World Equestrian Games 2022

1. Herning 2022: Show Jumping, Dressage, Para-Dressage and Vaulting in Denmark

Already in 2013, Herning in the Danish Jutland hosted the European Equestrian Championships. This year, the city of 50,000 inhabitants will once again be the pulsating centre of equestrian sport and vaulting from all over the world. Around 1,000 horses will be stabled here during the 2022 World Championships.

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Tickets for show jumping, dressage, para-dressage and vaulting are in high demand but still available and can be purchased via ticket.herning2022.com. Prices vary from competition to competition and start at 30 euros. In addition, camping on site is possible for a fee. In addition to top-class sport, there will be a varied supporting programme. One highlight is the show night on 13 August: Here, the best horse trainers and show riders, including Alizee Froment and "the flying Frenchman" Lorenzo, will show their skills in the Stutteri-Ask Stadium from 8 pm. The EquiPark grounds will also feature 250 exhibitors, a Kids Zone, exclusive food stalls and more. The top event and finale of the dressage is the freestyle at Grand Prix level on Wednesday evening (10 August from 8 p.m.).

1.1 The Schedule for the FEI World Championships Herning 2022

1.1.1 Timetable: Dressage

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1.1.2 Schedule: Jump

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1.1.3 Schedule: Vaulting

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1.1.4 Schedule: Para-Dressage

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1.2 Eventing and Driving in Italy

The bush riders and drivers will travel to Rome in September 2022 to hold their World Championships. More precisely, to Pratoni del Vivaro, a plateau in an idyllic natural setting. It has been 24 years since Pratoni del Vivaro was the venue of the World Equestrian Games. This year, a demanding but fair cross-country ride and strong competition are expected. Course director Giuseppe Della Chiesa promises a course in the bush and in the marathon, the heart of the four-in-hand, with a focus on technique rather than on course length and endurance. There will therefore certainly be no lack of excitement. Tickets are available for both eventing and driving. A week pass for the former is around 107 euros. Tickets for individual competitions are considerably cheaper and available for under 10 Euros. The complete package for the drivers is available from about 86 euros.

1.3 The Schedule for the FEI World Championships in Pratoni, Rome (tentative!)

1.3.1 Timetable: Eventing

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1.3.2 Schedule: Driving

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1.4 Endurance Riding in Verona, Italy

Just under 160 kilometres - that is the distance the endurance riders have to cover to have a chance of winning the gold medal. On 22 October, the ride starts at seven o'clock through the countryside around Verona. The "hundred miler" is considered the supreme discipline among endurance athletes.

2. Chaos at the WEG in Tryon 2018 - This is Why There Will be no World Equestrian Games in 2022

World Championships instead of Equestrian Games - it seems like a break with decades of tradition. It is the first time since 1990 that no World Equestrian Games (WEG) will take place. One of the triggers for this decision was the organisational chaos in Tryon 2018 in the USA, especially in endurance riding. It already started badly when both starters and organisers were unclear where the race was to start at all. After all, there were two locations from which the dog mile was to start. Furthermore, a prior inspection of the course was not allowed, as it ran through private property.

2.1 Controversial demolition

A few hours after the start and end of the first loop, the race had to be stopped. The reason: Some riders had been directed to a wrong route. So it was a new start; now only over 120 kilometres. Finally, due to bad weather and ground conditions, the ride was completely stopped to protect the horses. The riders agreed that this was the right decision, but the previous back-and-forth caused a lot of anger among trainers and starters. In addition, there were unfinished construction sites, missing hotels, lack of toilets and poor visitor organisation. That Tryon, which had stood in for Bromont, Canada, at fairly short notice, was overwhelmed is obvious. "Our sport has grown so much that the World Equestrian Games with all disciplines has become too big for most organisers," said FEI President Ingmar de Voos in a press release. And so it came about that the FEI decided to decentralise the World Equestrian Games as World Championships and accordingly have them take place at different locations. Twenty countries applied to host the Games, with Denmark and Italy winning the bid. However, future World Equestrian Games as a mega-event at only one location are still not excluded.

3. World Equestrian Games Challenge

But it is indeed also a great challenge for organisers to bring such an event smoothly across the stage. Only a few places even have the possibility to host all disciplines of the FEI World Equestrian Games without chaos ensuing. Tryon was not the first host to get in over its head. Already in 1994 in The Hague there were several mishaps. There, the site was so remote and - because it was a former military training area - so well secured by wire fences that visitors and media representatives arrived late. For the organiser, it had become a debacle from a financial point of view. Tryon's predecessor, the Normandie, was also criticised for poor courses in endurance and eventing. Aachen was a bright spot in 2006: For the first time, the World Equestrian Games did not make a loss. And also in terms of organisation, the Aachen Soers, which has a lot of experience thanks to the annual CHIO, was a positive example.

