So far the FEI did not release any official statement about this possible confirmation! However it now seems inevitable that the Tokyo Olympic Games will feature three-rider teams in jumping, eventing and dressage.
Additionally, the worst score of each nation will not be dropped. The reform, proposed by the respective committees of the three Olympic disciplines as part of a review requested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bring the Olympics into the future, has been discussed for nearly three years, notably at the FEI Sport Forum in Lausanne each spring.
It will now likely be confirmed by the FEI Bureau before being voted on at the next general assembly, taking place in Tokyo from November 19th to 22nd. If ratified as expected by the assembly, it will be presented to the IOC at the start of next year.
This anticipated revolution of horse sport is controversial. In showjumping, on the one hand, the reform which is already supported by a majority of emergent equestrian nations (notably those receiving financial and equipment aid from the FEI Solidarity program), has been backed by a handful of European federations in recent months, including that of Great Britain, which had opposed it the year before. At the same time, however, it is strongly opposed by almost all the best riders in the world, as well as leading nations such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
Nevertheless, the next Olympic Games appear set to go ahead teams of three riders. The jumping competition will begin with an individual qualification, followed by an individual final over two rounds, and conclude in a team test over two rounds. Team managers will reportedly be allowed to substitute a replacement pair between the two rounds in the case of health or veterinary problems affecting one of the three starting couples.
In order to avoid teams exiting the competition on the first day as a result of an elimination (for example, after a fall or two refusals), the elimination will instead penalize the team by a score remaining to be determined.