# 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games

The 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games were held in Mill Spring, North Carolina, U.S. at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, from September 11 to September 23, 2018. It was the eighth edition of the games, which are held every four years and run by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). This was the second time that North America hosted the Games, the previous time being in 2010, also in the United States.

## Bidding process

The initial bidding process for the 2018 edition of the World Equestrian Games started in 2011 with the initial application stage. Eight countries expressed their interest, and five of them became official candidates in 2012: Rabat, Bromont, Budapest, Vienna and Wellington. Australia, Russia and Sweden withdrew before the official candidature phase.
By 2013, four of the official candidates dropped out, leaving only Bromont in the running. However, instead of awarding the Games to Canada, FEI decided to re-open the bidding process on July 1, 2013, as the Bromont bid was lacking financial support. Bromont remained in the running and was joined by two USA candidates (Wellington and Lexington) as well as Great Britain.
Great Britain and Wellington dropped out, leaving only Bromont and Lexington in contention. Bromont was finally awarded the hosting rights on June 9, 2014.
Bromont withdrew from hosting in 2016, as the financial support was not secured. Following Bromont's withdrawal, Mill Spring, North Carolina and Šamorín, Slovakia expressed their interest in hosting the event. Mill Spring was awarded the Games on November 3, 2016.
With the 2018 games, United States became the first nation to host the World Equestrian Games twice.

## Venues

* Tryon International Equestrian Center, Mill Spring, North Carolina
** U.S. Trust Arena – Jumping, Dressage and Eventing (stadium jumping)
** Tryon Stadium – Ceremonies, Eventing (Dressage) and Para-dressage
** Covered Arena – Reining and Vaulting
** Driving Stadium – Driving (Dressage, Obstacle Cones)
** White Oak Course - Eventing (Cross-country) and Driving (Marathon)
** TIEC and surrounding farmland - Endurance

## Officials

Appointment of (Olympic disciplines) officials was as follows:

### Dressage

* Anne Gribbons (Ground Jury President)
* Katrina Wüst (Ground Jury Member)
* Mariëtte Sanders-van Gansewinkel (Ground Jury Member)
* Andrew Gardner (Ground Jury Member)
* Hans-Christian Matthiesen (Ground Jury Member)
* Annette Fransen-Iacobaeus (Ground Jury Member)
* Susan Hoevenaars (Ground Jury Member)
* Cara Whitham (Technical Delegate)

### Jumping

* Frances Hesketh-Jones (Ground Jury President)
* David M. Distler (Ground Jury Member)
* Joachim Geilfus (Ground Jury Member)
* John Taylor (Ground Jury Member)
* Neill O'Connor (Ground Jury Member)
* Leopoldo Palacios (Technical Delegate)

### Eventing

* Anne-Mette Binder (Ground Jury President)
* Jane Hamlin (Ground Jury Member)
* Andrew Bennie (Ground Jury Member)
* Stephan Ellenbruch (Jumping judge)
* Martin Plewa (Technical Delegate)

### Para-Dressage

* Hanneke Gerritsen (Ground Jury President)
* Anne Prain (Ground Jury Member)
* Marco Orsini (Ground Jury Member)
* Kristi Wysocki (Ground Jury Member)
* Suzanne Cunningham (Ground Jury Member)
* Sarah Leitch (Ground Jury Member)
* Marc Urban (Ground Jury Member)
* Jan Holger Holtschmidt (Technical Delegate)

## Logistics

Horses competing in the championships were flown in and out of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina. They were then transported by horse trailers up to Tryon.

