How our athletes qualify for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

By Holly Clanahan of America’s Horse

With fewer than 100 days until the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, excitement is mounting. But which reiners will be representing Team USA? The selection process culminates next month with the United States Equestrian Federation Open Reining Championship, which is being held as part of Battle in the Saddle. Thirty horses will be competing for five spots on the team.

At AQHA, we’re thrilled that the sport of reining – the only western discipline on the international stage – is coming home! A reining horse’s athletic stops and spins are rooted in ranch work. And so this American tradition, which has spread worldwide, will be a major part of the first World Equestrian Games to be held on U.S. soil. Check out our Quarter Horse lover’s guide to WEG.

AQHA is excited to be an official sponsor of WEG and the official breed sponsor of WEG reining.

We hope that our excitement is contagious, but we know that in order to be an enthusiastic spectator (either at the event or from home, watching on NBC), you have to fully understand what’s going on. In that interest, Brad Ettleman, the discipline manager for reining at WEG, offers a primer on the selection process:

Qualifying for WEG
It all began on January 1, 2009, when the qualifying period began. The Federation Equestre Internationale (or FEI, also referred to as the International Reining Federation) requires competitors to show in two international reining competitions (called Concours de Reining Internationale, or CRIs) and post an average score of 68. The qualifying period closes August 16, 2010.

From there, many nations with large reining contingents have criteria above and beyond that of FEI. In the United States, riders must meet the FEI requirements and then go through selection trials, which is the United States Equestrian Federation Open Reining Championship. The top five horse and rider pairs will be named to the U.S. team – four competitors and one alternate.

Other countries select their teams in different ways – some use composite scores from the CRIs, while other teams are hand-picked by the chef d’equipe (pronounced “chef d’keep,” this refers to the team manager).

The U.S. selection trials will be part of Battle in the Saddle, July 5-10 in Oklahoma City. Billed as the “great American western-horse showdown,” Battle in the Saddle features five great events. In addition to reining, there will be cutting, roping, working cow horse and ranch horse competitions. Tickets are available online.

July 8 marks the first go-round of the USEF championship. The top 15 horses will then perform in a highly anticipated evening performance July 10. Horses ranked from 16th to last place will perform their second go-round ride earlier in the day July 10. It is statistically possible for a horse in this set to make the team, but it’s not as likely.

Based on a composite of both go-rounds, the top five horse and rider teams will be named to the United States reining team.

Shortly after the results are announced, the team members will begin working with chef d’equipe Jeff Petska to begin coalescing as a team. See the August issue of America’s Horse magazine to learn more about Jeff and his role.

Another interesting fact: In between the selection trials and the World Equestrian Games, the owners of the U.S. team horses give up control of their animals by entering into a lease agreement with the USEF High Performance Reining Committee. This committee, which is composed of owners and trainers in the industry, works to protect the well-being of all its team horses. It regulates the number of competitions the horses can be in leading up to the Games, and it also monitors their training.

Brad says, “USEF takes international competition very, very seriously – because so do all of their competitors.”

We could also see some international competitors at Battle in the Saddle. Because this event has been approved as a CRI, some international competitors could use it to fulfill the qualifying requirements of FEI or their own country. (These competitors would not participate in the USEF portion of the competition.)

How WEG Will Work
Some nations without a deep field of talent may not be able to send five horses and riders to WEG. And that’s OK. A nation can send one or two riders to compete as individuals (as China is doing), or as few as three riders can be sent to compete as a team.

A team with a full five riders has one alternate who, under normal circumstances, will not compete. Four riders compete in the team competition, but the low score will be dropped, so that only three scores are used. On a team with just three riders, all three scores will count.

The top 20 horses and riders in the team competition automatically advance to the individual competition. There is also a “second-chance competition,” because any horse and rider, no matter how good they are, can have an off day. So after the team competition, any horses who did not make the top 20 can have another try at it. The top five horses in this “second-chance competition” will advance to the individual competition.

On his Web site, www.hpowerinc.com, Brad lists the nations that intend to send a team or individuals to compete. According to this, there are 29 nations, with 21 full teams and 13 individuals conditionally entered. This equates to a total of 97 reining athletes.

Nations who have indicated that they may send teams and individuals include:

Argentina*
Australia*
Austria*
Belgium*
Brazil*
Canada*
Chile*
China
Columbia
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Denmark*
Dominican Republic*
Spain
France*
Great Britain*
Germany*
Ireland
Israel*
Italy*
Mexico*
Netherlands*
Norway
Paraguay
Poland
South Africa
Sweden*
Uruguay
United States*
(* indicates a desire to field a full team)