Sweden ready to chase new medal: ‘We will do absolutely everything’

The field competition, French for “Le Concours complet” which means “the complete competition”, consists of three stages and nothing is over until the last competitor jumps the final hurdle. The three events are dressage, horse riding and show jumping.

Each nation may have six riders, two of whom ride individually. Teams in the national competition consist of 3-4 competitors where the best three results are counted. Countries without teams can bring 1-2 individual riders.

Dressage and show jumping are practiced in the same way as traditional individual disciplines, but with a lower degree of difficulty.

The team with the lowest total penalty points after the three stages wins individually and the team with the three best final scores combined wins as a team.

Riding:

Dressage is judged in the same way as other dressage, with judges assessing scores from 1 to 10 in different parts of the program. Points are summed as a percentage and divided by 100, which becomes a penalty point that the contestant takes to the next stage.

Example: The passenger gets 72 percent/100 = 28 penalty points

Field test:

The off-road test is conducted on a mountain track with many obstacles and obstacle combinations, with or without water. They are often designed to blend in with nature and the course designer uses the terrain to facilitate and challenge riders and horses. Some obstacles are created with a release mechanism to increase safety and avoid falling.

Riders get fouls, for example, disobeying/refusing, 20 fouls the first time and 40 faults the second time over the same obstacle. Two rejections at two different obstacles result in a 20+20 error. A third disobedience or if the horse/rider falls will result in disqualification.

If the rider hits an obstacle using the trigger mechanism, it will result in 11 misses. Each obstacle is flagged and a rider’s failure to ride between the flags results in 15 fouls. At each obstacle there are obstacle judges who check how the obstacles are crossed.

The terrain test involves an ideal time that the rider must complete. Every second exceeding the optimal time results in a 0.4 penalty. 10 seconds gives 4 penalty kicks. There is also a time limit, but it is well measured, if it is exceeded the team is disqualified.

Jump on the track

The final showjumping is performed in the same way as the other showjumping. The team starts in reverse starting order according to the position before the jump, i.e. the leader starts last. The riders are placed in 26th place until the last start, then there is a break before the top 25 ride.

Breaking down obstacles or disobeying will result in 4 penalties, and further disobedience will result in expulsion. Exceeding the maximum time gives 0.4 penalty per second.

Source: Swedish Equestrian Association