## Schedule

All times Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
| ● | Event Competitions | 1 | Number of Gold Medal Events |
| September | 12 Wed | 13 Thu | 14 Fri | 15 Sat | 16 Sun | 17 Mon | 18 Tue | 19 Wed | 20 Thu | 21 Fri | 22 Sat | 23 Sun | Gold medal events |
| Dressage | ● | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | | | 3 |
| Driving | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | 2 | 2 |
| Endurance | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Eventing | | ● | ● | ● | 2 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Jumping | | | | | | | | ● | ● | 1 | | 1 | 2 |
| Para-dressage | | | | | | | 3 | 2 | ● | 1 | 5 | | 11 |
| Reining | 1 | ● | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Vaulting | | | | | | | ● | 1 | 1 | | 3 | | 5 |
| Total gold medal events | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 29 |
| Cumulative total | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 26 | 29 | 29 |

### Ceremonies

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 11 September | 19:30 | Opening Ceremony |
| 23 September | 17:30 | Closing Ceremony |

### Dressage

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 12 September | 08:45 | Grand Prix Day 1 |
| 13 September | 08:45 | Grand Prix Day 2 |
| 14 September | 10:30 | Grand Prix Special |
| 16 September | 08:30 | Grand Prix Freestyle |

### Driving

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 21 September | 11:00 | Dressage |
| 22 September | 11:00 | Marathon |
| 23 September | 09:30 | Obstacle Cones |

### Endurance

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 12 September | 07:00 | Team and Individual Competition |

### Eventing

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 13 September | 09:00 | Dressage Day 1 |
| 14 September | 09:00 | Dressage Day 2 |
| 15 September | 11:00 | Cross Country |
| 16 September | 15:15 | Jumping |

### Jumping

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 19 September | 09:00 | Speed Competition |
| 20 September | 09:00 | Team Competition Day 1 |
| 21 September | 13:30 | Team Competition Day 2 |
| 23 September | 10:00 | Individual Competition |

### Reining

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 12 September | 08:30 | Team Competition & 1st Ind. Qual. Round 1 |
| 13 September | 14:00 | 2nd Ind. Qual. Competition |
| 15 September | 18:00 | Individual Final Competition |

### Vaulting

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 18 September | 09:30 | Compulsory Competitions (Men's, Women's, Squad) |
| 19 September | 09:30 | Freestyle Competitions (Men's, Women's), Pas-de-Deux Qual., Team Freestyle Final |
| 20 September | 12:00 | Freestyle Competition (Squad), Technical Competitions (Men's, Women's), Pas-de-Deux Final |
| 22 September | 12:00 | Freestyle Finals (Men's, Women's, Squad) |

### Para-Dressage

| Event Date | Starting Time | Event Details |
| 18 September | 08:30 | Ind. Champ. Test Grade II, IV & V |
| 19 September | 08:30 | Ind. Champ. Test Grade I & III |
| 20 September | 09:00 | Team Test Grade II, IV & V |
| 21 September | 09:00 | Team Test Grade I & III |
| 22 September | 09:30 | Ind. Freestyle Test Grade I, II, III, IV & V |

## Participating nations

68 nations are scheduled to take part.
* Argentina (16)
* Australia (30)
* Austria (23)
* Bahrain (5)
* Belgium (26)
* Bermuda (2)
* Bolivia (2)
* Brazil (32)
* Canada (34)
* Chile (11)
* China (5)
* Colombia (6)
* Costa Rica (3)
* Czech Republic (12)
* Denmark (9)
* Ecuador (6)
* Egypt (4)
* Finland (7)
* France (29)
* Georgia (1)
* Germany (44)
* Great Britain (31)
* Guatemala (4)
* Hong Kong (5)
* Hungary (7)
* India (1)
* Ireland (15)
* Israel (7)
* Italy (33)
* Japan (18)
* Jordan (1)
* Kazakhstan (1)
* Kuwait (2)
* Latvia (1)
* Lebanon (1)
* Luxembourg (1)
* Macedonia (1)
* Mexico (14)
* Morocco (2)
* Netherlands (36)
* New Zealand (13)
* Norway (5)
* Oman (4)
* Palestine (1)
* Peru (2)
* Philippines (2)
* Poland (3)
* Portugal (16)
* Qatar (4)
* Romania (2)
* Russia (14)
* Saudi Arabia (5)
* Singapore (2)
* Slovakia (4)
* South Africa (9)
* South Korea (2)
* Spain (17)
* Sri Lanka (1)
* Sweden (17)
* Switzerland (29)
* Chinese Taipei (1)
* Thailand (1)
* Ukraine (1)
* United Arab Emirates (4)
* United States (43)
* Uruguay (7)
* Venezuela (4)
* Virgin Islands (1)

