SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Saturday, May 08 2021 / Published in Sidelines Feature

A Case for Reinstating the Eight-Fault Penalty for Falls 

By Armand Leone, Jr. 

The upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo will be the first time since 1968 that show jumping teams will compete in a Nations Cup format with three horse/athlete combinations per nation and no drop score. The decision to move away from a format of four horse/athlete combinations per nation, which in turn removes the ability to drop the lowest score, was voted in by the FEI General Assembly in 2016 following the Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, and subsequently by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board in 2017. 

A three-person team with no drop score was designed in part to increase the number of participating nations at the Olympic Games and to make scoring easier to understand. It also maintains suspense through to the final rider of the final round. The format is confusing for a general audience when, once the first three riders have clinched the lead, the fourth and last team rider does not start. With the three-person format, the score of the last rider always matters. 

Some criticize the three-person format, believing it puts more pressure on the riders. Another concern is that a team with only three riders can be eliminated if one rider falls off a horse for any reason. Since the Olympic Games only come once every four years, and countries have so much at stake in these competitions, I think we need to find a balance — a way to offer fairness to all the parties that have worked so hard to get to this point. One slip around a turn or a chip and bobble at a vertical causing a dismount should not end a team’s chance to place. In this type of situation, a team member’s elimination, and thus the team’s elimination, seems inappropriate.

If we’re going to change to a three-person format for the Olympic Nations Cup competition, I think it’s time to return to the original FEI rules that penalized the first fall in a competition with eight faults and time, with elimination coming only upon a second fall. Under this rule, a rider can remount and continue the course after one fall. In the past, the rider made the decision on the field of play to remount or not.

Armand fell off in the 1982 Nations Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, while on a three-person team with his brothers, Peter and Mark, when his horse, Loecky, tripped upon landing at the water and fell. Armand was able to remount and complete the course, although current rules do not allow remounting.

Photos by Findlay Davidson

Given the improved safety standards in the sport today, if a rider falls, the horse and rider can immediately be assessed. In the absence of concussion or injury to the rider, and absent signs of unsoundness in the horse, if the rider chooses to remount, the rider receives eight faults, a fixed time penalty, and continues. Assessing a fixed time penalty after a fall would allow proper assessment of the rider and horse before remounting and continuing the course.

I have personally competed in Nations Cup events after falling and remounting on a three-person team. In the 1982 Nations Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, I competed on a three-person team for the U.S. with my brothers, Peter and Mark. I was the third and last rider for our team in the first round, and we were tied for the lead. My horse tripped upon landing at the water and fell. I remounted, completed the course, and scored 18 faults (eight faults for the fall, eight faults for two rails down while hurrying to complete the course, and two time faults). Our team was in last place after the first round. We came back in the second round scoring a total of two faults and ended up as the sixth-place team. Perseverance pays.

The new three-person format may also modify how teams are selected because consistency and the ability to get out of trouble matters more when withdrawing is not an option. Bert De Nemethy used to say he selected his riders for the Nations Cup teams based on how they perform on their worst day, not their best day. The three-person format is not for the faint of heart. The commitment to finish is as important as the need to jump clean.

Countries prepare for the Olympic Games over a four-year period. The stakes are high for all. With the understanding that a quick safety check after a fall should be performed on the field of play before proceeding, reinstating the eight-fault and time penalty for the first fall makes sense with the three-person Olympic Team Nations Cup format. In the end, falling off and getting back on is largely what horsemanship is all about. 

 

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: falls, show jumping, Tokyo Olympics

What you can read next

Horses and Homes: The Perfect Career Combination – Real Estate Agent Matt Johnson Shares the Story of His Career Journey
Michael Pollard
Lauren Eisele & Brandon Howard: Opposites Attract and Are Better Together

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
It's finally Spring🌷🌻☀️! Get your barn s It's finally Spring🌷🌻☀️! Get your barn set up with a Pyranha SprayMaster Misting System. 
✅Provides whole barn insect control! 
✅Easy to install with basic tools!
✅Electric pump & programmable automatic timer!

Get yours today!
@pyranhalife

#pyranhalife #madeintheusa #pyranha #equestrian #horselife #horselifestyle #barncare
Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

#dressage #equestrian #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #dressagehorse #equestrianlife #showjumping #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #instahorse #dressur #horselove #eventing #equestrianstyle #cheval #dressagerider #horselife #horselover #pferde #love #riding #jumping #pferdeliebe #horseofinstagram #horsebackriding #paard #dressurpferd
We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on o We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on our socials where we share some of the lovely stallions, and their breeders featured in each month's magazine. Our first feature on this #STUDSunday is...

 ✨ALVESTA OWAIN✨
Thistledown Arctic Lore x Alvesta Fairy Lustre
13.1hh, Welsh section B
Stud Fee $750 (plus collection)
AI only and EVA negative
Fairfield, VA

Contact Cheryl Maye at (703) 431-9096 for more information
https://www.mayeshowponies.com/more-info/stallions

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

📸  SAS Equestrian
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • TRIANGLE FARMS HORSE SHOWS
    H/J Rated ‘A’ and ‘C’ Shows Hunt Horse Complex, Raleigh, NC www.trianglefarms.com

    [Read more]

  • LUCKY RABBIT STUDIO - LOGOS
    GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF A NEW LOGO! LOGOS FOR YOUR BARN, FARM, BUSINESS OR WEBSITE Contact Mark@LuckyRabbitStudio.com or visit www.LuckyRabbitStudio.com

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island
  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Will Coleman Retains Yanmar America CCI4*-S Lead in Dramatic Show Jumping at Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International
  • First edition of the World Sport Horse Sales was a hit with $410.000 for the most expensive horse
  • Liz Halliday-Sharp Takes Third Victory in $50,000 Grand-Prix Eventing Festival at Bruce’s Field

Category

Recent Posts

  • April 2023 – Table of Contents

    Subscribe for just $9.95 or Order Individual Is...
  • Building a Bond With a New Horse

    By Margie Sugarman I just bought a new horse. I...
  • Developing Healthy Relationships With Your Barnmates

    By Rob Jacobs The purpose of this month’s colum...
  • The Value of Self-Coaching

    By Liz Halliday-Sharp The sport of eventing is ...
  • Unbridled With Annette Longenecker

    By Britney Grover  Annette Longenecker wasn’t j...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!