Trial Rules

Sydney 2000

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USET Grand Prix
Championships /
Olympic Selection Trials

May 13-14, 2000
May 20-21, 2000

USET Rules for Qualifying for 2000 Olympics

These are the Qualifying Procedures for the 2000 USET Grand Prix Championships / Olympic Games Selection Trials. The Selection Trials will be held on two consecutive weekends in May 2000 (May 13-14 and May 20-21), separate from the Festival of Champions. The results from the two Selection Trials will determine the Short List of rider/horse combinations that will travel to Europe to compete and the final team rankings for Sydney will be based on the European scores only.

In 2000, the USET will continue to allow Grand Prix riders to drop a score. The USET will automatically drop your lowest Grand Prix Score. Details regarding the Drop Score may be found on page 3 of the enclosed Selection Procedures.

If USET sponsorship efforts are successful, the USET hopes to be able to continue the travel grants available for horses coming from the West Coast to compete in the Selection Trial.

Certificates of Capability

All riders wishing to compete in the 2000 Olympic Games must be eligible for an FEI Certificate of Capability for the Olympic Games. To earn Certificates of Capability, riders must submit to the USET documentation of two scores of at least 60% earned in the Grand Prix from any FEI Official International Dressage Judge (FEI "0" Judge) who is not a U.S. citizen, at two different CDI***/CDI-Ws held between January 1, 1999 and July 3, 2000.

Qualification for Selection Trials

Rider/horse combinations can be named to compete in the two Final Selection Trials by one or both of the two following methods:

Method I - U.S. Qualifying Events

A series of Qualifying Competitions across the country will be designated by the USET. These competitions will be scheduled and announced in the summer/fall of 1999. To be considered for the Final Selection Trial, rider/horse combinations must compete in at least two qualifying competitions. At least one of these must be a CDI where the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special are both ridden. In at least one other qualifying competition, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle must be ridden. The scores from all Grand Prix classes completed at qualifying competitions, regardless of whether or not the Grand Prix Special or the Grand Prix Freestyle was completed will be used in calculating the overall average scores.

Method 2 - European Qualifying Events

Rider/horse combinations eligible to compete abroad, i.e. on the USET Dressage Long Lists and any rider/horse combination not on the Long Lists given a waiver to compete abroad by the AHSA/USET Credentials Committee based on their record in 1999 and/or 2000, will be allowed to qualify by competing in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special at one or more European CDIs, and the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle in another one or more European CDls or at other competitions in Europe approved in advance by USET. The scores from all Grand Prix classes completed at qualifying competitions, regardless of whether or not the Grand Prix Special or the Grand Prix Freestyle was completed at a given competition will be used in calculating the overall average scores.

*Long lists are the lists drawn up by the USET Dressage Committee and approved by the USET Executive Committee of rider/horse combinations whose outstanding competitive record in 1999 indicates that they are the strongest candidates for future teams and therefore eligible for USET training programs and other USET recognition.

DROP SCORE - In 2000 the USET will AUTOMATICALLY drop a rider/horse combination lowest Grand Prix score. Rider/horse combinations are required to compete in a minimum of two (2) qualifiers (at one qualifier the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special must be ridden and at the second qualifier the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle must be ridden). The scores from all Grand Prix classes completed at qualifying competitions, regardless of whether the Grand Prix Special or the Grand Prix Freestyle was completed at a given competition, will be used in calculating the overall average scores.
If a rider/horse combination competes in only the required two qualifiers
there is NO drop score. If a rider/horse combination competes in three
qualifiers, one Grand Prix score will be dropped and two Grand Prix scores will be averaged. If a rider/horse combination competes in four qualifiers, one Grand Prix score will be dropped and three Grand Prix scores will be averaged and so on.

IV - INVITATION TO THE FINAL SELECTION TRIALS

Invitations to the Final Selection Trial will be determined by the overall
average of all scores (not including the Drop Score, if any, determined
pursuant to the paragraph immediately above) in the Grand Prix tests from Qualifying competitions. The 12 rider/horse combinations with the highest overall average Grand Prix test scores, and which have earned the scores necessary for an FEI Certificate of Capability for the Olympic Games, will be invited by the USET Dressage Committee, subject to approval by the USET Executive Committee, or their designees, to compete at two Final Selection Trials to be held on two consecutive weekends at Gladstone, New Jersey during May 2000 (May 13-14 and May 20-21, 2000 ). Scoring of U.S. and European Events will be considered as equal for purposes of ranking all rider/horse combinations. No rider may qualify more than two horses for the Final Selection Trials. If a rider qualifies two horses in the top 12 ranked rider/horse combinations, the next rider/horse combination will be invited to attend up to a maximum of 12 riders. If there is a tie in the overall average Grand Prix scores determining the twelfth invitation to the Final
Selection Trials among rider/horse combinations having earned the scores required for a Certificate of Capability for the Olympic Games, the tie will be broken based upon the average of all scores (not including the Drop Score, if any, determined pursuant to the paragraph immediately above) earned by those rider/horse combinations in the Grand Prix Special at the Qualifying Competitions.

Rider/horse combinations who are qualifying in Europe may choose not to return for the two Final Selection Trials, but in order to be considered for the Short List for the Pre-Olympic European Tour, their European average must be two percentage (2% ) points higher than the third ranked rider/horse combination from the two Selection Trials at Gladstone.

