According to Horse & Hound, national equestrian federations were notified last week that only one owner per horse will be allowed to travel to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics instead of the usual two.
The FEI informed NFs that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) decided on the one-owner per horse rule to restrict the amount of accredited people attending the Games, owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
60 Horses to Tokyo
Sixty dressage horses will be competing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Teams will include three horses and one traveling reserve.
The horses will be divided into groups of 10 for the Grand Prix, based on the Olympic Ranking. The two best combinations of each heat automatically qualify for the individual final, in addition to the six highest scoring combinations that hadn't placed.
The best 8 countries after the Grand Prix will compete for the team medals solely based on the results in the Grand Prix Special. The GP Special can be ridden to music on one's own choice, but the music will not be scored.
The Kur to Music constitutes the individual finals and the top 18 combinations from the Grand Prix start there. The three highest scoring riders in the Kur can win the individual medals.
Lobbying to Change One Owner Rule
Several owners have expressed their disgruntlement with the one-owner per horse rule, as some horses are owned by couples or even by syndicates.
The British and Dutch federation have petitioned against this rule. Jantien van Zon of the Dutch NF confirmed to Horses.nl that "we are indeed aware of this (new rule). We are dealing with it and have certainly not yet accepted it."
In addition to the 60 dressage horses, 75 show jumping horses and 65 eventing horses will fly to Tokyo. For para dressage at the Paralympics, one month later, there will be 78 horses competing.
Related Links
Dutch Olympic Long List for Tokyo Announced
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2021 Olympic Games