On August 24th, 2009 the FEI put out a statement that neither Great Britain nor Belgium would face relegation after drawing for equal 8th position after the final leg in Dublin on August 5th.

This caused some issue as it meant that if the FEI continued with the upgrading of the two top teams from the B league then there would be 11 teams competing in the 2010 series which really was going to become quite difficult time wise to run.

But they couldn't only upgrade one team as this would, no doubt, cause legal issue as the second top team would have been competing through to the end on the understanding that they would be upgraded!

And many supporters of showjumping will wonder what the big deal is all about anyway!

The big deal is because it is a very strong advantage for a country to have their team featuring in the most elite of team jumping - it brings government funding in many cases, attracts sponsors for the teams and also for individual riders who compete in this elite league and generally boosts the country in the eyes of the followers.

So with the announcement on August 24th we would all have thought the situation had been laid to rest!

Not so though - today the FEI have announced that both Great Britain and Belgium have in fact been relegated to the Promotional League and that the two top teams from the B league will upgrade for the 2010 series.

Another change in todays announcement from FEI Headquarters is that after the 2010 series the bottom three teams will be relegated with the two top teams from the Promotional League being upgraded which reduces the number to 8 teams again in 2011.

The FEI President, HRH Princess Haya said "This decision was taken in the best interest of the sport, This is the very first time I have seen all the elements of our sport joined together in a common vision. The FEI, the National Federations, riders and organisers are convinced that the eight-team format is the only sustainable format ensuring the safe future of our sport.”

Will this now be the final end to a saga which has created confusion and angst since Dublin Horse Show hosted the final leg at the beginning of August?

The final of the Promotional League will be held in Barcelona this weekend and it would seem that with a 20+ points lead from 3rd placed Austria, Norway and Spain will be joining the elite in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup League for 2010.

Let's all hope that the 2010 series sees most, if not all, of the bugs ironed out from what is without question a fabulous series which sees great interest around the world in the exciting sport of showjumping.