The French federation wishes to reaffirm its position on the proposals which have been put forward by the FEI in relation to Eventing.

Three horse/rider combination per team – plus a reserve:
FRA NF does not support this proposal. Like most other nations we feel that teams of three could potentially mean more flags, but it would severely jeopardize teams’ ability to finish the competition, which would give a very bad perception of our sport to the public.

No drop score; all three team members would count towards the final team score:
This proposal is not supported by the French NF, principally because we strongly feel that it increases the pressure of completing and goes directly against the security and welfare of horses. We do not feel that the drop score is a difficult pricipal to understand, for the spectator it adds to the suspense and excitement of the cross country, it is also essential in allowing more teams to complete. We feel it would be much more difficult to understand the participation in showjumping of a couple that had not completed the cross country.

5 minutes dressage test, all conducted over one day:
The French NF supports the Dressage test to be organized in one day.

The Cross Country Test to be organized in one day in the traditional starting order:
The French NF supports the cross country test to be organized in one day.

The Jumping Test (individual) and (the team) to be organized in one day:
France supports the jumping test taking place in one day with the team competition first.
However, we do not support all nations’ riders in the arena together. In our opinion it gives too strong an advantage to the leading teams who will have the leisure to discover all the difficulties of the course before competing. From a supporter/public point of view there is risk of people leaving the arena after their country’s team has finished

In addition:
The French NF supports the principal of composite teams. We feel that removing them would impoverish the event itself, and does not allow enough weighting to the computer list: if a nation has 4-5 riders in the top of the computer list, then that nation deserves their team in the Olympic Games.

France is not necessarily in favor of a change of name, but Equestrian Triathlon seems appropriate if a decision to change is adopted. We feel that a better effort to brand the sport itself would be more productive than a change of name, so we are very favorable to seeking advice from specialists in this field. However, the proposal to rethink the naming of FEI Eventing competitions in order to better describe and differentiate their level is one with which we are in full agreement.

The French NF thinks that the format adopted for the Olympics should not be extended to other major events.

Michel Asseray
FRA NF Eventing Director