4. Review: Dressage Successes in the German Team 2018

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The overall adverse circumstances were not reflected in the medal table of the dressage riders. In the team dressage the German team with Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with TSF Dalera BB (76.677 percent), Dorothee Schneider with Sammy Davis Jr. (75.062 percent), Sönke Rothenberger with Cosmo (81.444 percent) and Isabell Werth with Bella Rose (top score of 84.829 percent) took first place and won the team gold ahead of the USA and Great Britain. Isabell Werth and her successful mare Bella Rose also secured first place in the individual Grand Prix Special with a score of 86.246 percent, leaving Laura Graves with Verdades (USA, 81.717 percent) in second place. Charlotte Dujardin landed in third place with Mount St John Freestyle (Great Britain, 81.489 percent, third place) with a large gap.

4.1 Jumping Riders Close to Third Place

The team show jumping was a home victory for the US-Americans after the jump-off. Devin Ryan with Eddie Blue, Adrienne Sternlicht with Cristalline, Laura Kraut with Zeremonie and McLain Ward with Clinta were in the end about one and a half seconds faster than the competition from Sweden with a time of 100.76 seconds and zero faults. The German team came third. Special mention must be made here of Simone Blum and her DSP Alice, who saved the bronze medal for the team with two clear rounds in the two rounds of the Nations' Cup, after the jump-off was narrowly missed by one fault point. Maurice Tebbel with Don Diarado delivered the scratch result in both rounds with nine and five penalty points respectively. Laura Klaphake and Catch me if you can were clear in the first round, but were too slow and received one point for time infringement. In the second round there were four faults. Marcus Ehning and Pret a tout took two obstacle faults from the first round, but remained without penalty points in the second.

4.2 Sensational Victory by Simone Blum

Simone Blum's - and DSP Alice's - top performance brought her first place in the individual classification. Three clear rounds, one round with one time penalty: That was gold, ahead of the Swiss riders Martin Fuchs with Clooney and Steve Guerdat with Bianca. For Klaphake and Ehning it was only enough for 14th and 15th place in the end.

In eventing, the United Kingdom dominated: Team (88.80 minus points) and individual gold went to the British. Second place went to Ireland (93) and third to France (99.80). Rosalind Canter and Allstar B were at the top of the table (individual classification) with 24.60 minus points. They were followed by Padraig McCarther (Ireland) with Mr Chunky (27.20) and Ingrid Klimke with her Hale Bob OLD (27.30) in third place. Germany finished fifth in the team classification. Andreas Dibowksi with FRH Corrida (43.50), Ingrid Klimke with Hale Bob OLD (27.30), Kai Rüder with Colani Sunrise (47.40) and Julia Krajewski with Chipmunk FRH (56.30) collected a total of 118.20 minus points.

5. This is the German Squad 2022

Who will travel to Herning has not yet been decided. But the German Olympic squad for 2022 is set. This is it:

Dressage

• Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with TSF Dalera BB and Ferdinand BB
• Helen Langehanenberg with Annabelle
• Fabienne Müller-Lütkemeier with Valencia AS and Valesco
• Hubertus Schmidt with Escolar
• Dorothee Schneider with Faustus and Showtime FRH
• Carina Scholz with Tarantino
• Frederic Wandres (Hagen a.T.W./WES) with Duke of Britain FRH
• Benjamin Werndl with Daily Mirror and Famoso OLD
• Isabell Werth with Emilio, DSP Quantaz and Weihegold OLD

Jumping

• Christian Ahlmann with Dominator 2000 Z
• Daniel Deußer with Killer Queen VDM
• Marcus Ehning with Stargold
• Christian Kukuk with Mumbai
• André Thieme with DSP Chakaria
• Philipp Weishaupt with Coby
• David Will with C-Four

Versatility

• Sandra Auffarth with Viamant du Matz
• Andreas Dibowski with FRH Corrida
• Michael Jung with Chipmunk FRH and WildWave
• Ingrid Klimke with SAP Hale-Bob OLD
• Julia Krajewski with Amande de B'Neville
• Sophie Leube with Jadore Moi
• Dirk Schrade with Casino
• Anna Siemerwith FRH Butt's Avondale
• Christoph Wahler with Carjatan S‍

7. reining no longer an FEI discipline

The Western riding discipline Reining is no longer part of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) since 2022. For this reason, there will be no more reining at the World Championships - which are held under the banner of the FEI. The reason for this is the long-standing disagreement between the FEI and the American National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), which, despite its name, is responsible internationally. According to the FEI, there had already been breaches of contract on the part of the Western riders in 2019, mainly concerning rules on the minimum age of the horses and doping regulations.

At that time, a compromise had been agreed upon. When there were problems again in 2020, the FEI decided to exclude reining as a discipline of the federation as of this year. The World Championships will therefore take place without Western riders, with only seven instead of eight equestrian disciplines.

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Author: Laura Schmidl