have you seen videos of women’s gymnastics from the 50s or 60s? They do a whole lot more now than they did then. Or figure skating? I can’t watch that anymore because they don’t really skate, they build up speed so they can jump. A sport may change, for better or worse, but they don’t change because the IOC says we want you to do it this way.
Looking at the field, in whatever you would consider “a true championship”, would your individual podium be expected to be much different than it was?
I do think that it is still a championship in that regard. The best of the best rose to the top, had stellar performances and out performed the rest of the field. I don’t think anyone could argue that the podium finishers are true champions. They may be capable of performing at a higher level or at more difficulty, if that is where the sense of the Olympics not being a true championship comes from, but they also were (and rightly/expectedly so) the best at the level being asked.
As for the team results reflecting a true championship, I agree with everyone who has said that eventing isn’t a really a team sport so, for me, it is hard to say what a true championship of a team version of eventing should be. I actually enjoy the pressure of the 3 man, no drop score, format. Not sure where I stand on substitutions.
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30 minutes to make the decision, like any home Area event in the U.S. While they gather the crowd into a stadium or whatever venue for the medals.
Limit who has input. Make the decision parameters very clear.
Again with the Olympic decision drivers, compared with the rest of the sane world —
Why is it good to have the XC crowd on hand for the medals? Just one reason: To have them in the background of the camera view, impressing the non-eventer viewers!
That’s it: The Crowd. Is. Background. That’s their significance to the medals ceremony.
There is a better solution than the empty stands for a medals ceremony that happens long after the close of any event.
The jumbo-tron, the big screen – thinking of the KY 5* stadium, the giant screens scattered around many sports venues. Forget the crowd, bring the camera focus in and just show the ceremony itself. On the giant screens that are around all areas of the Olympics, beyond the equestrian locations. No need for a crowd to manage, other than those who just want to be there.
So much sport is now seen by the audience on a screen anyway. Even if the audience is present at the moment. They watch the big screens, not the little figures way off in the distance from their seats. (Now true of many big concerts as well – including Taylor Swift in massively huge stadiums. The audience participates, but watches the screens more than the tiny figures they can barely see on stage.)
I can’t remember, either Boyd or Michael in their post-XC interview mentioned being able to see the screens around the course, while they were riding.
Can they even gather everyone together in 30 mins? lol
They are not allowed to be elsewhere. It would be part of their job role.
Basically, organization, rules, and people who comply. It’s not hard. It just has to be done.
It’s not a home Area event. It’s the Olympics. It gets done.
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I mean gather jump judges, video footage etc and back to a room to review it all. I don’t think they could that easily.
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I don’t know if this would work, but I’m sure it’s been discussed at [quote=“Jealoushe, post:1276, topic:797744, full:true”]
I mean gather jump judges, video footage etc and back to a room to review it all. I don’t think they could that easily.
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Yes. It can be done.
I don’t think you are understanding the technology available today. The people can be kept on a short string – plus electronic connections, they don’t have to physically be there.
People are doing appearances in courts of law by zoom. Many, many official communications are enabled, including visuals.
This is not hard, and there is nothing new about it. It’s just a matter of planning and getting it done.
It’s not just a matter of the technology, or the officials employed by the event. In the case of Ros’ penalties, there were chef d’equipes and then lawyers involved. That decision could have affected the medals, the medals affect funding, and people care very deeply about funding. Athletes have the right to a protest, and to appeal the results of that protest. That cannot always happen in 30 minutes.
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I know this kind of thing has been discussed at length behind closed doors, but don’t know the content of the actual discussions, and perhaps it hasn’t proved to be a practical idea …
A huge reason eventing continues to fight for the Olympics is that the attention from the Olympics are part of the financial survival of individuals and national teams, in many of the major European countries, and other countries as well (Canada et. al.).
If there is a need to reduce the footprint and condense the competition, something like a magnified derby, or speed eventing or some other smaller combined-training-with-reduced-xc could be done. And encourage top eventing pros to pursue it ($ winnings), as well as their usual eventing.
Just don’t call it “eventing”, call it something else that is a better description, anyway. They can have substitutions and whatever else, and no one is complaining about it not being in the true spirit of eventing, because it isn’t called ‘eventing’.
Use it to reward the top pros and use communications to help it keep the focus on mainstream eventing.
I’m not sure proposals of this type have ever gotten off the ground. I do remember some early attempts at ‘speed eventing’ and a much shortened eventing format over the past 10 years or so. I’m not sure if they proved out for the purpose.
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How do other sports do it? Swimming, track & field, etc.
well considering it took them 6 hrs to, no I don’t think they can yet lol. The footage was apparently blocked by the jump judge too so they didn’t get that right.
Just moving around the course once it’s finished is difficult, I can’t imagine if there are any issues!
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Also question about funding. The main argument for staying in is funding….but who other than the UK or Germany actually gets funding from their eventing results at the Olympics. Anyone?
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I like this idea.
I agree in theory that it’s less-than-ideal to have the Olympics represent a lower level of the sport, and I am also unsure on my feelings about the substitution rules, but at the end of the day I thought the eventing in Paris was great fun and the Olympics is absolutely the largest audience that eventing is ever going to get its hands on. So I think it would be a loss to the sport to have it dropped completely. But a shortened version that was slightly differentiated could make everyone happy.
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I am watching the sports programming on ESPN again because football you know… 
And one of the football guys said he had watched the equestrians, jumping into the water, and all the tricky stuff oncross country, incredible! He loved it. Don’t know if he will watch it agan, but he liked it.
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This is an excellent point. Thank you for making it. I agree to your point.
I still think it is silly to run a 3* XC test at the most public display of our sport world-wide, and call it the Olympics; and I object to no jog after XC 
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A question for those who are willing to make large compromises to keep eventing in the Olympics –
What are these specific reasons that you think makes sense for making significant changes in the sport, including not having all competitors perform all three phases?
Not the simplistic “they have to make it shorter” – What is the larger purpose served? Why is that good, to you?
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Because the Olympics is the best platform we have to showcase our sport to audiences & sponsors beyond a very niche group of people. Because it is a major incentive for many owners to take on the financial black hole that is event horse ownership. Because, for a lot of people, it’s the first spark that gets them involved as a kid. Because it can be a huge marketing tool for us to combat the “social license argument” if it’s done well, and I do think in Paris it was done well.
My friends and family know I’m a fanatic about this sport, but the don’t get it until the see it on the Olympics. In the past few days, I can’t tell you how many people have said “your sport is so cool, I had no idea!” We have to use this platform to help breakdown the misconceptions and tell the stories of these horses and riders.
The Olympics is about building mindshare and goodwill for the sport just as much as it is about the actual competition.
ETA: I’m not saying we should give a blanket pass to the IOC to do whatever they want. I just think there’s a middle ground between arena eventing and old long format eventing that can work well. Re the substitutions, I’m just not that upset about how it played out this time.
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Very well reasoned and explained; I could not find the words.
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