Olympic formats were a big focus in 2015 with much of the FEI Sports Forum, devoted to the question as well as a dedicated session at the FEI General Assembly in San Juan (PUR). Radical changes to the competition formats were presented, discussed and debated throughout the 12 months of the year, and will continued to be on the cards up until November 2016 when proposals will go to the vote at the FEI General Assembly in Tokyo. Once completed, this will have been one of the lengthiest and most comprehensive consultation processes ever undertaken in the sport with the future of equestrian very much depending on the outcomes.
Harmonising Olympic equestrian sport with a cap of three team members across the three disciplines is one of the key proposals, with the by-product of increasing the number of flags at the Olympic Games. Separating individual and team events and removing team drop scores were also put forward.
"Olympic Agenda 2020 is a driving force in this process, but even prior to that we already knew that changes needed to be made to our formats and the presentation of our sport. We need to take advantage of the excitement and drama of our sport, make it easier to understand, attract young and larger audiences, be broadcast friendly and see more nations represented in our sport."
The FEI was delighted to welcome International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach to the FEI Headquarters on 4 November 2015, where he met with the FEI President, Secretary General, the Chairs of the three Olympic disciplines as well as three Olympians – China's youngest Olympic Eventer Alex Hua Tian, German Dressage rider Kristina Bröring-Sprehe, team silver medalist at London 2012, and Brazilian Jumping athlete Pedro Veniss, who is bidding to make a return to the Olympic stage on home soil in Rio. And there was a surprise equine athlete, as well - the Spanish stallion Sarango...
"Olympic Agenda 2020 is the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement and it is impressive to see how compliant the FEI and equestrian sport already are with many of the recommendations. We have targeted gender equality as a key goal of Agenda 2020 and equestrian sport has always been at the forefront on this, with men and women competing against each other for the medals. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since 1912 and the growth of the sport has been phenomenal, but it is good to know that the FEI was already working on a number of these areas, including good governance and a full review of the competition formats, even before we rolled out Agenda 2020. The sport touches many cultures and people of all ages and I have great admiration for what equestrian athletes achieve through the unique relationship between horse and rider, it's truly awe-inspiring."
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