LA28 in the spotlight at the FEI Sports Forum 2025 in Lausanne

At the FEI Sports Forum 2025 in Lausanne, equestrian sport at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles was the focus of discussions on the first day of the event. Although the final decisions on disciplines and quotas are still pending from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), planning is already progressing. The planned venue Galway Downs Equestrian in Temecula (California) will be confirmed as soon as the venue master plan has been finalized.

FEI representatives presented a first draft of the qualification systems, which are to be closely based on those of Paris 2024. The qualification phase for the Olympic competitions will run from the FEI World Championships year 2026 until the end of 2027, while the minimum requirements (MERs) for horse-rider pairs can be met until June 2028. For the Paralympic Games, the MER phase is scheduled for July 2028.

One noteworthy proposal concerns the handling of nations that do not confirm their team starting places: In future, individual places will no longer be allocated automatically, but a regular qualification procedure will take effect.

The discipline-specific adjustments in show jumping, dressage, para-dressage and eventing were presented by the responsible directors, with further details on eventing to follow shortly. The final proposal for the qualification system will be voted on at the FEI General Assembly in Hong Kong in November following feedback from the federations and then submitted to the IOC.