In 3 out of every 4 years there is a big team championship (Olympics, WEG, Europeans [or other continentals]) run usually in September, and during the months July and August you will see a flurry of "Withdrawn After Dressage" or "Withdrawn After Showjumping" for the short listed horses in the bigger ticketed one and three day events. The reason for these withdrawals is "Schooling in Public", where shortlisted team contenders will practice the softer phases in public to give their horses a little more 'big stadium time'.
The New Zealand WEG 2010 short-listers convened yesterday at Hunters Equestrian Centre for a training session, joined by a couple of Aussie short-listers, where they practiced 4* tests that were videoed and then reviewed. Short listed horses have experienced plenty of stadium time on their rise to the top, so the type of training that the NZL team and others perform out of the public gaze seems to me a very suitable type of schooling for team preparation and selection at this late stage.
