2 More Teams qualify for London 2012 -Eventing

France and Sweden qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games as a result of their placings in the HSBC FEI European Eventing Championships 2011 team competition.

France finished in silver medal position on a score of 151.10 and Sweden placed fourth (199.20). Germany, the leading nation at the Championships, had already achieved Olympic qualification. Bronze medallists Great Britain are automatically qualified as next year’s Olympic Games host nation.

Five countries had secured their Olympic participation at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™2010 in Kentucky: Canada, New Zealand, USA, Germany, and Belgium. These added to the host nation and the two countries qualified this weekend bring the number of Eventing teams qualified to date for London 2012 to eight.

The next event for direct team qualification is the Asia Pacific Eventing Championship which will take place at Blenheim (GBR) from 8 to 11 September and which is open to teams from the Olympic Groups F (Africa and Middle East) and G (South East Asia and Oceania). The best placed team at this event will qualify.

The Asia Pacific Eventing Championship will be followed by the Pan American Games to be held in Guadalajara (MEX) from 14 to 29 October. The two best placed teams from Olympic Groups D (North America) and E (Central and South America), excluding the USA and Canada, will secure participation in London.

Eleven nations qualify directly for the 2012 Olympic Eventing competition through team competitions at FEI Championships. However, the total number of nations participating in the team competition in London may exceed 11 since additional composite teams made up of a maximum of five athletes and five horses and a minimum of three athletes and three horses from the same nation may qualify through the FEI Olympic Athletes Rankings.