The Price of Loyalty

On April 24th, 2015, the FEI issued a press release following the completion of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup qualifier which had just taken place in Xalapa, Mexico. Casually mentioned in the press release was a quiet little sentence that has had a huge impact on Canadian show jumping: “As the CSIO Alberta (CAN) has been cancelled, the final standings show that Mexico will now join the USA in Barcelona, Spain, in September.” No other announcements were made about the cancellation of the third North American Furusiyya qualifier, but the news is significant – and bad. It leaves the Canadian Show Jumping Team holding the short straw.

Canada was tied with Mexico for second place following the two 2015 North American Furusiyya qualifiers, having finished second in the league in Ocala, Florida, in February, and then fourth in Mexico. Ties are common in the Furusiyya qualifications, and the FEI has a four-step tie-breaking rule. The tie wasn’t broken until the third step, which gives the higher placing to the team with the greater number of clear rounds: Mexico’s four clear rounds placed it above Canada’s three. The two spots for the Final in Barcelona have been awarded to the US, which won both qualifiers, and Mexico. Having finished second in the Final in 2014 and sixth in 2013, Canada will not be represented in Barcelona for the first time in the three-year history of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup series.

The Worst Timing

When Canadian Show Jumping Team chef d’équipe Mark Laskin chose the combinations to compete at the Nations Cup in Mexico, he did so with the expectation that Canada would have a third qualifying opportunity at the June qualifier at Spruce Meadows. Laskin’s mandate is not only to make sure that Canada succeeds at the highest level, but also to give developing talent the opportunities and experience necessary to ensure that the pool of top riders and horses is constantly growing. The Nations Cup in Mexico provided just such an opportunity, and Laskin chose several up-and-coming horses and riders for the team: Erynn Ballard and Appy Cara, Kara Chad and Alberto II, Elizabeth Gingras and Zilversprings, and Jonathon Millar with Calvin Klein. Millar was the only member with team experience at a major international championship. Two days after finishing fourth in the Mexico Nations Cup, the Canadians demonstrated their worthiness: Gingras, Chad, and Ballard swept the podium in the grand prix, and Millar finished sixth. All four riders were on their Nations Cup mounts.

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When Equine Canada received notification of the cancelled Furusiyya qualifier at Spruce Meadows on April 10th, it was far too late to change the composition of the team for Mexico. “The Canadian athletes and horses had already been selected for the Mexican Furusiyya Nations Cup team, and the arrangements for transport and export had already been completed at that time,” says Amie O’Shaughnessy, EC’s High Performance director.

The cancellation of Spruce Meadows at the eleventh hour came as a complete surprise to everyone. “There had been ongoing discussions and negotiations between Spruce Meadows and the FEI in the spirit of hosting a qualifier in Canada,” says O’Shaughnessy. The Spruce Meadows event was on the 2015 Furusiyya calendar right from the beginning of the year when the 20 worldwide qualifiers had been finalized. And then suddenly it was gone.

The Elephant in the Room

The reason for Spruce Meadows’ withdrawal from the Furusiyya series isn’t much of a mystery, but no one wants to talk about it. Both the FEI and EC responded to questions regarding the reason and timing of the cancelled event by recommending Spruce Meadows be asked those questions. Ian Allison, senior vice-president at Spruce Meadows, gave little detail in his response: “All of the parties worked for months in good will and with a common goal, but in the end it was determined that Spruce Meadows could not meet the required criteria in a manner that would be acceptable and/or compliant. As such we withdrew from hosting.” Spruce Meadows has been hosting FEI CSIO events for nearly 40 years. Its commitment to providing world class sport – and invaluable competition opportunities to Canada’s top and emerging riders – has not wavered. “Spruce Meadows was, and remains, very supportive of the Furusiyya Nations Cup,” says Allison, who confirms that the BMO Nations Cup at the Masters in September will take place as usual.

Allison’s carefully-chosen words don’t identify the root cause of Spruce Meadows’ withdrawal, but there is little doubt that the problem lies with a conflict between sponsors. In December 2012, the FEI landed the biggest sponsorship deal in its history with Longines. The watch company took over all the duties formerly fulfilled by Rolex, including as official timekeeper for the FEI. Spruce Meadows is among a handful of the world’s most important equestrian venues to have remained loyal to longtime sponsor Rolex. The Florida Furusiyya qualifier, formerly held at another Rolex-loyal venue, the Winter Equestrian Festival, took place in Ocala this year, not in Wellington.

FEI secretary general Sabrina Zeender says the specifics of agreements between the FEI and organizers are confidential, but that “as a general observation it should be noted that any sponsor requires exclusivity. All of the FEI’s contracts include brand exclusivity (one major partner in a category) which is standard business practice. The FEI has been supportive of shows that are loyal to Rolex and many protections and transitions, which other companies may not have allowed, were built into the FEI’s contract with Longines. All the transition periods are now over.”

Spilled Milk or a Bad Sign?

When EC submitted an official calendar modification form to the FEI on April 14th, it also requested the opportunity to find an alternative venue for the 2015 Furusiyya qualifier. “The FEI advised Equine Canada on 15 April that there was insufficient time for a replacement event to be assessed and organised, and also reconfirmed that this would reduce the number of qualifiers in the league to two,” says Zeender. O’Shaughnessy confirms that EC did ask to find another venue for 2015, and is already at work to secure a Canadian Furusiyya qualifier in 2016. The location will almost certainly be one that has no longstanding title sponsor commitments along the lines of Spruce Meadows and Rolex.

Canada’s failure to qualify for the 2015 Furusiyya Final is a short-term blow for the Canadian Team, particularly for the athletes who would have been competing for Canada in Barcelona. “We are very disappointed,” says Eric Lamaze, a member of the Canadian Team at both the 2013 and 2014 Finals. “We have taken the Furusiyya Nations Cup series seriously. We’ve used Mexico to help bring on developing riders, and we were planning to put a good team together for the last qualifier. Due to the circumstances, it’s sad that we will not be part of the Final in Barcelona.”

If, as the FEI claims, sponsorship exclusivity is just part of doing business in today’s international sporting world, the unfortunate situation that has resulted in a missed opportunity for Canada could be seen as something to shrug off. Canada’s show jumping team has other big achievements to focus on this summer, such as the Pan Am Games, where Canada needs a podium finish in order to secure an Olympic team berth for Rio 2016. But there is also a bigger question: at what point does sponsor exclusivity become a monopoly? The Longines deal may be worth many millions to the FEI, but major sponsors in equestrian sport are not numerous. The unfortunate coincidence that two of the biggest happen to be rival watch companies doesn’t help matters.

At the recent FEI Sports Forum in Switzerland, the FEI discussed the future of its flagship event, the World Equestrian Games. The FEI has acknowledged that in order for WEG to thrive in the future, more potential host cities must be enticed to bid; France was the only bidder for 2014, and Bromont won its bid for WEG 2018 essentially by default. The principle reason cited for Lexington, Kentucky’s, failed bid to host the 2018 WEG was a conflict between Longines agreements with the FEI and the Kentucky Horse Park’s commitments to Rolex. With mega-sponsor Longines in such a position of complete dominance, the FEI may actually be making it less appealing for future hosts of WEG and other major FEI events such as the Furusiyya Nations Cup.