## Medal summary
### Dressage

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual special dressage details | Isabell Werth on Bella Rose Germany | Laura Graves on Verdades United States | Charlotte Dujardin on Mount St John Freestyle Great Britain |
| Individual freestyle dressage details | Competition cancelled due to Hurricane Florence | Competition cancelled due to Hurricane Florence | Competition cancelled due to Hurricane Florence |
| Team dressage details | Germany Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera BB Dorothee Schneider on Sammy Davis Jr. Sönke Rothenberger on Cosmo Isabell Werth on Bella Rose | United States Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper Adrienne Lyle on Salvino Kasey Perry-Glass on Goerklintgaards Dublet Laura Graves on Verdades | Great Britain Spencer Wilton on Super Nova II Emile Faurie on Dono di Maggio Carl Hester on Hawtins Delicato Charlotte Dujardin on Mount St John Freestyle |

### Driving

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual driving details | Boyd Exell Australia | Chester Weber United States | Edouard Simonet Belgium |
| Team driving details | United States James Fairclough Misdee Wrigley-Miller Chester Weber | Netherlands Bram Chardon Koos de Ronde IJsbrand Chardon | Belgium Dries Degrieck Glenn Geerts Edouard Simonet |

### Endurance

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual endurance details | Competition abandoned due to excessive heat and humidity | Competition abandoned due to excessive heat and humidity | Competition abandoned due to excessive heat and humidity |
| Team endurance details | Competition abandoned due to excessive heat and humidity | Competition abandoned due to excessive heat and humidity | Competition abandoned due to excessive heat and humidity |

### Eventing

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual eventing details | Rosalind Canter on Allstar B Great Britain | Padraig McCarthy on Mr Chunky Ireland | Ingrid Klimke on SAP Hale Bob OLD Germany |
| Team eventing details | Great Britain Rosalind Canter on Allstar B Piggy French on Quarrycrest Echo Tom McEwen on Toledo de Kerser Gemma Tattersall on Arctic Soul | Ireland Padraig McCarthy on Mr Chunky Sarah Ennis on Horseware Stellor Rebound Sam Watson on Horseware Ardagh Highlight Cathal Daniels on Rioghan Rua | France Thibaut Vallette on Qing du Briot ENE HN Maxime Livio on Opium de Verrieres Sidney Dufresne on Tresor Mail Donatien Schauly on Pivoine des Touches |

### Jumping

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual jumping details | Simone Blum on DSP Alice Germany | Martin Fuchs on Clooney Switzerland | Steve Guerdat on Bianca Switzerland |
| Team jumping details | United States Devin Ryan on Eddie Blue Adrienne Sternlicht on Cristalline Laura Kraut on Zeremonie McLain Ward on Clinta | Sweden Henrik von Eckermann on Toveks Mary Lou Malin Baryard-Johnsson on H&M Indiana Fredrik Jönsson on Cold Play Peder Fredricson on H&M Christian K | Germany Simone Blum on DSP Alice Laura Klaphake on Catch Me If You Can OLD Maurice Tebbel on Don Diarado Marcus Ehning on Pret A Tout |

