 2022 World Championships.
“This interactive workshop is a key factor in ensuring that we adequately convey the structure, opportunities, and minimum requirements of hosting the FEI World Championships in 2022. By working more closely with the national federations and organizing committees from the very start of the process, we can ensure a unified vision and establish an achievable set of goals to work towards,” Ingmar De Vos said.
There are over 4,000 FEI events organized world-wide annually across the seven disciplines of jumping, dressage & para-dressage, eventing, endurance, driving & para-driving, vaulting, and reining, with world championships in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines held every four years and every second year for non-Olympic disciplines.
Timeline
Questions concerning the bid process can be sent to [email protected]. For additional information, click here.
If all goes according to plan in the first part of the extended weekend, we will see 36 horses galloping across Derek di Grazia's CCI5*-L cross-country course at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (DK3DE). We partnered up with the team at CrossCountry App to bring you a preview of both the five-star and CCI4*-s tracks this year.
Lights, cameras, action! The first formal horse inspection (which some might informally refer to as "the jog") at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (K3DE) takes place this afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. While this part of the event is a fan-favorite historically based on the impeccable turnout of the horses and the stylish and forward fashion choices of the riders (we are looking at you Boyd Martin in hopes that you bring back the American flag suit circa 2022), it serves a very important purpose: ensuring that each horse is fit, sound, and ready to compete at the five-star level.
There are so many things to love about the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and the opportunity to peruse the booths of so many amazing vendors is definitely one of them! Don’t forget to stop by the USEA booth, located just behind the Rolex Stadium next to the large Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event booth, to stock up on all of your favorite USEA apparel.
After the first competition at Modified was held at The Horse Park at Woodside in California in 2023, the level will be under an even bigger spotlight with the Modified Match that will be offered at the 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials that will take place from May 24-26.