The equestrian programme for the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic Games will consist of six medal events: a Team and an Individual medal event in each of the three disciplines. Equestrian retains the 200 quota places it had in Paris in 2024 and the breakdown by discipline remains unchanged, i.e. 75 for Jumping, 60 for Dressage, and 65 for Eventing.
The decision was taken by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which met Wednesday (9 April).
“We are extremely pleased with today’s IOC decision,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
“The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games were a historic success for equestrian sport, which proved very popular with the live crowds and TV and online viewers worldwide. It’s a great news that our numbers remain unchanged and we are looking forward to delivering exciting sport at the same level of excellence.”
A record breaking 50 nations participated in equestrian at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The number of nations in Paris 2024 was 49. The number of nations competing in equestrian in Los Angeles in 1984 had been 30.
LA28 qualification systems and MERs
The qualification systems for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games were discussed at the recent FEI Sports Forum. The proposals will be put forward for approval by the FEI General Assembly 2025 and will afterwards be provided to the IOC for final review and sign off.
The Olympic and Paralympic qualification period (team and individual) will start at next year’s FEI World Championships in Aachen (GER) and will run through to 31 December 2027. Potential Olympic horse and athlete combinations have from 1 January 2027 to 11 June 2028 to earn their MERs. The period to earn MERs for the Paralympic Games runs from 1 January 2026 to 11 July 2028.
Proposed changes from discipline directors
FEI Eventing Director Frédérique Reffet Plantier, Jumping Director Todd Hinde, and Dressage and Para Dressage Director Ronan Murphy each presented proposed changes to their respective disciplines.
Key elements highlighted during the session were the proposed alteration of the minimum age for Eventing horses to nine years (from eight) and in Jumping, seven quota places (two more than for Paris 2024) from the FEI Jumping World Championships 2026 and no quota places from the Longines League of Nations™ Finals 2026 and 2027. This proposal is being made to ensure equal opportunities for all and give nations outside of Europe more chances to use this pathway.
There are no proposed changes for Dressage.
For Para Dressage, the proposal is an increase in the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs) to two scores of 64% or above at two different CPEDI3* events (or higher). The proposed period for achieving the MERs will be between 1 January 2026 to 11 July 2028.
Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Brisbane 2032 was also discussed at the recent FEI Sports Forum. The FEI President highlighted the recent announcement made by the Organising Committee for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games of Toowoomba as the equestrian venue.
This has not yet been finalised and the FEI will conduct a venue review in May, ahead of the IOC Coordination Commission visit, with a key focus on ensuring that biosecurity and horse transportation measures do not hinder equine travel to the Games.
Source: FEI press release
