The NARG pointed out the significant progress it made in the last 6 years. Board member Murray Kessler wasted no time adressing the influence of the brand new Longines FEI North American
Jumping League that has upped the game on this continent. Kessler continued; "Clearly, the horse shows have improved. And, as we knew would be the case, when the events improve the riders do as well. In this Olympic year the top five riders on the Rolex USEF Ranking List are also ranked within the top 30 riders in the world, with three of the five in the top ten. Of the riders ranked sixth through tenth on the Rolex USEF Ranking list, four of them are under the age of 30. To increase our depth, Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland fielded many teams that included a variety of athlete/horse combinations, with the aim of providing opportunity and development on various levels. DiAnn Langer, Developing Rider Chef d’Equipe, now has 239 riders on the U25 Ranking List, a list that didn’t exist when this NARG Top 25 initiative started."
Proof of progress for NARG continues with the increase in FEI-sanctioned events in North America. Compare the year 2014 in which there were just four FEI events between April and August in North America, to 2016, which now has 27 FEI events during the same time period, including 17 five star events, 12 of those in the United States.
NARG board members now represent the sport in many international show jumping organizations and affiliations. NARG assisted in streamlining vaccination rules to work with USEF in implementing a streamlined vaccination standard that works for all show organizers, instead of letting organizers set their own rules.
The NARG Top 25
In 2015, the group of select shows that have emerged over the last six years hold their position on this elite list, even if they have slipped a touch with the new scoring system or due to an unforeseen mishap. Two new events made the list, and as a result, others barely missed. We discuss that group in our Honorable Mentions page. Also four events of the fourteen in the Longines FEI North American League occurred in January and February of this year. Two of those are brand new in 2016 and would likely have made the next NARG Top 25.
We will honor those in the back of the book as well. With a change in scoring system, we won’t numerically compare to previous years as we have for the last few reports. Congratulations to the show organizers, promoters, sponsors and competitors. We all deserve top level sport on our continent. And NARG is proud to say we believe the sport of show jumping has come a long way in North America.