Proposals to launch para dressage World Cup and Nations Cup series

Creating a para dressage World Cup and Nations Cup series could help the sport evolve and offer more opportunities for riders, stakeholders have agreed.

The topics were among items discussed during a sport structure session of the FEI online para dressage forum (18–19 January). The session, attended by 118 delegates, considered issues including how the sport could be developed, proposals around new test names, and introducing rider age rankings. The final session, on 28 January, will consider classification structure.

“We saw a significant growth in numbers; events grew by 300%, we saw more continents organising events and we had a great increase in the number of registered athletes. This offered increased opportunities in officiating for our officials so we could have a better education system for them. All in all, this saw a great improvement in the quality of performances at the highest level, which were much more recognised,” she said.

“If we go up to a CPEDIO4* status we’re raising the bar; at the moment our bar is at three-star and raising it to four-star gives us much more opportunity to test our established combinations and promote the level of technical skill and ability of those competing at a Nations Cup. It could be that the qualification criteria mirrors what we have at Paralympic Games, which we have raised for Paris 2024, so it will be the next step in building the sport for the future where we can use the atmosphere and environment a Nations Cup will provide.”

“We need to look at who we have in the sport who can be champions of it, which would give us enormous opportunities for sponsorship and furthering the sport,” Ms Fraillon said. She added that she also works with Australian wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott, and that what he has done for his sport had been “extraordinary” in raising the profile of quad and wheelchair tennis, by speaking about the sport to people who would not necessarily know about it.

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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.

‘Raising the bar’: proposals to launch para dressage World Cup and Nations Cup series

David Hamer, FEI para equestrian committee member and British Equestrian head of performance pathways, discussed proposals around the introduction of a Nations Cup series, which he believes is the “next evolution” of the sport.

“We’ve got some great lessons to learn from the series in showjumping, eventing and dressage, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of the sport by having a formal team competition series,” he said.

“It gives us opportunities not only to look at sponsorship but media attention as well, which can only be good for promoting the profile of the sport and the riders and countries participating.”

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