Equestrian Australia High Performance Weekly Update – 15th March 2021

As our riders continue to prepare as best they can for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad the circumstances under which they find themselves differ considerably based on their geographical location. Covid-19 restrictions impede external training opportunities and continue to impact the competition calendar globally, however Covid-19 is no longer the only threat to the health and safety of our teams.

Following the recent outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1 – neurological form) the FEI have decided to impose a further two-week extension to the shutdown of all international events across mainland Europe until 11 April 2021. The FEI had previously mandated a 28-day shutdown on 1 March 2021 but due to the aggressive nature of the virus and its rapid dissemination to eight counties additional measures have now been deemed necessary. 

As a result of the extended shutdown the 2021 FEI World Cup™ Finals have been cancelled for the second consecutive year. The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final and the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final were scheduled to take place in Gothenburg (SWE) from 31 March to 4 April 2021, and Australia had allocated entry slots for both disciplines. We appreciate that the decision to extend the event lockdown is difficult, and the loss of the FEI World Cup Finals™ for the second year in a row is a disappointment, but we remain supportive of the FEI’s decision to ensure the health and welfare of all horses during this challenging time.  We are monitoring the situation closely and continue to discuss what impact this may have on our international based riders’ preparation and potential nomination and selection opportunities.

Australia remains free of EHV-1 and competitions continue to run throughout the country including international level events. Last weekend Tamworth International Event took place hosting CCI2*/3*/4* FEI competition. We once again saw numerous sub-30 dressage scores across the CCI3* and CCI4* classes and impressive performances in both the jumping and cross-country phases continuing the positive start to international eventing in Australia. As we look forward to the postponed Olympic Games Australia is scheduled to host a number of FEI events across multiple disciplines to prepare our riders for not only potential Tokyo 2020 team selection, but also consideration for the World Equestrian Games 2022. As Covid-19 restrictions continue to play a role in limiting the events available to our riders we remain in consultation with the FEI and Australian Olympic Committee regarding the provision of qualification and confirmation result opportunities.

Following the resounding success of the High Performance (HP) Para-Equestrian online Riders Forum last year we have decided to launch another session which will again offer our athletes the opportunity to engage with industry experts, as well as their fellow riders. The HP Para-Riders Forum will be open to all athletes and their supporters, not just classified HP Squad riders. The Forum will take place on Sunday 21^st March at 12:00pm AEDT via zoom and all those interested can register by clicking here.

As always the health and safety of our people and horses remain our priority as we work together as a high-performance community to navigate these unprecedented times.