State of International Dressage Heading Into 2021, 10 Months Since Coronavirus Impact

The International Equestrian Federation’s world rankings are at an all-time high of almost 1,000 rider and horse combinations heading into the Olympic year as the coronavirus-triggered freeze has significantly distorted the standings.

Of the top 50 rider and horse combinations on the FEI rankings as of Dec. 31, 2020, 21 pairs have not competed–or not been able to–since before the freeze imposed in March 2020 locking in results from a year earlier. In normal circumstances, the standings for Grand Prix are of the top eight scores from the previous 12 months, rolling over every month. The freeze was designed to provide a level playing field along lines similar to tennis and golf during the pandemic.

Most prominent of 12 combinations that have not competed since 2019 include No. 1 Isabell Werth on Bella Rose and No. 4 Dorothee Schneider on Showtime FRH. Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen on Blue Hors Zack and Blue Hors Don Olymbrio, ranked 10th and 14th, respectively, left the Blue Hors stud in May last year. Charlotte Dujardin is still ranked 18th on Erlentanz though the owner who had been injured returned to the saddle in February last year to rack up eight starts.

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Article written by: KENNETH J. BRADDICK