What is this malarkey? XC last? Is this an april fools day article?
Edit:
Almost worse - Dressage --> Jumping --> XC --> Jumping. 4 days.
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“Let’s make already tired horses do another SJ round to award individual medals because we are definitely concerned about horse welfare and public perception and take it very seriously!”
Honestly, if this is where we’re going I don’t even want eventing to be in the Olympics. I know in the US in particular there are major concerns about having enough space to run events generally/loss of venues, but at this point… the 5 stars are the true pinnacle of the sport and I don’t think the Olympics are drawing enough new fans to matter. Figuring out a way to make the 5 stars into a national spectacle for more than just horse people would probably bring more bang for the buck.
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I wonder if the change will affect which horses get selected.
I also have concerns about doing XC last at this level of competition. Seems like a horse that tries really hard at SJ on day two might not be at 100% for a tough XC course on day 3 where the consequences of a mistake are significantly higher. Especially when this is the only competition at the level running this way.
But I’m $ure it’$ all for the welfare of the hor$e$, right?
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At some point the eventing powers should realize that by prostituting themselves to the IOC that they are killing the sport. I do think that the FEI and IOC are corrupt partners in bed together.
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Especially if you factor in the weather. If they want to use existing venues, the only possibility I can think of is Galway in Temecula and it’s going to be hot in mid to late July. Though maybe not as hot as Atlanta and likely less humid as well.
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Tacking on (lol) to my initial post, my boss’s boss is from the UK. He’s lived in the US for about twenty years, but the first time I met him and we were doing the initial “what do you like to do outside of work” thing, all I had to was say “I event, so what they do at Badminton and Burghley but on a much smaller scale” and he knew exactly what I was talking about because he grew up watching it on television.
Horse culture in the UK is obviously vastly different from the US, but I find it really hard to believe that we’ve done everything we can over here to make those types of competitions a part of the national narrative and are stuck with the Olympics as our only way to ~reach the public~. I’ve gotten multiple non-horsey friends to tune into competitions (XC in particular) that I’m watching just by talking about it and explaining what’s happening in real time via Discord DM. I’d ask if the FEI and USEF are even trying but I think we all know the answer to that.
Can’t wait to bring this up with my trainer next time I see her, her rants about this nonsense are always A+.
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That is not new.
Almost ever since the IOC decided that no competitor could get two medals (a team medal and an individual medal) for the same performance, there has been an extra show jumping round to decide the individual medals.
I say “almost”, because, for at least one Olympics, each rider could compete for EITHER the team or individual medals, but not both.
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I have several significant concerns about this approach. None of them will matter, because what the IOC wants, they get, but because it’s a Monday here they are, worth the paper they are written on:
- No one should be able to win an OIympic medal (in this case, team) without their horse having to pass a jog after cross-country. We’re concerned about bad pictures? This is a bad idea.
- Speaking of bad pictures, I’m sure having cross-country last won’t create incentives for people to take unnecessary risks with their speed at all. Definitely only contributing to more good pictures.
- If the goal is to “[make] it more exciting to a broader range of spectators outside the sport”, you can’t put a jog between xc and the medals.
- If the goal is to “[make] it more exciting to a broader range of spectators outside the sport”, you are then going to…what? Round up an entire cross country course full of spectators and cram them into stands at the end of the day so you still have a live audience for the medal ceremony? How long will that take? Or will you just award the medals in front of empty bleachers?
- On that note…I’m going to get off my horse post-cross-country, cool it out, maybe jog it, try to do whatever aftercare I can, and then…get back on it for a victory lap?
I do like that they’ll try to make the whole event at just one venue. That’s got to be easier on the horses than vanning all over hell’s half acre.
I remain fundamentally baffled by anyone who says the current format of eventing does not lead to an exciting conclusion. There are many things about eventing that make it a tough inclusion in the Olympics (the space required, the cost, the number of flags that can reasonably participate, social license, etc), but if your heart rate isn’t breaking your Apple Watch when the top 10 are jumping on the final day you just haven’t been paying attention.
