Part 2 - LA84 Foundation

11. Competition Management
by Sport
320
11.7
Equestrian Sports
The equestrian competition is unique
among Olympic sports, as it is the only
sport where animals participate along
with humans.
Equestrian sports are mixed events
involving both men and women, in all
of the six events. Apart from the
equestrian, events only two of the
shooting events, and six yachting
events out of the 237 events at the
Seoul Olympic Games, mixed both
men and women athletes.
Prince Philip, husband of Queen
Elizabeth of Great Britain, was previously
the president of the Federation
Equestre Internationale (FEI); currently
his daughter, Princess Anne, heads
the FEI.
The Olympic equestrian competition
started with dressage at the Seoul
Equestrian Park on September 19, and
closed with the jumping competition at
the Olympic Stadium prior to the Closing
Ceremony on October 2.
It is customary in the Olympics that
the jumping competition of the equestrian
sports is held as a last event just
before the Closing Ceremony. The
origin of this Olympic custom reflects
the grace and style of the jumping
event of the equestrian sports.
The equestrian sports drew 197 athletes
and 241 horses from 32 countries,
including 138 male competitors
from 32 countries and 59 female competitors
from 19 countries.
Six events made up the equestrian
sports, including the three-day
individual and team events; jumping
individual and team events; and dressage
individual and team events.
The competitions took place at three
locations: the Seoul Equestrian Park,
the Olympic Stadium, and the crosscountry
course at Wondang Ranch.
11.7.1
—————————————–
Competition Preparations
The organization of the Equestrian
Sports Operations was completed in
January 1988, and the office was
moved to the Seoul Equestrian Park
on March 1, to begin the preparations
for the competition management.
The organizational hierarchy of the
operations consisted of nine managers
and 51 officers, and the staffing was
comprised of six staff members of the
SLOOC, 770 support personnel, 477
volunteers, and 111 temporary
employees. In addition, 108 contract
personnel assisted in the conduct of
the competitions.
The FEI was represented by its president,
secretary-general and the three
technical delegates. The FEI
organized a jury of 12 international
judges and a seven-member jury of
appeal.
Dressage, jumping competition and
three-day event were staged at the
Seoul Equestrian Park.
Located 18 kilometers from the Olympic
Village, the Seoul Equestrian Park
covers 1,090,900 square meters of
space, and has two competition areas,
a 20m x 60m area for dressage and a
100mx110m area for the jumping
competition.
Two lodging quarters for assistants
were established in the equestrian
park and operated for 40 days, from
September 1 to October 10; the two
quarters, with 142 rooms, accommodated
a maximum of 227 persons a
day.
Seven quarantine stables were maintained,
having an accommodation
capacity of 187 horses, 23 stables for
accommodation capacity of 596 racing
horses, and six reserve stables with a
capacity of 165 horses.
The equestrian park, capable of
accommodating 30,000 spectators,
was the venue of the equestrian sports
during the Asian Games.
The endurance test of the dressage
was conducted at the Wondang Ranch,
about 50 kilometers from the Olympic
Village and 43 kilometers from the
Seoul Equestrian Park. The Wondang
Ranch measures 1,320,000 square
meters and is capable of accommodating
2,000 spectators.
Courses included: A Course, 5,940
meters; B Course, 3,105 meters; C
Course, 10,230 meters; and D Course,
7,486 meters in length. Major facilities
included five stables, one ward for
veterinary examinations, and a
temporary stable.
The cross-country course for the
endurance test was designed by Hugh
Thomas of Great Britain, who was
designated by the FEI, and the jumping
course was designed by Olaf
Petersen of the Federal Republic of
Germany.
The jumping competition individual
finals were held at the Olympic
Stadium. The competition area was
inside the track, while stables, a training
zone and supporting facilities were
located adjacent to the Olympic
Stadium.
Inside the Seoul Equestrian Park, the
Equestrian Sports Operations arranged
seven dressage training fields, six
jumping training fields, one endurance
test field, canter track, and one interior
dressage field.
Because the competitors and horses
take part together in the competitions,
the quarantine, customs clearances,
transportation and horse management
are vital to the competition operations.
In particular, competitors and officials
are much concerned with management
of their horses, as horses account for
about 70 percent of the results of the
competitions.
In the 1956 Melbourne Olympic
Games, the equestrian events had to
be staged in Sweden, due to the
extremely rigid quarantine procedures
imposed by the Australian government.
In the Seoul Olympic equestrian
sports, the number of competitors
reached 197, and horses totalled 241;
except for the 16 horses belonging to
the host country, 225 horses were
brought in by foreign competitors.
In order to feed, train and manage the
horses, 23 veterinarians, 13 blacksmiths,
180 riders, and 11 others
accompanied the participating teams.
The transport vehicles included six
capable of transporting 10 horses
each, six vehicles for four horses,
each and two vehicles for two horses
each.
The tally of preliminary entries listed
376 horses; and based on the preliminary
entries, quarantine stables,
competition stables and reserve stables
were arranged accordingly.
The number of horses actually taking
part in the competitions came to 241.
The feed consumed by the horses
during the period of competition
amounted to 110.1 tons, along with
181.5 tons of straw and 18.4 tons of
edible salt, carrots and ice.
Fifteen dollars per day was charged
per horse to cover the cost of feed and
straw; 241 horses stayed at the stables
for an average of 28.73 days per horse,
for a total of 6,926 days. The stable
charges amounted to 103,890 dollars.
All of the horses cleared quarantine,
and 229 out of the 241 horses were
brought from outside the country
between September 25 and November
2.
Except for the timing equipment
manufactured by Swiss Timing and
weigh-in devices manufactured by
Toledo Scale of the United States, all
other general equipment was supplied
by local manufacturers.
11.7.2
—————————————–
Conduct of the Competitions
In the equestrian competitions, there
were 197 competitors and 241 horses,
breaking down into 55 competitors and
59 horses for dressage, 86 competitors
and 104 horses for jumping competitions,
and 61 competitors and
78 horses for the three-day event.
Competitors were eligible to take part
in the three-day event and the jumping
competitions from the year in which
they reached their 18th birthday. In
dressage, the age eligibility was
16 and above.
Horses of a minimum of seven years of
age were eligible to compete in all
events.
Competitors taking part in dressage
were required to perform routines and
skills in seven minutes for the events,
and in 7 minutes and 30 seconds for
the individual events; the competition
featured the evaluation of the level of
adaptation between the riders and
horses good for a maximum of 410
points. Each NOC was allowed to enter
four competitors and six horses for
competitions, and the 18 best-placed
competitors/horses were eligible to
take part in the individual competition;
no nation was allowed to have more
than three competitors/horses among
them.