Update on COVID-19 from EA High Performance – 8th June, 2020

Although the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation continues to affect the way we live and train we have begun to see various progress across the globe bringing with it restored optimism for our riders wishing to return to competition. Some of our High Performance Squad riders based in the USA returned to the competition arena last week, adhering to strict social distancing regulations, and domestically competitions are anticipating a potential return in the coming months.

The EA High Performance Program (HP) continues to liaise regularly with our riders and stakeholders ensuring they remain informed and updated on the latest developments within our sport. The HP Program also continues to utilise our successful and popular virtual meetings and workshops to remain at the forefront of an innovative program, with further sessions scheduled in the coming weeks.

The EA High Performance Panel and the Chairs of the National Selection Panels continue to meet regularly to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on our Tokyo preparations, strategic and operational planning, nomination policies and funding. The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic selection policies remain the highest priority in light of the FEI’s recent amendments to the Minimum Eligibility Requirements for the Games. The National Selectors are working hard to ensure selection policies for each discipline can be reviewed by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Paralympics Australia (PA) as soon as possible and released to our athletes in the near future.

Throughout COVID-19 the FEI has continued to review their policies to take into account the disruptions caused to competition and training schedules by the pandemic. Last week the FEI announced that the Guidelines for the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses have been updated with regards to the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER). The updated Guidelines, which apply for 2020 only, can be found at https://inside.fei.org/fei/disc/dressage/rules              

With Olympic Day fast approaching this month the AOC have released their ‘Olympic Day Challenge’ campaign. As athletes are reassessing their goals, the AOC is encouraging everyone to do the same by setting a goal in June and working to achieve it by #OlympicDay on June 23^rd. Some of our High Performance Squad riders have taken up the challenge and you can follow their progress on our social media channels (Instagram: @ausequestrianteamFacebook: Australian Equestrian Team). We encourage those who are interested to take part and if you would like more information, or inspiration for your challenges, please visit: https://www.olympics.com.au/olympic-day-2020/

As always the health and safety of our people and horses remain our priority as we work together as a broader equestrian community in order to navigate through these unprecedented times. 

We thank you all for your understanding and continued support and please feel free to contact the High Performance team directly if you have any questions or queries.