The Editorial

The Olympic Games and European Championships: work in progress

Two great long-awaited events following a long period of uncertainty are now just around the corner: the Tokyo Olympic Games and the Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage European Championships.

Tokyo has at last outlined the format for the Games, organising an event that will certainly be a different and unprecedented experience, starting with the Opening Ceremony on July 23rd. Equestrian sports will all take place from July 24th to August 7th while the Paradressage takes centre stage together will all Paralympic disciplines from August 26th to August 30th.

There is great excitement also for the European Show Jumping Championships, an event strongly desired by the entire European show jumping world. The suspension of all activity in 2020 due to the pandemic had questioned the possibility of holding the 2021 European Championships for various reasons, including in primis, the availability of organising committees to assume such a serious financial commitment during a global crisis.

Thanks to an iron will shown by Ludger Beerbaum, who with longsightedness and a strong entrepreneurial spirit as well as unmatchable experience in the show jumping arenas of the whole world, remained firm in his intentions; the European Show Jumping Championships will be held from September 1st to September 5th at the Riesenbeck Equestrian Centre in the large grass arena.

So as to welcome in the best possible way horses, riders, grooms and all other professionals involved, the equestrian facility that is directed by the multi-medal German winner Ludger Beerbaum and his centre of activity, is now being enlarged and improved even more.  

The European Eventing Championships will instead be hosted at Avenches, in Switzerland, from September 23rd to September 27th, while the German town of Hagen will host the European Dressage Championships from September 7th to September 12th, championships that as happened for show jumping were strongly wanted by the entire European sector for this discipline and organised thanks to the FEI, the EEF and organising committees’ great commitment.

The Paradressage Europeans will instead not be held so as to allow athletes to concentrate on the Olympic Games.

Italy will be in Tokyo with Eventing and Paradressage teams, while for show jumping and dressage there will respectively be one individual rider competing..

In a totally new and different atmosphere we wish the very best of luck to all our athletes.