United States Eventing Association

Rule Refresher: Breaking Ties

Picture this: you've had a great competition weekend. You and your horse have put in three wonderful phases, only to find out that you and another horse and rider pair have finished on the same exact score! Now what? The rules on tie breaking are outlined very clearly in the USEF Rules for Eventing to help you better understand what processes will help break a tie should you ever encounter one. You can review the excerpt from the rulebook below.

Text has been taken directly from the USEF Rules for Eventing with emphasis added by the USEA.

EV106 Breaking Ties

1. In the event of a tie between any two (2) or more Athletes for Horse Trials (EV117.5) and Classic Three-Day Events (EV151.2b), the individual classification is decided by:

a. The lowest Cross-Country score including penalties for faults at Obstacles, time penalties, and any other penalty incurred.

b. If there is still a tie, the classification is decided in favor of the Athlete whose Cross-Country time was closest to the Optimum Time.

c. If there is still a tie, the classification is decided in favor of the Athlete with the lowest Show Jumping score including time and Obstacle penalties.

d. If there is still a tie, the classification will be decided in favor of the Athlete with the highest collective marks in the Dressage phase.

e. If there is still a tie, the tie will remain in the final classification.

2. In the event of a tie between any two (2) or more teams, the winning team will be that whose third placed Athlete has the lowest score.

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