Canada’s Road To The Olympics Part 2 - the HPAG

Lindsay Kellock and Sebastien at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Astrid Appels / Eurodressage

By Liz Steacie
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HPAG - the High Performance Advisory Group.

This is where the buck stops with respect to selecting a team for Paris. This group will make the decisions that will name a team (or not).

Yeah, I said "Or NOT". There is the possibility within the Equestrian Canada Équestre Olympic qualifying criteria to decide to NOT send a team to Paris. And that will be the first big decision this group will face at the end of the qualifying period.

The criteria state:

3.3.6 For Canada to guarantee the nomination of a full team to the COC for the 2024 OG the final ranking average for the team must be 70% or higher.

There is some wriggle room here, in that they use the word "guarantee". Leaves them some options. Roughly equivalent to "may or may not" but won't "guarantee" up front. But they are also not locking themselves out of nominating a team that does not have a 70% average. That's how I read this clause.

Really, if you think about it, sending a team that cannot achieve an average score of 70% or better is perhaps a waste of money and resources. Sure there is some merit in sending a team of riders who might gain valuable experience and mileage through participation in a major games. Enough for the enormous amount of money that will be needed to get them there? Ponder and decide how you would look at the situation.

So let's take a look at this group and see what makes them comfortable with such decisions.

The HPAG is a full time sub-committee reporting to the Manager of Dressage at EC (Christine Peters). Here is the composition of this group:

Victoria Winter – ON - Chair (former FEI level rider who did compete in major games, international chef d'equipe, lawyer)
Denielle Gallagher – Legriffon – FL – Athlete Representative
Lisa von Martels – FL – Athlete Representative
Joan Macartney – ON Retired FEI level judge.
Dr. Alan Manning – ON Veterinarian, has been the traveling team vet at major games.

Ex Officio Members (ex-officio means that these members are derived by the position they hold within EC):

Christine Peters – ON Manager of Dressage at EC
James Hood - AB Director High Performance and FEI Relations at EC (all disciplines).

So these are the people tasked with the following directives (taken from the 2024 Equestrian Canada Olympic qualifying criteria):

3.2 Specific Responsibilities
• The general purpose of the HPAG is to provide input and feedback into the development of the high performance strategy, policies (including criteria) and programming.
• Oversee the selection / nomination of Canadian athlete/horse combinations to represent Canada internationally.
• Develop a national ranking system for elite riders.
• Develop a mechanism for ensuring that the feedback and opinions of targeted athletes are represented in the key high performance policy and program decision making processes.
• Collectively act as a resource to the DHP (James Hood) on other high performance program areas, as requested.
• Support management in dealing with appeals and disciplinary actions related to dressage programs and selection / nomination.
• Provide strategic counsel to the DHP (James Hood) on matters concerning high performance programs and services.
• Review athlete development through objective assessment tools in collaboration with the Performance Analyst.

Today we will talk about the role of HPAG set out above as:

• Oversee the selection / nomination of Canadian athlete/horse combinations to represent Canada internationally.

Based on the criteria, this is how it should work:

... nomination to the team will be determined as outlined below:

a) The athlete/horse combination with the highest final ranking average as per Appendix 1, Section 3.3.3 and Section 3.3.4 above will be nominated to the team for the 2024 OG.

b) The final two athlete/horse combinations nominated to the 2024 OG team, and up to two athlete/horse combinations named as alternates, will be nominated in an effort to identify and
nominate the best possible team to represent Canada at 2024 OG.

The HPAG will review and evaluate athlete/horse combinations on the following non-exhaustive factors:

i. Qualification scores, including the currency and consistency of the qualification scores, examples of which are:
a) Consistency of qualification scores from qualifying classes during the QP;
b) Whether qualification scores from qualifying classes reflect improvement over the QP;
c) Number of qualification scores obtained within the last 3 months of the QP; and
d) Consistency of qualification scores from qualifying classes at different venues, under different conditions, before different judges/panels.
ii. The fitness, soundness and ability of the athlete/horse combination to contribute to a top 10 team performance at the 2024 OG;
iii. The previous international experience of the athlete/horse combination, examples of which are:
a) Whether the athlete/horse combination has previously competed for Canada at a CDIO Competition or Major Games (Pan American Games, World Equestrian Games, Olympic Games) and the impact of their contribution to the team at such
events;
b) Athlete’s previous international experience and the impact of their contribution at such events;
c) Horse’s previous international experience and the impact of its contribution at such events;
d) The CDI level (CDI 3* – 5*) of the qualifying competition;
e) The international ranking of other athlete/horse combinations competing in the qualifying class

Lots of factors to consider, eh? Loads of wriggle room.

There is more, concerning extraordinary unforeseen circumstances and substitutions. If you care, you can read all about it here:

https://www.equestrian.ca/sport/dressage/high-performance (click on the link 2024 Olympic Games Equestrian Canada Nomination Criteria & Procedures - Dressage).

What is not mentioned in this document are the more "fuzzy" decisions around team strategies, team objectives, and how the qualified individuals can contribute to these.

For example, at Paris, the team placing is based on ONLY the Grand Prix test. This is why the GP is so heavily weighted (80%) in the calculation of the final average for contenders. And why we will need team members who can really nail the GP!

We also need team members who will not be marginalized by tension, or compromised by the extensive travel, or subject to potential unsoundness.

With a team of only 3 riders, we cannot afford to have a team member eliminated or produce only a minimum score in this test.

At the Pan-Am Games, the team final placing included BOTH the GP and the GPS. The strategy around team selection was slightly different in this scenario.

I will let you guys ponder all this and the difficult role this group has before the 2024 Olympic Games. Keep these things in mind as you follow our riders through the qualifying period.