International jumping shows “profiteering” from Covid-19 have been sharply rebuked by the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), who say they “can and will” find solutions to protect the “credibility” of the sport.

The IJRC spoke out about the alleged use of pay cards to secure entries at the lower level CSIs which have re-started with a relaxation of lockdown, notably in Europe, working against expense of talented but less well-funded riders. IJRC also makes the disparaging comment that “tennis does not allow anyone who feels like it to play with Federer just because they have paid.”

The IJRC statement come just days after Eric Lamaze published an open letter explaining why he and the other Torrey Pines riders, Hayley Barnhill and Chris Pratt, walked away from last weekend’s CSI3* at Lier in Belgium. Lamaze cited the enormous class sizes – 252 starters in a 4,000 euros (CAN$ 6,300) speed event qualifying for a ranking class next day – and a casual approach to social distancing.

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