### Reining

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual reining details | Bernard Fonck on What a Wave Belgium | Daniel Huss on Miss Dreamy United States | Cade McCutcheon on Custom Made Gun United States |
| Team reining details | United States Casey Deary on Heavy Duty Chex Cade Mccutcheon on Custom Made Gun Daniel Huss on Miss Dreamy Jordan Larson on ARC Gunnabeabigstar | Belgium Dries Verschueren on Smart'n'Sparkin Ann Poels on Made In Walla Cira Baeck on Gunners Snappy Chic Bernard Fonck on What a Wave | Germany Grischa Ludwig on Ruf Lil Diamond Markus Süchting on Spotlight Charly Robin Schoeller on Wimpy Kaweah Julia Schumacher on Coeurs Little Tyke |

### Vaulting

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's individual details | Lambert Leclezio on Poivre Vert lunged by François Athimon France | Jannik Heiland on Dark Beluga lunged by Barbara Rosiny Germany | Thomas Brüsewitz on Danny Boy OLD lunged by Patric Looser Germany |
| Women's individual details | Kristina Boe on Don de la Mar lunged by Winnie Schlüter Germany | Janika Derks on Carousso Hit lunged by Jessica Lichtenberg Germany | Lisa Wild on Fairytale lunged by Maria Lehrmann Austria |
| Squad details | Germany Thomas Brüsewitz Torben Jacobs Jana Zelesny Chiara Congia Justin van Gerven Corinna Knauf on Danny Boy OLD lunged by Patric Looser | Switzerland Nadja Büttiker Ramona Näf Elisabeth Bieri Aline Koller Kyra Seiler Samira Koller on Rayo de la Luz lunged by Monika Winkler-Bischofberger | Austria Lisa Wild Katharina Luschin Magdalena Riegler Barbara Hruza Nikolaus Luschin Leonie Poljc on Alessio l'Amabile lunged by Maria Lehrmann |
| Pas-de-deux details | Italy Lorenzo Lupacchini Silvia Stopazzini on Rosenstolz lunged by Laura Carnabuci | Austria Jasmin Lindner Lukas Wacha on Dr. Doolittle lunged by Klaus Haidacher | Germany Janika Derks Johannes Kay on Dark Beluga lunged by Barbara Rosiny |
| Team details | Germany Kristina Boe (i) on Don de la Mar lunged by Winnie Schlüter Jannik Heiland (i) on Dark Beluga lunged by Barbara Rosiny Thomas Brüsewitz (s) Torben Jacobs (s) Jana Zelesny (s) Chiara Congia (s) Justin van Gerven (s) Corinna Knauf (s) on Danny Boy OLD lunged by Patric Looser | Switzerland Nadja Büttiker (i) on Acardi van de Kapel lunged by Monika Winkler-Bischofberger Lukas Heppler (i) on Acardi van de Kapel lunged by Monika Winkler-Bischofberger Nadja Büttiker (s) Ramona Näf (s) Elisabeth Bieri (s) Aline Koller (s) Kyra Seiler (s) Samira Koller (s) on Rayo de la Luz lunged by Monika Winkler-Bischofberger | Austria Katharina Luschin (i) on Fairytale lunged by Maria Lehrmann Lisa Wild (i) on Fairytale lunged by Maria Lehrmann Lisa Wild (s) Katharina Luschin (s) Magdalena Riegler (s) Barbara Hruza (s) Nikolaus Luschin (s) Leonie Poljc (s) on Alessio l'Amabile lunged by Maria Lehrmann |
(i) - individual, (s) - squad

