Because there was SO much confusion yesterday regarding how the results are decided, why there’s a GP Special test, etc., does anyone think it should be simplified? Should it just be, say, the GP test to decide the team placings? (We would have a bronze already!) And then the top riders move on to the freestyle and just skip doing the GP Special? Why do they require two tests to decide the team results?
Just wondering…it would more closely follow the gymnastics this way, I believe.
Makes sense to me. I was just watching the cute Dutch guy and hoping I would be able to remember his and his horse’s ride by the time it comes to awarding the medals.
Heats are one thing (and they’re complicated enough!), but I think just one GP test should be enough. Or maybe one standard GP test and one freestyle, sort of like in figure skating and gymnastics? A test of the horse and rider’s ability to perform a prescribed test as well as be creative?
It used to be GP for Team and GPS for individual medals. Then when the Freestyle came into play, they tried a couple of versions and ended up at the current one.
Personally, I would like to see the GP determine team scores. Each rider would have had to declare that they were qualifying for GPS or freestyle. Perhaps a max of 2 per country per test. So then you could have a “dressage” winner from the GPS, and a “freestyle” winner from that event. (An extra medal for dressage!)
I love the freestyle, but would also like to reward a combination that can best perform a difficult test not of their making, eliminating the factors of choreography and artistic aptitude.
Agreed, MsM. I remember the old format, too, but your suggestion sounds awesome. Sometimes I get more bored watching Freestyles than I do with GPS, only because I am also annoyed with the difference in judges scores for the artistic quality. In GPS, it’s all the same and right in your face. I know the freestyle is a crowd pleaser, but I’m not usually uber impressed with many of them.
It has been on all the GP in the past but I like having two tests and counting 50/50. Shows more of a consistency
I read that the top 18 qualify for the freestyle. Is that the top 18 after the special? Or top 18 based on both the GP the the GP Special?
Hi there,
The scoring is confusing—we’ve all been double checking the rules.
The top 18 riders after the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special go forward to the freestyle—but only three riders per team may advance. That means that German rider Sönke Rothenberger won’t advance, though he’s in the top 18, but that U.S. rider Allison Brock and Rosevelt, ranked 19, gets to go.
We’ve put together a handy guide that hopefully answers a lot of the questions for you here:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/what-you-need-know-rio-olympic-grand-prix-special
Also, we have reports from the US team bronze http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/graves-scores-alltime-best-boost-usa-olympic-bronze and the German gold. http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/germany-delivers-olympic-dressage-gold-and-britain-claims-silver
Hope this helps!
Greetings from Rio,
Mollie Bailey
Senior ReporterThe Chronicle of the Horse
Isn’t the nation’s cup 2 riders do the grand prix, and 2 do the special? I like that format because of the strategy
So the individual medals are for the freestyle only?
[QUOTE=Mollie Bailey;8795138]
Hi there,
The scoring is confusing—we’ve all been double checking the rules.
The top 18 riders after the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special go forward to the freestyle—but only three riders per team may advance. That means that German rider Sönke Rothenberger won’t advance, though he’s in the top 18, but that U.S. rider Allison Brock and Rosevelt, ranked 19, gets to go.
We’ve put together a handy guide that hopefully answers a lot of the questions for you here:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/what-you-need-know-rio-olympic-grand-prix-special
Also, we have reports from the US team bronze http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/graves-scores-alltime-best-boost-usa-olympic-bronze and the German gold. http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/germany-delivers-olympic-dressage-gold-and-britain-claims-silver
Hope this helps!
Greetings from Rio,
Mollie Bailey
Senior ReporterThe Chronicle of the Horse[/QUOTE]
Any reason why they limit 3 per team in an individual medal event?
I just don’t find the scoring that confusing.
Who was so confused?
I’m thinking they could make it easier for the uninitiated to understand. Maybe it would help riders in other sports and make it more fun to watch. I think they could definitely improve the qualifying.
I didn’t find it confusing either. They stated what was involved, including weeding out some of the lower scoring combinations. Add everything together, and voila, you have the team results.
Just because you and I get it doesn’t seem to help. There were quite a few confused people on the dressage live streaming thread.
[QUOTE=Velvet;8795590]
Just because you and I get it doesn’t seem to help. There were quite a few confused people on the dressage live streaming thread.[/QUOTE]
Wait, are you suggesting the Special be cut because people watching the live stream on COTH were confused?
I watched the eventing “live” with COTHers over on the eventing thread, and I asked questions that people answered. It doesn’t mean the sport is confusing, it means I’m not an eventer and don’t know the FEI eventing rules.
[QUOTE=J-Lu;8796370]
Wait, are you suggesting the Special be cut because people watching the live stream on COTH were confused?
I watched the eventing “live” with COTHers over on the eventing thread, and I asked questions that people answered. It doesn’t mean the sport is confusing, it means I’m not an eventer and don’t know the FEI eventing rules.[/QUOTE]
I was one of the confused people because I was following on the FEI website and it was hard to tell what they were reporting. Eyeballing their scores, it looked to me like they were confirming qualification for the final based solely on GPS scores in the top 18. Particularly Allison Brock My back of the envelope combined scores didn’t have her in top 18, so i was confused.
I was suggesting that if it does confuse horse people, maybe simplifying it and making it more like qualifying for other sports non-horse people know might help.
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