In an interview with Ken Braddick, U.S. Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons spoke out about the unfair competition the new Olympic team format has created with countries earning an individual spot in addition to the three team places.
On 2 March 2012 the FEI announced that only Germany, The Netherlands and Great Britain were able to capture that extra spot for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Gribbons, who is also a member of the six-member FEI Dressage Committee that drew up the format, told Dressage-News.com that “I hope to God it can be changed in the future, because it is a system that again favors Europe."
"It is evident from the results. If you are going to have any event where the world is invited, you have to think ahead so everyone has a fair chance to qualify. It’s a set up. It makes it more obvious that everyone else is at a disadvantage from the very beginning."
As manager of the U.S. Dressage Team, Gribbons believes that "the chances look pretty bleak for getting a fourth rider. It puts us in a vulnerable situation, not just the U.S. but all countries other than the European strong teams."
Read the complete article on Dressage-News.com
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