Subjective Showjumping Selection Stupidity

In a bizarre return to the bad old days, the new EA showjumping selection policy puts in place a totally subjective selection system.

For the last few championships, selection has been based on an objective criteria at a couple of nominated shows. Although there were a few problems in the lead up to London, when there were too many horse / rider combinations to get entries at the same show, and half the riders went to one competition, the other half to another, which muddied the waters although the objective rankings at the final show saw justice seen to be done.

And with relative success: 7th in Beijing 2008, 7th at Lexington WEG 2010 and 10th at London 2012. Not bad for one of the minnows of the showjumping world.

The objective process has been well accepted by riders and fans, there were even other countries looking at the success of the Australian process, so what does EA do? Tosses it out the window!

The riders will compete in three Nations Cups,  there are only four in each NC team, so the riders will never get a chance to compete head-to-head over the same course at the same time, for a place in the team.

After the Nations Cups,  three wise persons: Graeme Watts, Clive Reed and Gilbert Böckmann will decide who is in the team, and who is out. Three splendid chaps, but none of them have ever competed at an Olympic Games or been associated with a team or rider who was successful at a Games. They will be assisted by Team Chef d’Equipe, Stevie Macken and National Jumping Committee Chair, Gavin Chester. I had hoped that with the arrival of Judy Fasher as EA president, and the departure of Grant Baldock, the score of so of paid EA employees who are doing jobs (inefficiently) that were previously done (well) by volunteers, would follow Mr Baldock into the dustbin of history. Stevie is a perfectly charming guy, but it was a bit embarrassing at the WEG in Normandy to see the Aussie team members walking the courses with their individual advisors, with Stevie trailing along twenty metres behind them looking like someone’s stray dog. Sure, we need someone to go to the Chef’s meetings etc, but in the past this has always been a nice little reward from some Australian volunteer as a reward to services rendered. The god-like management selection system may work when you have a god-like manager (say Ronnie Masarella for the Brits, or George Morris for the Yanks) but none of our three has even the beginnings of a halo.

It is perhaps a consequence of having an EA board without one single rep with experience of a championship campaign, and a high performance manager with no knowledge of the history of the sport.

Okay, there is a problem with a European showjumping scene that is dominated by money, money and more money. To get our riders into a decent show you have to buy a VIP table (say $20 K for a pretty minor show). In the long run we need our EA reps to form an alliance with the reps of some of the other down trodden non-European FEI members (remember everyone has an equal vote regardless of the number of members) and vote that in a championship year, each of the big countries – Germany, Holland, France – has to make places available for fringe countries looking to select / qualify, their teams. In the meantime, it seems to me, that riders could first be screened based on their Nations Cup results, and then the top half a dozen could have jumped off over a course at Gilly’s training stables to gain a spot in the team.

All that is going to happen now is that the lawyers are going to get richer when the inevitable appeals come rolling in…

CH