Sports Cluster Manager from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, Anne Murac, as well as GL Events Equestrian Sport President, Sylvie Robert and Equestrian and Para Equestrian Sport Manager for Paris 2024, Jean Morel shared an update report of the equestrian events for the next edition of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Tim Hadaway, FEI Games Operations Director, moderated the session.
Jean Morel first presented the dates for all equestrian competitions as well as modern pentathlon. He went on to share details on the course designers for cross-country (Pierre Le Goupil) and jumping (Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo) as well as the full schedule for both Olympic and Paralympic Games, from July 26 to September 7. In the case of para-dressage the final timings could change depending on the definite entries and their nations.
Morel went on to present maps of the venue (stables, field of play, warm-up arenas and cross-country start and finish lines) for the 11 days of competitions and ensured that all plans are made with welfare of the horses in mind.
Stables will be organised by discipline, with different stables for eventing (first to arrive and leave the venue), dressage and jumping. The veterinary clinic, treatment boxes, farriers and wash areas are located close the stables. Three warm-up areas will be available, with the possibility to split each of them in two in order to create six warm-up areas.
He then explained the details around the cross-country course:
- 5.3km distance
- Optimum timing of 9 min 18 sec
- 25 obstacles
- 3 water jumps
- 2 pontoons
- All the horse inspections for all disciplines will be held in a dedicated area.
Next topic on the agenda was horse transportation. Horse arrivals were detailed (Eventing on 24 July, Dressage on 26 July, Jumping on 30 July and Para Dressage on 31 August). The first security point will the Mortemets Parking and a second one by the Grooms accommodation. Then, horses will go to the stables area. Eventing horses and jumping horses will not be in the venue at the same time, since jumping horses will arrive the day after the eventing horses leave. All horse arrivals will be scheduled in specific time slots to avoid congestion.
Anne Murac presented the grooms’ accommodation and the Huttopia concept. The distance between grooms and the veterinary centre will be 2.5 km, approximately 7 minutes, and the grooms’ accommodation will be 700 metres away from the stables.
The allocation process for groom’s accommodation will have several steps and will be outlined here in the presentation in the FEI Documents Library at the bottom of the page when available.
Morel confirmed different testing activities, including the cross-country operational test which will be held on August 22-23 2023. It will include a cross-country course walk through Versailles Park on Day 1 and a Paris 2024 equestrian presentation (main organisational, logistical, technical and sport principles of the competitions) on Day 2, for all National Federations, NOCs, NPCs, etc.
Robert explained that the test event for Jumping, Dressage, Para Dressage and Eventing (Jumping and Dressage) will be held from April 22-28, 2024 in Le Printemps Des Sports Equestres in Fontainebleau, with the competition format to be defined.
The general objectives of the test events will be:
- Team coordination and integration
- Stables and protocols
- Arena footing
- Results, Scoring and Timing
- Technical Officials integration
- Volunteers training
- Veterinary services
Before opening the floor to questions, Anne Murac talked about the last topic, the NOC/NF visits and next steps ahead of the Olympic Games:
June 13-19 2023: NOC Chef de Mission seminar OLY
August 23-23 2023: Operational test – Cross country – Versailles
August 24-30 2023: NPC Chef de Mission seminar PARA
April 2024: Testing opportunity – Printemps des sports équestres at Fontainebleau
May/June 2024: Operational test – Equestrian – Versailles
The latest information on the venue, competition schedule, qualification systems, regulations, and rankings is available here.
Watch the Session in replay here.
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