Changes have been announced to the World Equestrian Games format for 2022 as two host countries have been confirmed for separate World Championships.
The FEI board held an in-person meeting in Moscow, Russia on 16 November where it was decided Herning, Denmark, will host the showjumping World Championships, dressage World Championships, para dressage World Championships and vaulting World Championships in August 2022. The city currently holds a qualifier for the dressage World Cup, and in 2013 held the European Championships for showjumping, dressage and para dressage.
A spokesman for FEI said the venue, which played home to the Rome 1960 Olympics, is “no stranger” to high-level events having hosted the 1998 World Equestrian Games and the driving World Championships for singles in 2006 and 2010.
FEI secretary general Sabrina Ibáñez said: “When we opened the process for 2022 to single and multi-discipline bids, our intention was to have events that were more manageable and sustainable at proven venues.
“By allocating these multi-discipline championships to Herning and Pratoni del Vivaro we’re working with hosts that already have the necessary experience and required infrastructure in place to organise world-class equestrian championships. We received some truly excellent bids and unfortunately we don’t have enough World Championships to allocate to everyone, but we very much hope that these excellent organisers will bid again in the future to host championships at their venues.”
The 2022 championships will serve as qualifiers in showjumping, eventing, dressage and para dressage for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
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A spokesman for the FEI said the board “agreed unanimously” that any decision on endurance and reining would be postponed pending the outcome of discussion about both disciplines today (18 November), with voting taking place tomorrow (19 November).
It was also decided that the World Cup finals for showjumping, dressage, driving and vaulting will be held in Leipzig, Germany,for 2022 to 2024, where they were held in 2011. The World Cup finals for showjumping and dressage will take place in Omaha, USA, in April 2023 and Riyad, Saudi Arabia, in 2024. Driving will be held in Bordeaux, France, in February 2023 and 2024.
“The bidding process for the FEI Vaulting World Cup finals 2023 and 2024 will be reopened,” said the spokesman.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
