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A guide to Tokyo – a walk through the new jumping format

Thursday, 29 July 2021
Tokyo Olympic Games

The first time equestrian sport was featured on the Olympic programme was at the Paris Olympic Games in 1900, but the results were never officially recorded. In 1912, after a 12-year gap, equestrian sport returned to the Olympic Games in Stockholm with dressage, eventing and jumping on the program. It has been a core sport at the Olympics ever since.

Fast forward to 2021 and Tokyo, where the jumping will be staged under a new, and much debated, competition format. WoSJ pulls you through what you need to know about the new rules. 

What's new?

With the aim of increasing the number of flags at the Olympic Games, several changes were made to the previous format. The number of team members was reduced from four to three, the individual and team events were separated with the individual competition before the team competition, and the drop scores were removed from the team competition. New rules on pre-competition changes and substitutions were also introduced. 

These format changes were suggested at the FEI General Assembly in 2015, and a lot of discussion followed. Eventually, the new format was approved with a vote at the 2016 FEI General Assembly. 

In Tokyo, it all starts with the first horse inspection, which will take place the day before the training session, on the 31st of July. The training session is followed by the individual qualifier on Tuesday 3rd of August, which is open to 75 athletes – max three per nation. The individual final with the 30 best from the qualifier takes place on Wednesday 4th of August.

Ahead of Friday's team qualifier, a second horse inspection is held to ensure that all horses are fit to compete. The team qualifier is open to twenty teams, and the ten best continue to Saturday's team final, the last competition in jumping at the Games. 

 


Competition schedule (local time in Tokyo):

Individual qualifier jumping, Tuesday 3 August: 19.00 – 22.45

Individual final jumping, Wednesday 4 August: 19.00 – 21.15

Team qualifier jumping, Friday 6 August: 19.00 – 22.05

Team final jumping, Saturday 7 August: 19.00 – 21.05


 

The individual qualifier 

The individual qualifier is one round under Table A not against the clock, without a jump-off – open to 75 combinations, max 3 per nation. 

The 75 athletes are divided into three groups based on the FEI Nations Cup ranking and the FEI horse-and-rider-combination ranking (as of 30 June 2021), with all riders from the same nation starting in the same group.

The individual final

The individual final is open to the 30 best from the qualifier. In case of riders tied on penalties for the last qualification place for the final, they will be separated by the time of their round. If riders are tied on both penalties and time, they will be placed equal.

All riders taking part in the individual final start with zero penalties, with the starting order in reverse order of merit from the rankings in the qualifier. 

The individual final is conducted under Table A, as one round against the clock with a jump-off in case of riders tied on penalties for first, second and third place. In a potential jump-off, riders will place according to their penalties and time. The rider with the best score in the jump-off will be placed first and declared Olympic Champion.

If there are no more than two riders tied on penalties for the first place and there are riders tied on penalties and time for third place, there will be also be a jump-off for the third place and this jump-off will take place before the jump-off for the first place. If there are no riders tied on penalties for the first place, but for the second place or third place, there will be a jump-off to decide the respective medal placing.

Pre-competition changes for the team qualifier 

The Chef d’Equipes can make pre-competition changes of horse-and-rider combinations during the period between the end of the individual final and up to two hours before the starting time of the team qualifier – defined in the rules as the “Team Jumping Pre-Competition Change Deadline”. 

(A pre-competition change can also be made for the individual competition, but has to be done two hours before the starting time of the individual qualifier – defined in the rules as the “Individual Jumping Pre-Competition Change Deadline”.)

Team qualifier

Moving on to Friday's team qualifier, this will be a Table A not against the clock and it is open to 20 teams. All teams start with a zero score. In the team qualifier, the penalties incurred by the three riders on each team are added together. There is no longer a drop score. 

The teams will be divided into two groups of ten (Group I and Group II) based on the FEI Nations Cup rankings on 30 June 2021, with the higher ranked teams going in Group II. The starting order within the groups is decided by a draw, with nations then deciding the order of their three horse-and-rider combinations.

