The Road to LA28: How Equestrian Riders and Horses Will Qualify for the Olympics

As the Olympic cycle turns toward Los Angeles 2028, the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) has finalised one of the most intricate qualification systems in global sport for Equestrian.

Eventing, Jumping and Dressage three disciplines that rely on a deep partnership between athlete and horse will send a combined 200 riders to LA28 under structures designed to reward consistency, protect welfare, and ensure worldwide representation. While the three qualification pathways differ in competitive detail, they share the same overarching principles: strict eligibility standards, a clear timeline, and a demanding verification process to guarantee that every combination arriving in Los Angeles is genuinely world-class.

In Eventing, the FEI has capped the Olympic field at 65 athletes, including three places reserved for the host nation. The age requirements alone reflect the seriousness of the competition: riders must be at least 18 and horses at least nine to even be considered. The qualification period, running from January 2027 through mid-June 2028, is built around the Minimum Eligibility Requirements known universally in the sport as MERs.

To satisfy the MER, a horse-and-rider combination must complete the most challenging levels of the sport: either a CCI5*-L, the pinnacle of eventing competition, or a combination of long- and short-format four-stars. Even then, those who achieve their MERs early must prove their continued form by securing an additional confirmation result the following season.

Each MER demands not just completion but quality: dressage scores below 45 penalty points, cross-country rounds that are predominantly clear and within a narrow time window, and show jumping efforts with limited penalties. These conditions, spelled out in the FEI’s LA28 qualification document, are designed to ensure that only athletes capable of handling the exceptional demands of an Olympic eventing track earn their place.

Team qualification in eventing spans the major championships of 2026 and 2027, supplemented by regional qualifiers and the Nations Cup series. Sixteen countries will ultimately earn team entries. For others, the door remains open through the FEI Olympic Ranking, which evaluates results between January and December 2027. This ranking will award 17 individual places to nations without a team, ensuring that strong combinations from smaller federations are not shut out.

Jumping, traditionally one of the most globally competitive equestrian disciplines, features the largest quota of the three: 75 athletes. As with eventing, riders must be at least 18, and horses must be a minimum of eight years old. The MER pathway in jumping is more diversified, reflecting the breadth of elite competitions available worldwide.

Combinations may qualify through performances at continental championships, the FEI World Cup circuit, Nations Cup competitions, or Grand Prix classes meeting prescribed height and technical standards. At each of these levels, the FEI outlines strict penalty limits typically four penalties at 1.55m and up to eight at 1.60m ensuring that Olympic-level form must be demonstrated repeatedly rather than flashed once. 

The structure of team qualification mirrors the sport’s international hierarchy. The 2026 Jumping World Championships in Aachen will provide seven of the available team places, with Europe, the Americas, and regions across Asia, Africa, and Oceania allocated further opportunities through their continental championships and designated qualifiers.

Twenty teams will ultimately earn their tickets to Los Angeles. Those without team representation will look toward the FEI Olympic Ranking, which counts a rider’s top 15 results in 2027. From this, 15 individual athletes will secure Olympic entries, including allocations linked to the Pan American Games and overall world ranking positions. 

In Dressage, the most precision-driven of the equestrian disciplines, LA28 will host 60 athletes, again with three reserved for the host nation. The MER requirements are centred on pure performance: combinations must twice score at least 67 per cent in a Grand Prix test at top-level CDI events, with the marks validated by an L4 judge of a different nationality.

These strict scoring demands ensure that only established combinations capable of riding at technical and artistic peak will qualify. As with the other disciplines, MERs must be achieved between January 2027 and June 2028. 

Team qualification in dressage begins at the 2026 World Championships and continues through the 2027 European Championships, the Pan American Games, and regional qualifiers across Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Fifteen teams will ultimately qualify. For nations not represented in the team competition, the FEI Olympic Ranking—based on the top four results of each combination during 2027 will play the decisive role. Fourteen riders will qualify through continental rankings, supplemented by additional places awarded through the Pan American Games and the overall global ranking list. 

Across Eventing, Jumping, and Dressage, the final stage of the pathway is the confirmation and reallocation cycle, a process as important as the qualification itself. National Olympic Committees must submit a Certificate of Capability verifying that all qualified combinations have met their MERs. If a federation declines a team place or cannot produce the required documentation, the FEI triggers a step-by-step reallocation system.

In some cases, unused team spots transform into opportunities for “Composite Teams,” formed by combining the ranking points of a nation’s three best qualified individuals. In others, places revert to the individual rankings. All reallocation must be completed before 25 June 2028, the final sport entry deadline, after which the fields for all three disciplines are locked.

The result is a qualification system designed to uphold the Olympic standard: demanding enough to ensure every entry is legitimate, flexible enough to keep pathways open across continents, and transparent enough for federations to understand exactly where they stand.

As the LA28 cycle gathers momentum, equestrian nations now have a clear map. The challenge, as always in this sport, lies in executing it ensuring the horse peaks at the right moment, the rider holds their nerve, and the partnership earns its place among the world’s very best on Olympic soil.