### Para-dressage

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Individual championship grade I details | Sara Morganti on Royal Delight Italy | Laurentia Tan on Fuerst Sherlock Singapore | Elke Philipp on Fuerst Sinclair Germany |
| Individual championship grade II details | Stinna Kaastrup on Horsebo Smarties Denmark | Pepo Puch on Sailor's Blue Austria | Nicole den Dulk on Wallace N.O.P. Netherlands |
| Individual championship grade III details | Rixt van der Horst on Findsley Netherlands | Natasha Baker on Mount St John Diva Dannebrog Great Britain | Rebecca Hart on El Corona Texel United States |
| Individual championship grade IV details | Sanne Voets on Dematur N.O.P. Netherlands | Rodolpho Riskalla on Don Henrico Brazil | Susanne Sunesen on CSK's Que Faire Denmark |
| Individual championship grade V details | Sophie Wells on C Fatal Attraction Great Britain | Frank Hosmar on Alphaville N.O.P. Netherlands | Regine Mispelkamp on Look At Me Now Germany |
| Individual freestyle grade I details | Sara Morganti on Royal Delight Italy | Rihards Snikus on King of the Dance Latvia | Roxanne Trunnell on Dolton United States |
| Individual freestyle grade II details | Stinna Kaastrup on Horsebo Smarties Denmark | Pepo Puch on Sailor's Blue Austria | Nicole den Dulk on Wallace N.O.P. Netherlands |
| Individual freestyle grade III details | Rixt van der Horst on Findsley Netherlands | Rebecca Hart on El Corona Texel United States | Dr. Angelika Trabert on Diamond's Shine Germany |
| Individual freestyle grade IV details | Sanne Voets on Dematur N.O.P. Netherlands | Rodolpho Riskalla on Don Henrico Brazil | Kate Shoemaker on Solitaer United States |
| Individual freestyle grade V details | Sophie Wells on C Fatal Attraction Great Britain | Frank Hosmar on Alphaville N.O.P. Netherlands | Tomoko Nakamura on Djazz F Japan |
| Team para-dressage details | Netherlands Frank Hosmar on Alphaville N.O.P. Nicole den Dulk on Wallace N.O.P. Sanne Voets on Demantur N.O.P. Rixt van der Horst on Findsley | Great Britain Sophie Wells on C Fatal Attraction Lee Pearson on Styletta Natasha Baker on Mount St John Diva Dannebrog Erin Orford on Dior | Germany Regine Mispelkamp on Look At Me Now Dr. Angelika Trabert on Diamond's Shine Steffen Zeibig on Feel Good Elke Philipp on Fuerst Sinclair |

## Medal table

Host nation
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Germany (GER) | 6 | 2 | 9 | 17 |
| 2 | Netherlands (NED) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Great Britain (GBR) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | United States (USA)* | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | Italy (ITA) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Denmark (DEN) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | France (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Australia (AUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Ireland (IRL) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Latvia (LAT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Singapore (SGP) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Japan (JPN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (17 entries) | Totals (17 entries) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 78 |

## Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence hit the Tryon International Equestrian Center and the surrounding area during the first week of the World Equestrian Games. Reported impacts included heavy rainfall and increased gusts of wind. A special contingency plan has been addressed for the situation.
The contingency plan included accommodating all horses on-venue in permanent barns, moving grooms accommodated on-site to permanent buildings at the venue, advising shelter locations for all personnel, continuing discussions with airports and Emirates airline on any necessary steps regarding horse arrivals/departures, ensuring smaller tents in the vendor area are tie-strapped together for security, carrying out additional drainage/water channeling to prevent flooding, purchasing additional fuel tanks and filling all fuel tanks to run the generators, preparing to remove fence scrim already installed and taking down flags.

## WEQx Games

Alongside the World Equestrian Games, Tryon International Equestrian Center was supposed to host the inaugural WEQx Games. WEQx Games were scheduled to feature nine spectator-friendly equine competitions that should "highlight the accessibility, diversity, athleticism, and passion for horses and horse sport for athletes of all ages".
WEQx Events:
* U-25 U.S. Open Championship (Jumping)
* U.S. Open Speed Horse (Jumping)
* DerbyX (Hunter Derby)
* Battle of the Sexes (Jumping)
* Match Race (Jumping)
* Puissance (Jumping)
* Six Bar (Jumping)
* Pony Jumpers (Jumping)
* Gladiator Polo (3x3 Polo)
The program got cancelled amidst Hurricane Florence and various organizational setbacks (delayed construction of venues, budget cuts, low ticket sales).