The Eventing Calendar Task Force held its first videoconference meeting on Friday, April 24 and agreed on proposals to go forward to an extraordinary FEI Board virtual meeting on Monday, April 27. Discussions at yesterday's meeting, which was held via videoconference, were on jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, vaulting, and reining.
Friday's meeting was chaired by FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez, who has overall responsibility for the FEI Calendar and who is chairing each of the discipline Task Forces. She was joined by FEI Vice Presidents Mark Samuel (CAN) and Jack Huang (TPE), Chair of the FEI Eventing Committee David O’Connor (USA), European Equestrian Federation representative Mike Etherington-Smith (GBR), Eventing Athletes’ Representative William Fox-Pit (GBR) and Peter Bollen (BEL), President of the Equestrian Organisers (formerly International Equestrian Organisers Association - IEOA). The FEI Eventing Director, FEI Calendar Administrator and representatives of the FEI IT, Legal and Governance departments were also on the call.
The group discussed a list of topics including deadlines and date clash rules for the 2020 FEI Calendar, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and MER Events in 2020 & 2021, CCIO in 2020, five-star events in 2020, FEI Championships in 2020 and 2021, and fees & costs.
During yesterday’s meeting, the FEI Board agreed that discussions and decisions on FEI Championships for all age categories and disciplines, and potential initiatives to help organizers, will be deferred to its June meeting.
National Federations and organizers whose calendar date applications/modifications have been approved by the FEI during the COVID-19 period have been informed that no guarantee of exclusivity will be provided to them for the new calendar dates and that equal consideration of all future calendar date applications/modifications will be given by the relevant Calendar Task Force and by the FEI Board.
Other key takeaways for eventing from yesterday’s meeting are that date applications and/or modifications for CCI5* & CCI4* long format must reach the FEI six weeks prior to the event; date applications and/or modifications for CCI4* short format and all other events must reach the FEI four weeks prior to the Event.
Detailed information on resolutions for each discipline are available here.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is proud to announce the first class of USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Judges have completed their certifications through the YEH New Judge Education Program, which was led by YEH faculty member, Marilyn Payne.
Nazila Hejazi and her 20-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare, Tessa, may have made for an unconventional pair at the USEA Area VI Championships, held in October at Galway Downs (Temecula, California) but they didn’t let that hold them back. It’s uncommon to see a horse in their twenties still competing in eventing, and even more rare for a gaited horse to compete in a jumping sport.
Today, we pause to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and reflect on the powerful moment in 1963 when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shared his vision for a better future. Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech was more than just words; it was a call to action that transcended time, culture, and boundaries—a beacon of hope that continues to inspire.
We’ve all been there—on the horse who pokes his way around the warm-up ring, needs leg, leg, leg coming into the combination, or brings up the rear on every trail ride. None of us wants each and every ride to be a lower-body squeezefest, nor do we wish to do anything with our crop except maybe wave it at that annoying deerfly. In this excerpt from his book The Sport Horse Problem Solver, former international eventer Eric Smiley explains the essential quality of forwardness and how to prepare the horse to expect you to look for it in all that you do together.