In the event that one or more of the twelve top placing rider/horse
combinations are unable to compete at the Final Selection Trials, an
invitation will be extended to the rider/horse combination(s) with the next
highest average scores from the Qualifying Events who have achieved a
minimum Grand Prix average score of 62% or better and who have earned the scores necessary for an FEI Certificate of Capability for the Olympic Games.

On the basis of average percentage scores at the Qualifying Events in the United States and/or Europe 12 rider/horse combinations (or more depending on ties; see below) will be named by the USET Dressage Committee, subject to approval by the USET Executive Committee or their

Designees, to compete at the two Final Selection Trials to be held on two consecutive weekends in Gladstone, New Jersey in May 2000.

In the event there are ties in scores such that the top 12 combinations
cannot be determined without breaking a tie the qualifying number will be
increased above 12 so that ties need not be broken, and this greater number of combinations will compete at the Final Selection Trials.

V - FINAL SELECTION TRIALS

The first of two Final Selection Trials will consist of the FEI Grand Prix
and Grand Prix Special tests. The second of the two Final Selection Trials will consist of the FEI Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle tests. The rider/horse combinations will be ranked based on their overall performance at both Selection Trials, by weighing the scores from the two Selection Trials as follows: The combined scores from both of the Grand Prix tests at the Final Selection Trials shall comprise 60% of the total score (30% each), the score from the Grand Prix Special test at the first Final Selection Trial shall comprise 25% of the total score, and the score from the Grand Prix Freestyle at the second Final Selection Trial shall comprise 15% of the total score.

A rider/horse combination which is not able to participate in one of the
Final Selection Trials because of a non-chronic illness or injury to the
horse or the rider, documented by a veterinarian or physician approved by the USET, but which has an overall percentage score from the Qualifying Competitions and one Selection Trial (calculated using the scores from the Qualifying Competitions and the one Final Selection Trial which was completed, with the average of the Grand Prix scores weighted 60%, the average of the Grand Prix Special scores weighted 25% and the average of the Freestyle scores weighted 15%) which is higher than the overall score of the third ranked rider/horse combination from the two Final Selection Trials, may be considered by the USET Dressage Committee for selection to the Short List, with the approval of the USET Executive Committee or their designees.

VI - SELECTION OF THE SHORT LIST FOR THE 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES PRE- OLYMPIC EUROPEAN TOUR

A short list of up to five (5) riders and up to eight (8 ) horses will be
chosen based on the highest average percentage scores from the Two Selection Trials at Gladstone. Those rider/horse combinations who are qualifying in Europe and who chose not to return to Gladstone for the two Final Selection Trials, may be considered for the Short List if their European average is two percentage (2%) points higher than the third ranked rider/horse combination from the two Selection Trials at Gladstone. Up to five (5) riders and eight (8) horses will be sent to Europe on or about May 30, 2000 to compete in up to three European competitions to be determined by the USET Dressage Committee. All of the Short Listed rider/horse combinations will be required to demonstrate their continued preparedness and soundness for the Olympic Gaines by competing in the Grand Prix class at up to three (3) European competitions. The European competitions will be designated based on
the ability of the USET to secure invitations . If one rider qualifies more
than one horse in the top eight (8) ranked rider/horse combinations, the
rider may be able to take the second qualified horse to Europe on the
recommendation of the Dressage Committee with approval from the owner (s) of the horse and the USET Executive Committee or their designees.

Should the rider's second qualified horse compete at the designated
competitions in Europe, it may be considered as a candidate under section VII of these Selection Procedures.

If a rider/horse combination is not able to participate in one of the
designated European competitions because of a non-chronic illness or injury to the horse or the rider, the Dressage Committee, upon recommendation of the veterinary panel and physician approved by the USET along with the Chef D'Equipe will decide if the rider/horse combination may be excused from one of the three (3) designated European competitions. In the case that a rider/horse combination is excused their Grand Prix scores from Gladstone and their Grand Prix scores from the European Tour will be averaged. In the case that this occurs with a rider/horse combination which chose not to return for Gladstone, their qualifying Grand Prix average from Europe (which
originally qualified the rider/horse combination for the Short List) and
their Grand Prix scores from the European Tour will be averaged. NO MORE THAN ONE SHOW DURING THE EUROPEAN TOUR MAY BE MISSED FOR ELIGIBILITY TO CONTINUE.

VII. - OLYMPIC TEAM SELECTION

Following the final European competitions (Pre-Olympic Tour), the USET
Executive Committee or their designees, upon recommendation of the USET Dressage Committee will name the U.S. Olympic Games Dressage Team of four horses and riders and two ranked alternates with rankings to be calculated based on average Grand Prix scores from the designated European Shows only. The only exception to this is if a rider/horse combination is excused from one of the European Competitions the scores will be calculated as outlined in Section VI of these Selection Procedures. If one rider qualifies more than one horse the rider may be allowed to take the second horse to Australia as a reserve horse on the recommendation of the Dressage Committee
with approval from the owner (s) of the horse and the USET Executive
Committee or their designees. The reserve horse shall travel to Australia
and, at the discretion of the USET Dressage Committee, may be ridden by any member of the Team should circumstances require use of that horse for the Olympic Games.

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