What do you need to know about showjumping at the WEG 2022 ?

The 2022 World Equestrian Games have kicked off in Herning, Denmark with the most elite teams of show jumping riders from across the world vying for quota spots for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

Who’s attending:

Teams from across the globe have arrived with hopes of being in the top five to secure spots for the next Olympics. 2020 Olympic team gold medalists Henrik von Eckermann, Peder Fredricson, and Malin Baryard-Johnson (SWE) have returned to see if they can produce another team victory with their winning mounts; while individual gold medalist Ben Maher (GBR) has also made his way to the games but with the late horse change to Faltic HB.

The team for the USA, the reigning WEG champions, consists of McLain Ward, Brian Moggre, Adrienne Sternlicht, Lillie Keenan, and Jessica Springsteen.

How it Works:

The jumping format for all teams includes a welcome class as well as three phases of competition to determine team placing and an additional day that decides individual results.

During the initial class, the Welcome, all riders are invited into the ring where competition will be held and given 60 seconds to train over any obstacles they desire in preparation for the first phase of competition.

READ MORE: Hot topic: sunburns and horses

The first phase will see all riders from all teams contest the track and acts as both a qualifying round for individual competition as well as a scoring event for the teams. Scoring for each team is determined by dividing the time of each rider by two and using the lowest score as the baseline for zero penalty.

The following day will simply add whatever faults are acquired by each rider to both the individual’s score as well as the team score. Teams with four riders will receive a drop score for the athlete with the worst score.

At the finale of the second day, the top ten teams with the lowest score will advance to the final team stage. The third day concludes team competition with each rider once again contesting a course and the lowest score for each team being dropped to determine the final score.

A total of 50 horse-and-rider combinations will be invited back to the ring during the third phase as riders still in contention for the individual qualifications will compete before the final teams.

PROTECT YOURSELF WITH HELITE EQUESTRIAN AIRBAGS

After two days of rest, the final individual day of show jumping features only the 25 best scoring combinations to return before being narrowed down to 12 duos for a final track. After the remaining top-12 jump the last track, the results of the medals are calculated by combining their totals over all phases.

7 misconceptions about horses in movies