Qualifying for RIO

[Larksmom]

Have they changed this up recently? Is it all equestrian sports?

I was absolutely dumbfounded at the fact that there were 100 horses in Grand Prix dressage. 100 horses! And look at the entries for jumping. truthfully I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to how the countries are getting in. I seem to remember some consternation after the Olympics about qualifying for WEG. If ‘dressage’ has to qualify, how did so many horses get into WEG? I can see qualifying for a dangerous sport like endurance, or certainly eventing, but how are we to qualify? We go to Bromont, out for blood, cutting our good friends throats figuratively speaking?
Can we qualify at Rolex?

[vineyridge]

the IOC has limited equestrian sport in the Olympics to a maximum of 200 human ATHLETES, IIRC. It may be less. The FEI has to figure out how the IOC number of horses will be allotted to each sport. Then, since there are always more nations wanting to compete than there are horse slots available, the FEI sets qualifying criteria for individual entries and also for teams. It is possible that a country (as Australia did last cycle) can qualify enough individuals to create what is called a composite team.

So WEG was the qualifier for three dressage teams–the top three. Three more will be determined in next years European Championships from those that haven’t already qualified. One team will qualify from all the Americas. Brazil gets a team as host country. One team will qualify somehow from all of East Asia and “Oceania”. That’s nine teams of 4 or 36 horse and rider combinations, but for some reason I think there will be ten teams. Maybe there is one slot for Eurasia–Russia and the Middle East. Each team is, IIRC, allowed a reserve horse, so that’s another 10, bringing the total to 50. And there will be individual riders who have enough FEI points to qualify from nations who won’t field teams.

But all of that is because the IOC says how many horses in total will be allowed to go to Rio.

We can qualify a team in one of two ways–officially by winning at the Pan Am games, or unofficially as a composite if enough of our riders get enough points to qualify as individuals. But the composite team doesn’t have to be the individual riders that have amassed the points to qualify.

[Divine_Comedy]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;7741932]
But the composite team doesn’t have to be the individual riders that have amassed the points to qualify.[/QUOTE]

This is the part I have been wondering about. So even if we have to go the composite route, the riders who obtain the points just obtain a US team slot, and the selectors can pick the team as usual?

[snoopy]

[QUOTE=Divine Comedy;7741947]
This is the part I have been wondering about. So even if we have to go the composite route, the riders who obtain the points just obtain a US team slot, and the selectors can pick the team as usual?[/QUOTE]

No. The team would have to be made up by the combinations that qualified through world rankings. Now, should we qualify more than the numbers required for a team, I believe the “team” could be chosen by the USEF from all available individually qualified riders THROUGH the world rankings. I highly doubt this will happen though.

[vineyridge]

[QUOTE=Divine Comedy;7741947]
This is the part I have been wondering about. So even if we have to go the composite route, the riders who obtain the points just obtain a US team slot, and the selectors can pick the team as usual?[/QUOTE]

As I understand things, that’s correct.

Snoopy, there was some sort of brouhaha about the Australians for London. I think the Australians may have sent a rider who hadn’t qualified through the world rankings.

[snoopy]

I do not think that rider was allowed to start.

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

I think it’s ridiculous that the IOC only allows 200 horses for 3 completely individualized sports! That’s like saying you can only have 200 people involved in ice-related sports. Amassing all of figure skating, speed skating, and hockey into a pithy number and intentionally excluding those that have otherwise performed admirably but may not be the “best of the best” due to lack of funding or maybe just had a bad day at WEG.

Lame.

[vineyridge]

The FEI proposal to the IOC as of last year was 75 show jumpers, 60 dressage riders, and 65 eventers for the 200 total of teams and individuals. Just looked.

[Larksmom]

I don’t see how they can limit the number of horses, but I guess the IOC is going to do what the IOC is gonna do…

[vineyridge]

This explains everything.
http://www.dressage-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/OG2016_QualificationProposal_Dressage.Updated.pdf

What’s new is that an individual can only qualify for a single quota spot, not more than one with more than one horse.

That document is from 2013 and things change somewhat. But it is clearly a revision of the qualifying scheme for London.

What is still unclear is whether 3 teams or 4 qualified in dressage from WEG.

I still think the quota places from individual rankings belong to the country, not the individual.

[SnicklefritzG]

I mentioned the same thing in another thread. Only 200 horses? That is ridiculous and it creates a bad situation where some very, very good countries don’t get to go simply because they are in a “difficult” region, while lesser countries do get in the Olympics because they are in an “easy” region.

What is a real shame is that you could have two countries with a team average score (say at something like WEG) of 70 and 70.5, but one gets dropped because there isn’t space for both. Then another country in a region of lesser quality dressage with scores well below that gets in just because they happen to be in an “easy” region (not like europe with Germany and the UK to contend with)

[snoopy]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;7742001]

I still think the quota places from individual rankings belong to the country, not the individual.[/QUOTE]

Can you imagine the lawsuits if a qualified rider is left off a composite team???

[vineyridge]

The reason I think the individual quota place belongs to the country and not the individual is because horses get hurt and a country may have multiple qualified riders for the Olympics who don’t get places because of their rankings. I think the country has discretion to select the riders. But certainly I’m not certain.

[Scaramouch]

[QUOTE=snoopy;7742067]
Can you imagine the lawsuits if a qualified rider is left off a composite team???[/QUOTE]

I believe something like that transpired with the South African team during the London Olympics…

[snoopy]

[QUOTE=Scaramouch;7742155]
I believe something like that transpired with the South African team during the London Olympics…[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is why I base my thinking. Wasn’t ride “A” qualified by ranking and then South African Federation wanted to “use” that placing and put rider “B” in his place. Rider “A” sued because it was HIS place…he spent all the time and money getting that qualification/place on the world rankings. Rider “A” wins yet South African Federation not happy and refuses to “name” rider “A” and rider “A” goes anyway… but at his own expense.

[snoopy]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;7742100]
The reason I think the individual quota place belongs to the country and not the individual is because horses get hurt and a country may have multiple qualified riders for the Olympics who don’t get places because of their rankings. I think the country has discretion to select the riders. But certainly I’m not certain. :)[/QUOTE]

Yes, multiple qualified “by ranking”. If OG’s takes the teams that qualified and “x” amount of individuals IN ORDER from the world rankings and enough USA members are high enough in the order to form a composite team then those riders (by ranking) make up the team. I do not think USEF can say to any of those “sorry, we are going to take your place and put someone further down the list in it instead”. I am not sure it works that way. If a horse “in the order of ranking and part of a composite team” goes lame before the start of the OG’s, the next rider…regardless of nationality…on the list can now go. If it is not a USA rider next on the list, there goes “team” and the others can run as individuals.

This is how I understand it.