European dressage and jumping championships decide six more equestrian places at Rio 2016 Games
Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain, Sweden and France claim the Olympic berths up for grabs in Germany
Joe Clee helped the Great Britain jumping team qualify for Rio 2016 (Dirk Caremans/Hippo Foto)
The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has confirmed the qualification of six more teams for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, three in dressage and three in jumping. All of them won their places at the European Championships in Aachen, Germany.
In jumping, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland finished in the top three positions, but as the gold and silver medallists had all already qualified for Rio via the World Equestrian Games, the Rio quotas went to the best of the non-qualified eligible nations: Switzerland, Great Britain and Spain, the FEI confirmed.
Ukraine and Russia competed in Aachen but were not fighting for Olympic spots. Eastern European, Central European and Central Asia nations competed at an official FEI qualifying event in Samorin, Slovakia, earlier this month, from which Ukraine earned a place at the Olympic Games.
Hans Peter Minderhoud helped the Netherlands win the team dressage title (Photo: Hippo Photos/Dirk Caremans)
In dressage, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany took gold, silver and bronze in Aachen, but had also already won places in Rio. This allowed Spain, Sweden and France to qualify for the Olympic Games, the FEI confirmed.
The two European teams who will compete in the eventing disciplines at Rio 2016 will be decided at the European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle, Scotland, in September.
Click here to follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
