EC Publishes 2018 World Equestrian Games Dressage Criteria, reversing previous stance on "exploitation" and "intellectual property"

Equine / Equestrian Canada (EC) have published their Dressage criteria for the 2018 World Equestrian Games, reversing a policy put in place by then-CEO Eva Havaris.

Up until Havaris's appareance at the national federation, EC had always publicly published their major games criteria. Yet shortly after her arrival, EC took the controversial decision to keep selection criteria top secret and only share with high performance athletes “upon request”.  This action was against the best practices advocated by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) who strongly advocate  that qualification criteria must be publicly available. 

At the time, EC stated their reasons for taking such unusual action included protecting athletes, avoiding exploitation by other countries, and protecting the intellectual property of volunteers. 

With Havaris' sudden departure in September 2017, these stated reasons no longer seem to be of concern and EC appears to be reverting back to being more transparent and in compliance with SDRCC.

What's in the Criteria?

Team Composition
EC plans to enter a team (three to four athlete/horse combinations

Declaration Period
Athletes must declare their intent by December31, 2017.

Qualification Period
January 1, 2018 - August 13, 2018 inclusive.
This is the period by which athlete/horse combinations can attain scores to submit for consideration.

Stage 1 - FEI Certificate of Capability
In order to qualify for participation, athlete/horse combinations must have attained a result of at least 66% attributed by the Ground Jury and by any two different FEI 5* Dressage Judges, of a nationality other than that of the Athlete, in a Grand Prix at two different CDI3*/4*/5*/CDI-W or CDIO
events during the qualification period.

 Stage 2 - Internal Qualification Score Requirements

• Qualification scores must be achieved at CDI3*, or higher, competitions within the Qualification Period above.
  
• Scores achieved at CDI-AM competitions will not be considered.
  
• All qualification scores must be achieved from a panel of at least five FEI judges.
• Athlete/horse combinations must compete in a minimum of four Grand Prix and four Grand Prix Special classes  in order to be considered for selection.
• A minimum of one Grand Prix and one Grand Prix Special score must be achieved after May 1st, 2018. 
  

 Selection Panel

• Team Manager – Christine Peters, EC Dressage Manager (EC Staff)
  
• Technical Expert – Lorraine MacDonald (Former FEI 4* Dressage Judge)
• Team Veterinarian – Dr. Geoff Vernon
• Dressage Committee Rep. with high performance sport experience – Victoria Winter
• Athlete Representative – Denielle Gallagher-Legriffon 
  

 Selection Procedures - Ranking Average

•  All qualifying Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special scores will be used to calculate each athlete/horse combos' final ranking average
• Athlete/horse combo may discard a maximum of 1 qualifying Grand Prix and 1 qualifying Grand Prix Special score from their final ranking average
• At least 1 qualifying Grand Prix score and 1 qualifying Grand Prix Special score achieved after May 1, 2018 must be included in the final ranking average
• Average of all qualifying Grand Prix scores will count for 60% of the athlete/horse combo's final ranking average
• Average of all qualifying Grand Prix Special scores will count for 40% of athlete/horse combo's final ranking average
• Selection will be based on the final ranking average

Pre-WEG Training Camp
The selected athlete/horse combos and alternatates will be required to attend a pre-Games Training Camp expected to be held September 1 - 10, 2018

 Access full criteria

When will the Team be announced?

 On or before August 20, 2018.

Which Canadian Competitions Qualify?

 At the time of writing, there are only 3 Canadian competitions where qualifying scores can be achieved, all of them in Ontario.

May 17 - 20, 2018
Ottawa Dressage Festival , Ottawa, ON

June 16 - 17, 2018
RCRA , Cedar Valley, ON

July 20 - 22, 2018
Caledon Equestrian Park , Caledon, ON

 

When & Where are the 2018 World Equestrian Games?

September 11th – 24th, 2018
Tryon International Equestrian Centre
Mill Spring, North Carolina, USA,

 The dressage competition is scheduled for September 2th – 16th, 2018.