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This is so accurate. I filmed Tami’s last SJ fence at Kentucky last year and you can both see and hear a) how quiet the stadium was since we were all holding our breath, and b) how I (and everyone else) lost our collective minds when Lexus landed clean and went across the finish. I literally cried. The fact that it’s so easy for things to go NQR in a show jumping round is what makes it so suspenseful (and exciting!) at the end. Maybe TPTB are just bad at the storytelling of it all.
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There was a piece about this on H&H;
That’s true, but I guess I view it differently just because of the difference in days. It’s not ideal to be doing two SJ rounds on day 3, but for me the ask for the horse is different when it’s two rounds in (fairly) quick succession as opposed to, you’d normally be done after this but we’re going to make you wait overnight and then do it all again when you’re definitely feeling the effects of the last three days.
Really I suppose I’m just over this blind adherence to trying to stay in the Olympics regardless of the consequences to the sport as a whole 
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I feel like this is the first step in phasing out XC. Next move will be to make it an arena XC round.
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I honestly don’t mind a dumbed-down cross-country–the Olympics is never going to be Badminton or Burghley or even Kentucky, because it’s “the best from every country” not “the best of the best” and it’s important for it to be safe. But adding the extra day is ridiculous, re: horse welfare. In fact, I wish they’d calculate the individual awards based on just the results from the three phases. And, regardless, putting cross-country last at the friggin’ Olympics for better ratings is just dumb. It’s not the sport at the highest level. Heck, even the eventing showcase at Wellington had the event in the proper order.
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Look, I’m just a lowly hunter-jumper smurf with a retired horse whose last cross-country jump was walking over a log on a trail two years ago. But this is totally bananas from a horse welfare standpoint. Who do I write to express my concern- is it the USEF as our NGB? It’s better than screaming into the void of the internet.
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Agreed. David O has been telling us for years that the “dinner and a movie” approach is coming…meaning that fans/organizers and competitors would be in and out of an event in a few hours. I see Arena XC being viable as early as 2028 honestly.
Why aren’t keyboards on fire? Katie Prudent makes some very poorly worded comments and the world erupts. Granted someone kindled a firestarter. XC last at the Olympics is a blip?
The order of phases in the long is a safety net. Riders need to get their horse to the end of xc in good enough condition to jog and jump stadium the next day. Riders and vets peer at the ultrasound screen in the days before the event and decide not just if the horse can get around xc but if he’ll jog and jump the next day. Imagine the pressure on the last rider on a team in medal position who doesn’t have to jog and jump clean the next day. Jogging after xc and before the medals is a non starter. Many horses that will be fine in the morning won’t look great an hour after xc. Some will look worse in the morning. And who exactly is going to spin a medalist?
If the powers that be are so dead set on staying in the Olympics, create a separate Olympic format. Short dressage test, big tough stadium, and 3 1/2* short xc. Make a pretty picture for the people. Fly more flags. Worthy goals. But do it as safely as possible. And don’t pretend the gold medal went to the best in the world.
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All of this. All of it. Every word. Shout it from the rooftops. I really don’t understand the apparent order of priorities sometimes.
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To echo @Renn_aissance, does anyone know who we should write to to express our objections? I think we need to get loud about this. I’m another who would rather it not be in the Olympics as opposed to this.
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I have found some of DOC’s comments disappointing. He seems to be caving in for the FEI. But I think at this point he just jumps from one high profile/high paying job to the next without much positive impact.
I have said before all of this express eventing/ arena eventing/ etc. were detrimental to the support. I this will drive to more and more changes until people can sit in comfortable seats and watch something in an arena. If not 2028 then by 2032, eventing in the olympics will be in an arena. The question will be if the 5* events will follow suit as they did with getting rid of the long format.
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