Eventers of the world seek Olympic spot in Pratoni del Vivaro

Olympic spots are up for grabs again in equestrian, as the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships take place in the small Italian hamlet of Pratoni del Vivaro. A plateau overlooking the great Alban Hills with a population of less than five hundred, it is mostly used for an observatory, but an equestrian centre was established here for the Rome Olympics in 1960. The Federal Equestrian Centre of Rocca di Papa (the municipality to which Pratoni del Vivaro belongs) was used for cross-country events, as Lawrence Morgan on Salad Days led an Australian 1-2. In a different era, equestrianism returns to Rome.

Olympic eventing has a team event and an individual event, with every team qualifying all three of its members to the individual event. Olympic hosts France have already qualified, and the top seven in Pratoni del Vivaro will join them. Great Britain's five-strong team includes the Olympic gold-winning trio of Laura Collett, Tom McEwen and Oliver Townend, complete with the same horses, while runners-up Australia also keep their Tokyo team intact. Bronze medalists France only have Nicholas Touzaint on Absolut Gold returning from Tokyo. Hosts Italy will be hoping to get a quota spot, with other strong teams including Germany, who have individual Olympic champion Julia Krajewski as well as Rio 2016 champion Michael Jung; host nation Italy, as well as New Zealand, Japan and the United States.

The full list of sixteen teams is: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France (ineligible for Olympic qualification), Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

The dressage competition will take place on 15 and 16 September, with Cross-Country on 17 September, and Jumping on 18 September.

Patrick Green

Writer, Totallympics News