WEG 2018 and Olympic Qualification

Imhof Tank

I'm not sure there is that much interest in the competitive side of equestrian sport on this forum but for those who might not be aware, round 2 of the show jumping team event at the World Equestrian Games is on tonight - live on Eurosport from 7pm.

Top 10 teams go through to final round on Friday. Ireland are on the bubble in 10th after the 1st round. Top 6 after Friday are qualified for Tokyo.

It was great to see the eventers do so well but we have far greater strength in depth in show jumping and it will be CRIMINAL if we again fail to qualify a team.

Ave Sodalis

Well, we're in the team final anyway. Hopefully we can hold onto those sort of rankings tomorrow. Cian jumping very well in the individuals.



Great result from the eventing team! Also a great result from Judy Reynolds!



The endurance was a disaster altogether. I'm hoping the investigation reveals what on earth happened. It's a shame because I believe Ireland would have done quite well if it wasn't such a mess up from the start, as Tom McGuinness was 8th position when the race was finally cancelled, and we were one of the only countries to have a full team still in the race.

Imhof Tank

Phew! Into the final round in 6th.

Hold that position tomorrow and the team is qualified for the first time since 2004.

convert

Brilliant performance by the Irish events, and great for the show jumpers to get into the final. Fingers crossed things go well for them this evening.

Just read a piece by Andre Vidiz on the endurance. It seems an absolute disaster and so hard on all those who were competing, and obviously their supporters and teams. Worth a read: https://medium.com/@anvidiz/diary-of-a-fiasco-f1d74d1914e9

Ave Sodalis

So close!

Wishbone Ash

Imhof Tank wrote: »

I'm not sure there is that much interest in the competitive side of equestrian sport on this forum but for those who might not be aware, round 2 of the show jumping team event at the World Equestrian Games is on tonight - live on Eurosport from 7pm. ....

It's also on BBC RB1 for those with Saor View only.

TG1

Imhof Tank wrote: »

It was great to see the eventers do so well but we have far greater strength in depth in show jumping and it will be CRIMINAL if we again fail to qualify a team.

I have to say I disagree with this, we are in eventing where we were in showjumping about 20 years ago, we are at the top.

Our top level eventers win, selectors have an embarrassment of riches for team events, our junior riders win, our pony riders win, other top level riders win 4* events on Irish horses... Eventing is in a far better place at the moment than showjumping in my opinion.

I'm devastated we didn't qualify a team last night but I don't think we have more strength and depth in jumping at all.... Irish eventing is on fire at the moment and it's fantastic to see it all coming together.

Imhof Tank

Irish Field

A bitterly disappointed Rodrigo Pessoa said afterwards: “Well we certainly gave it a try, it’s tough… we have to digest it a bit. It’s really sour because on one hand we were really close, but I think we had the potential to be much better, we cannot be pressured like that from start to finish.

“In show jumping you have to jump clears. Sometimes horses, for some reason, they make mistakes. But when you give away so many rails then it’s too expensive, it’s just not good enough.

“We will look at everything and question every single move that we have made, but at the end it was just not enough, we just had too many mistakes, we can’t count how many rails we had over the three days, over the 12 rounds, it’s just a lot.”

Speaking about missing that Olympic qualification, Pessoa added: “I am disappointed because you know, Ireland has been chasing this for so long and now we just postponed this again, one more year of this agony, it would have been good to put it away this year and have a steady year next year to build a team.”

Imhof Tank

TG1 wrote: »

I have to say I disagree with this, we are in eventing where we were in showjumping about 20 years ago, we are at the top.

Our top level eventers win, selectors have an embarrassment of riches for team events, our junior riders win, our pony riders win, other top level riders win 4* events on Irish horses... Eventing is in a far better place at the moment than showjumping in my opinion.

I'm devastated we didn't qualify a team last night but I don't think we have more strength and depth in jumping at all.... Irish eventing is on fire at the moment and it's fantastic to see it all coming together.

Dont know how you can say that. 7 Irish Riders in FEI top 50 jumping rankings currently compared to 2 eventers.

TG1

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Dont know how you can say that. 7 Irish Riders in FEI top 50 jumping rankings currently compared to 2 eventers.

Because those rankings look at nothing other than past wins. When you look at who is up and coming, who is snapping at the heels of team selection, who is winning juniors, ponies, where our horses and our bloodlines are going, we have a wealth of talent in eventing and we are poised to absolutely dominate the sport in the not too distant future.

Imhof Tank

All that may be true but are we not doing the same or better in show jumping?

Even leaving aside the world rankings, you have prospects such as Mikey Pender, Jason Foley, Harry Allen, etc coming through, pony and junior team medals this year (a better return than eventing), ISH winning repeatedly at Lanaken including a 1,2,3 the other week. And the senior team the reigning European champions. If that is not strength in depth what is?

finbarrk

Still have 2 chances left to qualify for Tokyo. European Championships in Rotterdam next August (3 places), and the Nations Cup Final later, usually in Barcelona (1 place).

Imhof Tank

So after the great result for the dressage team its not looking so hot for the show jumpers I the European Championships/ Olympic qualifier in Rotterdam.

They are 8th overall, 5th of the teams not yet qualified, with only 3 places available.
Ireland are on 30 faults, the 3 in the qualification places are on 11, 13 and 17 so we are well off it.

Final round is tomorrow but looking unlikely. Would be very, very hard to take another non qualification given the results over the past 4 years, the individual rankings of our riders etc

Imhof Tank

Absolute last chance of 2020 Olympic qualification for the show jumping team in Barcelona starting tomorrow.

One spot available to the highest finisher of Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Columbia, Egypt.

The SJI should never get another cent of public high performance money if this team fails again. This is big business for the mega millionaires we have representing us. All fine if their and the owner's interests coincide with what's good for the national team, but ultimately the riders are all business operators and every good young horse they produce is for sale.

In terms of whether we make it, I would be amazed based on how the same team went to pieces under pressure at the European Championships. Hope I'm wrong.

Imhof Tank

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Absolute last chance of 2020 Olympic qualification for the show jumping team in Barcelona starting tomorrow.

One spot available to the highest finisher of Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Columbia, Egypt.

The SJI should never get another cent of public high performance money if this team fails again. This is big business for the mega millionaires we have representing us. All fine if their and the owner's interests coincide with what's good for the national team, but ultimately the riders are all business operators and every good young horse they produce is for sale.

In terms of whether we make it, I would be amazed based on how the same team went to pieces under pressure at the European Championships. Hope I'm wrong.

Well they qualified with one change in the team line up, and as I said I did hope I was wrong with the gloomy predictions so delighted now.:o

In a sense, compared to tension of the qualifiers, there may what feels like a total absence of pressure when they get to Tokyo. If they can go there and perform without tensing up then the SJ team, and the eventers, and plenty of them individually, are surely serious medal contenders with a small dollop of luck.

Brilliant for Irish equestrian fans anyway to be able to look forward to having our teams involved in all the disciplines at an Olympics including the dressage.

finbarrk

Anyone here traveling? I have tickets for the team event, nothing for the individual though yet. They are difficult this time.