Phillip Dutton and Z. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
The Olympics provides a competitive opportunity unlike any other in the eventing space, due to some differences both in format as well as how medals are determined at the end of competition. We did the legwork unpacking the rules to make them easier to understand (maybe) – let’s dive in.
What makes the Olympics unique?
While the Olympics (currently, at least) follow the same three-day schedule as a traditional event — dressage, followed by cross country, followed by show jumping — there are a few key differences to note.
- Starting in 2020 (or, 2021 when the postponed Olympics in Tokyo actually happened), the four-person-team format, which saw the highest score dropped in each phase, was done away with. It was replaced with a three-member team – and no dropped score. Instead, teams have three opportunities to make a substitution before and during competition, at the cost of 20 penalties added to the score of the team. This was put in place in an effort to open the sport up to more qualified nations, and the substitute allowance gives a team a shot at completing the Olympics, though with the penalties imposed that team could be rendered out of medal contention.
- The dressage test for the Olympics is unique and was specifically written for the Games. It is not used in any other competition worldwide.
- The show jumping is held over two rounds. First, all remaining members of teams as well as the individuals remaining will jump in the first round to determine team medals. From there, the top 25 individuals (based on their individual score to date) will move forward to a final round of show jumping over a slightly modified course. This determines the final individual placings, with any penalties accrued added to their overall score to calculate the finishing score. Why? Because the International Olympic Committee cannot give out more than one medal (team and individual medals, for example) via one competition. To avoid having to do the whole shebang over again, the second round of show jumping ticks this box.
- While CCI5* is the loftiest level of the sport, the Olympics are not run as a 5*. The dressage test is a 5* test, though it’s been shortened compared to its counterparts to take 4 minutes or less. Cross country is set at CCI4* specifications, with a speed of approximately 570 meters per minute, which is the same speed as 4*. The cross country at the Olympics will be set at approximately 8 minutes’ optimum time with a maximum of 42 jumping efforts, which falls in between 4* and 5* regulation but is the maximum number of efforts set out for World Championships and Olympics by the FEI. For show jumping, the team round will be held over a maximum height of 1.25m (4* height), while the individual round can see fences up to 1.30m (5* height). 11-13 jumps, with a maximum of 16 jumping efforts, will be found in the team show jumping round, and 9 fences with a maximum of 12 efforts will be put into the individual round. An “effort”, remember, can be a related combination, so a jump number 5ABC would count as 1 jump, but 3 efforts.
Substitutions
Photo by Sally Spickard.
Before the start of dressage, a pre-competition change may be made at no penalty. For this reason, the Traveling Reserve pairs will participate in the First Horse Inspection. The deadline for this type of change is two hours before the start of dressage competition.
Once competition begins, a substitution may only be made for reason of injury or illness on the part of either the rider or the horse. You cannot, therefore, substitute a pair because they are “stronger” in one phase or another — there must be a confirmed illness or injury made by the veterinarians or team doctor to determine eligibility for this. A team may substitute one horse/rider per competition. For eventing, there are two windows in which a substitution can be made: after dressage and up to two hours before cross country, and after cross country up to two hours before team show jumping. Reserve horses will also trot up in the Second Horse Inspection to maintain their eligibility to slot in for this phase.
Substitutions carry 20 penalties, which are added to the team’s overall score if used. Remember, a team may only make one substitution throughout the entire competition. Pairs that are called in as substitutes are not eligible for individual medal contention.
There’s another important layer to this substitution concept. Unlike other FEI competitions, pairs that encounter elimination in a phase can, in some scenarios, go on to complete the competition, albeit with heftier penalties. For dressage and show jumping, this penalty is 100 points per rider. For cross country, it’s an additional 200 per rider.
