The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board finalised the sporting programme and competitor numbers at a meeting in Lausanne yesterday (9 April).
Equestrian sport will retain the same number of places and medals as it had for the Paris Olympics. This means team and individual medals for each discipline, and 200 horse/rider combinations across the disciplines, with a split of 75 for showjumping, 60 for dressage and 65 for eventing.
“We are extremely pleased with the IOC decision,” said FEI president Ingmar De Vos. “The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games were a historic success for equestrian sport, which proved very popular with the live crowds and TV and online viewers worldwide.
“It’s great news that our numbers remain unchanged and we are looking forward to delivering exciting sport at the same level of excellence.”
Although horse sport in principle was agreed to be part of the LA28 programme in autumn 2023, a slight question mark had hovered over eventing being among the disciplines – although leading FEI figures long stressed their confidence it would be included. To have this now confirmed is welcome news.
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Eventing’s inclusion had been contingent on all phases running at the same venue as the pure dressage and showjumping. At previous Games, including Tokyo, there have been occasions where the cross-country has run at a satellite venue.
At a press conference following the meeting yesterday, IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said: “The executive board has validated the masterplan in broad terms, and that’s a really practical and very helpful step forward.
“As for the announcement, including each and every detail, let’s be clear, this will be the responsibility of LA [organisers].
“What I can tell you is that the key principles that were followed for the establishment of the masterplan was to use and maximise the existing venues, no new permanent infrastructures, maximise also the opportunities within the city of LA and also regroup the venues to avoid standalone. Every time you have a standalone [venue], you are complexifying the operation.
“All these principles were followed, and now the master plan has been adopted. For the details, let’s wait until LA will make the announcement.”
IOC sports director Kit McConnell added that the FEI has been a “really strong partner” in working through all the above considerations and thanked the federation for its “active engagement”.
The qualification process for LA28 was discussed at the FEI Sports Forum last week (31 March to 1 April) and will be voted on at the FEI general assembly in November.
The IOC had previously asked the FEI to submit a new competition format for eventing at LA28, which it did in 2024. An FEI spokesperson told H&H today (10 April) that discussions on the proposed new format have not continued.
“Discussions were conducted at the time given that the Olympic Broadcasting Service had expressed interest in having medals awarded after the cross-country as such a change might have led to increased viewing figures,” the FEI spokesperson told H&H.
“However, given how successful the current Olympic format was in Paris, these discussions haven’t continued.”
The spokesperson added that any proposed changes to Olympic formats will be discussed first at next year’s FEI Sports Forum, and put forward for approval at the 2026 FEI general assembly.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
