Inside Equestrian Canada's National Rankings System

Equestrian Canada has launched their new national ranking system for equestrian sport, which positions athletes and their horses on a leaderboard based on national competition results, so that riders can easily see where they stand against other competitors across the country. Results are tabulated from EC Gold sanctioned hunter/jumper, dressage and para-dressage competitions and are updated as competition organizers provide results. Points are awarded on a formula which varies by discipline but involves points depending on placing, to which a multiplying factor based on prize money in the class is applied. It is taking a while for shows to get up to speed, but the hope is for an up-to-date and seamless process once everyone is on board.

HorseSport.com posed a few questions to EC regarding the rankings:

Has EC changed the formula for how points are calculated?

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The formulas for point calculation have not changed and are outlined in the EC Rules, Section A: General Regulations and discipline-specific sections. Miscellaneous classes and riders/equines competing on Temporary EC Sport Licences are not counted. EC utilizes these formulas and applies them to the results in order to form the national rankings, which is hosted in the Competitions & Results portal on the EC website. They are updated regularly as results are submitted by competition organizers and verified.

Are points tracked at Platinum shows as well?

The rankings currently only include results for EC Gold sanctioned competitions in the Hunter/Jumper, Dressage and Para-Dressage disciplines. The FEI provides their own rankings at this time for Platinum shows. In order to develop and introduce this beneficial national ranking system to our community, it needed to be rolled out in stages. EC sees this initial launch, especially in a year where we saw a gradual resumption of competition, as version 1.0. The plan is to continue to develop and expand the system, in order to better recognize the achievements of our athletes, horses and owners.

Are the points calculated annually?

Yes, points are accumulated towards ranking from shows in the calendar year and are not cumulative over multiple years. Currently data and results associated with athletes and horses are available in the portal for all sanctioned events and appear collated by year.

Do points won at USEF competitions that are also EC-sanctioned competitions count in the province in which the competitor resides?

Rankings are based on a rider’s province of residence. A rider is eligible to collect points in select rated divisions at the Gold level at this time. Dual sanctioning does not affect point accumulation as long as it is a Gold Sanctioned Hunter Jumper, Dressage or Para-Dressage competition, and the rider is eligible to receive points in a rated division.

What is the procedure for shows to supply/upload the results?

Shows submit results directly to our system via an entry software interface. EC has worked collaboratively with event organizers to help support easy and timely results submissions. Division codes have been standardized to allow for data upload compatibility. This has been a small but impactful change from open-ended class names. The change was necessary to establish the ranking system but almost more importantly, to ensure the data is valid, when accuracy of the results for ranking is paramount. This change has also allowed for grouping and analyzing of division statistics. In the future iterations of the rankings, this consistency will deliver more in-depth athlete development indicators and an understanding of the demand for divisions and levels.

The threshold for results submission errors has increased. Once successfully uploaded, results must also be reviewed for errors prior to posting. This includes but is not limited to ensuring that divisions are coded correctly, and all riders and horses are properly identified to confirm points are accurately awarded.

The disclaimer from the website has attempted to articulate these provisions to users:

The results presented are submitted to EC by competitions. Please report any errors to the applicable competition. Results will be added as received and validated (not in real time), check back weekly as new results are published. All rankings are provisional until the final results of the season are received and validated, and EC confirms the rankings are final.

It appears that some shows have no results recorded and none have been entered since the end of August. Are any shows having problems with the system, or is it mostly a matter of not submitting results in a timely fashion?

This year has been an especially difficult one as our equestrian community has adjusted to the return to competition in the context of the pandemic. We are committed to working together with event organizers to overcome any delays, inaccuracies or challenges with submissions for the integrity of the rankings. With over 90,000 results records including over 5,000 unique horses’ and athletes’ data being uploaded to date, it is a monumental task. We are so thankful for the hard work of the secretaries on event grounds and in show offices doing their best to report results for EC sanctioned events in a timely fashion. Our team is available to assist when needed.

What is the greatest value of these rankings being available to access online anytime during the season?

We continue to be excited about this emerging tool that offers athletes and horse owners the opportunity to see where they rank relative to their equestrian peers across the country. Until now, they had only been able to see results on an event-by-event basis. Providing national rankings are part of EC’s commitment to offer increased value to our community. We look forward to growing the rankings in a variety of ways to include additional disciplines and offering additional features for future competition seasons.

Explanation of Formula

Points are determined using the following formula:
Placing in the class multiplied by the number of horses competing in the class multiplied by the factor according to the total prize money.

First Place = 8 points
Second Place = 7 points
Third Place = 6 points
Fourth Place = 5 points
Fifth Place = 4 points
Sixth Place = 3 points
Seventh Place = 2 points
Eighth Place = 1 point

Multiplying Factor (EC sanctioned hunter classes)
$15,001 or above = 15
$10,001 to $15,000 = 10
$5,001 to $10,000 = 6
$2,501 to $5,000 = 4
Up to $2,500 = 2

Example: Calculation for second place horse, class of 27 horses; competition offers $8,500 hunter prize money:

7 points X 27 horses X 6 (multiplying factor) = 1134 points

Multiplying Factor (EC-sanctioned jumper classes)
$50,001 and above = 15
$30,001 to $50,000 = 10
$10,001 to $30,000 = 8
$5,001 to $10,000 = 6
$2,501 to $5,000 = 4
Up to $2,500 = 2

Example: Calculation for second place horse, class of 27 horses; competition offers $15,000 jumper prize money:

7 points X 27 horses X 8 (multiplying factor) = 1512 points

For more information, please see Hunter/Jumper rules here, page 9.