Legal challenge launched against decision to not send dressage team to the Olympics

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) confirmed its decision last Monday not to nominate a dressage team for the games after several key members of the Irish team confirmed they were no longer available to compete.

Three riders had qualified for the team event in Tokyo, but the retirement of Judy Reynolds’ 19-year-old gelding Vancouver K means she will not compete. Meanwhile, Anna Merveldt’s horse cannot take part in the delayed event and Kate Dwyer is also unavailable for selection for the games which were supposed to take place a year ago.

While there are other horse and rider combinations available who meet the Olympic minimum requirements to compete in Tokyo, HSI high performance director Johann Hinnemann advised the board he could not nominate a replacement team.

HSI said this was because two of the other combinations available had not met specific high-performance criteria set out by Mr Hinnemann for Irish riders and horses.

Two riders, Dane Rawlins and James Connor, have appealed the decision not to send a replacement team. Their appeal is set to be heard tomorrow morning by an independent arbitrator.

Mr Rawlins told the Sunday Independent he has reluctantly taken the appeal.

“I don’t like litigation and I am sorry it has come to this, but I think it is for the good of the country and for the sport that we have a team in Tokyo,” he added.

In correspondence ahead of the appeal the pair have argued they meet Olympic qualifying criteria and other conditions set out for competitors are only at the discretion of the high-performance director.

Sources said there is annoyance at how late HSI confirmed its decision as it had been flagged earlier that riders and horses from the initial team were not going to be available. They said a delay in confirming the decision to not to send a team limits the likely success of an appeal.

HSI confirmed its decision on Monday, which was the deadline for Ireland to be allocated a place in the Olympic individual dressage event. Ireland’s place in the team event has since been allocated to Belgium.

A spokesman for HSI confirmed the appeal is ongoing and said “it would not be nominating a dressage team due to the fact that it did not have athletes that had met the published nominations policy set by” Mr Hinnemann.