Here are some visual representations of the information I just shared, in case your brain is feeling as mushy as mine is (am I 1000% confident I’ve interpreted the rules correctly? No. Am I 1000% confident someone on the internet will let me know if I’m wrong? Yes.). Thanks to our resident data wizard Allie Heninger for slapping these babies together:
We’ll lay this out in a series of scenarios, using cross country as the primary example:
Scenario 1: All competitors on a team complete cross country, but in the Second Horse Inspection a horse is not accepted or is withdrawn due to lameness. At this point, the team can opt to use a substitute if they have not already, incurring a total of 20 additional penalties. The substitute pair is not eligible for individual medal contention. The team does not incur the additional penalties of 100 or 200 marks because the eliminated or withdrawn horse completed the previous phase.
Scenario 2: One pair is eliminated on cross country for refusals, by technical elimination, missing a flag, or for fall of rider. That pair can actually still continue on to the team show jumping round, but this will incur a larger penalty. For cross country, this is 200 penalties (per rider). Pairs disqualified for a Horse Fall or lameness are not eligible to continue the competition in the next phase, but a team may then choose to substitute a reserve pair without the original rule of the substitution needing to be only for injury or illness. Any other substitution scenario must still qualify with an illness or injury to horse or rider, unless otherwise stated in the rules.
[Editor’s Note] The way the rule for substitution is written is wholly unclear, to be honest. I checked with several colleagues and a Technical Delegate to help myself clarify the sub rule, which does indicate that if a pair is eliminated for something like refusals on cross country, another pair can in fact be substituted at that point if the team chooses. Doing so, however, does not negate the incurrence of 200 additional penalties for failure to complete the phase.
Scenario 3: A team has one rider complete cross country, but its other two team riders are eliminated on refusals. Those two eliminated riders can continue on to show jumping (provided, of course, there is no injury and the horses pass the Second Horse Inspection) with a total of 400 penalties added (200 per rider). Yes, the team could choose to substitute (again, in the event of illness or injury only), but doing so would not negate the additional 200 penalties for each pair that did not complete.
Scenario 4: A pair is eliminated for Abuse of Horse or Dangerous Riding. At this point, the team is not eligible to submit a substitution, nor is that rider eligible to proceed in competition.
Scenario 5: All but one pair in a team completes the team qualification show jumping round. The team incurs 100 additional penalties for failure to complete a phase. At this time, the team would not be eligible for a substitute, as this must be done no less than 2 hours before the start of the team show jumping round.
Who goes first?
Doug Payne and Vandiver in Tokyo. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
While we know which horses and riders have been selected, what we don’t yet know is the order in which we’ll see the competitors. This can be influential, particularly on cross country day! To determine the order of nations, a draw will be held prior to the First Horse Inspection. After the trot-up, there will be an official Chef d’Equipe meeting during which the heads of each team will declare their starters and the order in which they will compete. The resulting order will be used for dressage and cross country.
For show jumping, the individual riders will be the first to jump in the team/qualifying round, in reverse order of standing. The team riders will follow, competing in turn and also in reverse order of standing by team and individual scores. For the individual medal round, the top 25 individuals, regardless of nation, will return and jump in reverse order of standing.
What if there’s a tie?
Laura Collett and London 52. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
It’s fairly unlikely, but if there is a tie between two or more athletes for individual medals, the first tiebreaker used will be the cross country score, including faults at obstacles and time penalties. Basically, the pair that had the fewest time penalties will win the tiebreaker. If there’s still a tie, the breaker will then go to the highest dressage score. Five additional tiebreaker steps are also in place and can be viewed here.
In the event of a team tie, the first tiebreaker will be using the top three-ranked individual scores, with priority given to teams that have not used a substitute. If there is a tie between teams that have used a substitute, the tie will be won by the team with the highest placed individuals who completed all three phases. Additional tiebreakers can be found here.
Make sense? No? Cool, we’re on the same page then. I hope this has been somewhat informative for you as it truly is a rather complicated array of rules. Personally, I’d rather see the return of a four-member team with a dropped score and none of this substitution and continuing after elimination nonsense, though I also see how this can be useful for helping teams complete which was the IOC’s intention in encouraging the format changes.
Coming next, we’ll be bringing you a breakdown of each phase in the Olympics, including expert commentary on what to expect. In the meantime, if you want to dive into the Olympic rules yourself, don’t let us stop you! Click here to view them.
