Equestrian Australia High Performance Weekly Update – 7th December, 2020

Our domestic athletes across all disciplines continue to go from strength to strength as they embrace the opportunity to once again enter the competition arena. This past weekend we saw the delivery of Australia’s only full-scale three-day-event for 2020 take place at Wallaby Hill, NSW. The event is one of the most prestigious on the Australian eventing calendar and the fact that the competition was able to run amidst the uncertainty of this year has provided a boost to the morale of our athletes. Many of our High Performance riders identified Wallaby Hill as a key event in their Tokyo 2020 preparation and put their best foot forward producing solid performances across the board in all three phases. Of particular note was the incredibly high quality dressage tests executed by our riders, which also included record scores for the event in the CCI4*-L and CCI4*-S classes. In addition EA High Performance (HP) Eventing Gold Squad rider Shane Rose made history at Wallaby Hill by becoming the only rider ever to win the coveted CCI4*-L competition three times. Making the achievement even more remarkable is that Shane has accomplished this milestone over three consecutive years, just one example of the consistency and longevity of our HP athletes. Internationally this weekend we also saw Sammi Birch finish on top of the podium in the CCI4*-L competition at the Barroca d’Alva eventing winter series in Portugal, one of the few places where competition is still being held in Europe. The impressive performances delivered by all of our HP athletes this weekend only serves to further instill confidence that our riders remain on track despite the disruption caused by Covid-19 as we head closer to the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The latest online workshop, which is as part of a rider focussed educational series developed by the HP Program, took place last week and involved Para-dressage athletes from around the globe. This new workshop focused on the important Freestyle to music test our riders are required to perform in competition. The session was hosted by five star Para-dressage judge Sue Cunningham, who is also a member of the Ground Jury for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The presentation explained in detail what elements are required to create a winning Freestyle test across each of the five FEI Para-dressage grades and how each test is marked - breaking down the scoring structure so the riders can better understand the marks they are awarded. In addition Sue went through each of the winning Para-dressage Freestyle tests from the World Equestrian Games 2018 held in Tryon, USA where she was also a judge. The tests were streamed via video link and as the riders watched the tests Sue went through the marks awarded for each movement in real-time, explaining how the test was able to achieve an overall winning score.  The feedback from the riders has been overwhelmingly positive and based on consultation with our athletes we aim to continue the series of workshops in 2021. The additional preparation will assist in giving our identified Para-dressage combinations the best possible chance of achieving podium success at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games next year.

The FEI have now officially released the event calendar for 2021, which was approved following the recent FEI General Assembly. All events that have been approved to run across the globe in 2021 are now listed, with the exception of the CSI5* calendar which is still under review and pending approval. The full FEI calendar can be viewed by visiting https://data.fei.org/Calendar/Search.aspx

With the ever-evolving Covid-19 situation we continue to work tirelessly to ensure our program delivery, Tokyo 2020 planning and rider support system remains world-class. Our operational and logistical plans for the postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games continues to progress as we leave no stone unturned to ensure our riders are best placed to deliver a podium performance, whilst also prioritising the safety of our riders, horses and team. Our lines of communication with the FEI, Australian Olympic Committee, and Paralympics Australia remain open as we all work together to make sure the Games of the XXXII Olympiad not only offer our athletes a safe environment to showcase their talent on the world stage, but also act as a symbol of positivity following the challenging times presented in 2020. We are yet to obtain further information from the FEI regarding Tokyo 2020 reconfirmation events and qualification criteria but we continue to work hard in the best interest of our riders to ensure a fair and even playing field for all ahead of team selection next year.

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