US Equestrian has approved the recommendation of the Ranking List Task Force and Jumping Sport Committee to proceed in the following manner with the Rolex/USEF Show Jumping Ranking List calculations due to the impacts of COVID-19.
Photo by USEF.
The Rolex/USEF Show Jumping Ranking List points will be frozen (no points will age for athletes or horses) as of March 20, 2020, which was the last list before USEF’s suspension took effect on March 16, 2020. The Ranking List calculations will restart on September 1, 2020, and points will recommence aging at that point, with flexibility to review the start date further in the event that the COVID-19 situation evolves over the coming weeks.
Many factors were considered in the decision making process, including the following:
- The primary objective of the Rolex/USEF Show Jumping Ranking List is to serve as a selection tool for U.S. Jumping Teams.
- The calculation to determine the class value (a system of weighting a class) utilizes a global horse ranking list and relies on events occurring throughout the globe. This provides “cross-pollination” and ensures class values are properly weighted. A lack of cross-pollination falsely inflates/deflates class values and can skew the ranking list. The unequal start of events globally would significantly impact the validity of the Ranking List to be used as a valuable selection tool.
- The importance of the Ranking List for the Upcoming Olympic Selection Cycle.
- Horse-and-athlete combinations made significant efforts to earn points for the Olympic Short List and these efforts should not be devalued by continuing to age points.
For complete details on the Rolex/USEF Show Jumping Ranking List, please visit the Guidelines.
For further clarification, please contact Lizzy Chesson at lchesson@usef.org.