Teams take it in turn to compete – so the first rider in the first team in Group I is followed by the first rider from the next country, and so on until the first athlete in the last team in Group II has jumped. Then the second rider on the first team in Group I competes, etc.

Teams with equality of penalties for the last qualification place for the team final will be separated by the combined times of their three athletes. Teams in which all three athletes complete the qualifier are ranked above teams with only two finishers. 

No longer operating with a drop score, means that riders who get disqualified, eliminated, retire or withdraw, can make a bigger impact on the team score than with the previous format. Under the new rules, riders who do not start, or who withdraw, or who are eliminated, or who retire from the team qualifier or the team final, will not be given a score. Teams with one rider who has not started, or who has withdrawn, retired or been eliminated from the qualifier will be placed according to the combined penalties from the two riders who have completed the team qualifier. Teams in which all three riders complete the qualifier will be placed before teams with only two riders who complete, and teams with two riders who have not started, or who have withdrawn, or retired or have been eliminated from the team qualifier will be eliminated. In case of disqualification of any of the riders and/or horses taking part in the competition, the entire team in question is disqualified and may take no further part in the competition.

Substitution of team members 

One substitution of a horse-and-rider combination per team is permitted. Substitutions can only occur during the period between the end of the team qualifier and up to two hours before the start of the team final. The provisions of article 609.2 in the FEI Regulations for Equestrian Events at the Olympic Games apply to all substitutions (accident or illness of an athlete and/or horse, i.e. for medical/veterinary reasons is specifically mentioned in the rules). 

The horse-and-rider combination to be substituted will be replaced by the reserve horse-and-rider combination, provided the reserve horse has passed the second horse inspection or the re-inspection for the second horse inspection.

Substitutions are not permitted for a jump-off.

Team final

The ten best placed teams from the team qualifier plus any teams tied on penalties and time for the 10th place, will make it to Saturday's final. Teams that withdraw before the start of the final will not be replaced.

All teams taking part in the final start with zero penalties, and the competition is conducted under Table A not against the clock over one round with a jump-off in case of a tie.

The starting order is the reverse of the rankings in the team qualifier. However, an important change is that after the first two riders from each team have competed, there is a 20-minute break during which an intermediate classification of the teams is established. This is used to determine the starting order of each team’s third rider, which will be in reverse order of their team’s intermediate ranking. In case of a tie on penalties among teams with the same number of riders who have completed the initial round without being eliminated or retiring, the initial starting order will be reapplied.

A team’s final score is calculated by adding together the penalties incurred by its three riders. Again, the rules on disqualification, elimination, withdrawal or retiring apply. 

The team with the lowest score will be declared Olympic team champions. In case of teams tied on penalties for first place, there will be a jump-off against the clock. If there are no more than two teams tied on penalties for first place and there are teams tied on penalties and time for third place, there will also be a jump-off against the clock for third place; this jump-off will take place before the jump-off for first place. If there is a jump-off, all three riders should take part.

Teams in the jump-off are placed according to the combined penalties of their three riders. In case of equality of penalties among teams with three riders who completed the jump-off, the teams will be separated by those three combined times. The team that has obtained the best score in the jump-off for first place, will be placed first and declared Olympic Champion.

For all the details, click into the FEI Regulations for Equestrian Events at the Olympic Games which can be found here.

FEI overview of horses, riders and teams

An overview from the FEI on all horses, riders and teams for Tokyo can be found via this link. 

Start and result lists

Start and result lists can be found via this link or via this link.

Where to watch? 

Eurosport and Discovery + will be broadcasting live, so check their broadcasting plan for your country. A full list of different broadcasters can be found here.

Follow on WoSJ

World of Showjumping is on-site in Tokyo, and will cover the jumpig from start to finish with exclusive reports and photo specials. 



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