United States Eventing Association

The 2011 FEI General Assembly took place today, Monday 14 November, in Rio de Janeiro (BRA). The main decisions taken by the Assembly for Eventing are outlined below.

The GA approved the Technical Committee chairman’s report which included updates on:

Open Forums: in the framework of the full revision of the FEI Rules for Eventing, which will be voted upon by the FEI General Assembly in 2012, a consultation process was launched. Two Open Forums, giving all involved in the sport the opportunity to exchange ideas, have been held so far, one in Luhmühlen (GER) in August and one in Guadalajara (MEX) in October. Two more Forums are scheduled to take place in Adelaide (AUS) in November and at Taupo (NZL) in May 2012.

A document on competition format, qualifications of athletes and horses, and the Ground Jury roles and responsibilities was sent to the National Federations, Eventing Associations, Organising Committees, and Officials. The feedback received to date has been compiled in this document.

FEI Risk Management Policy and Action Plan:

o Training of horses and riders: The FEI Eventing Committee is keen to work more closely with the National Federations, trainers and riders to ensure increased dissemination of education, horsemanship and correct Cross Country training in line with the increasing number of participants in the discipline.

o Horses and riders qualifications: discussions have begun in order to ensure that the principles and rules regarding qualification fulfil their initial scope.

o Training and education of officials: in all FEI seminars for Eventing Officials a compulsory half a day section on Risk Management has been included and the discussion on the current Risk Management Policy and Cross Country vision has been at the core of the annual conformity course directors meeting held in Geneva (SUI).

o Production of a safety DVD for education of riders, officials, trainers, and NFs. A new safety DVD is currently being put together in cooperation with British Eventing.

o Frangible deformable structures: the mission for frangible/deformable Cross Country fences remains to reduce the risk of a rotational horse fall without compromising and changing the fundamental nature of the Cross Country test which is to jump fixed fences. Specifications for frangible and deformable structures are currently being finalised by a working group lead by the Committee’s Chairman and Transport Research Laboratory.

o Rider protection: the development and testing of air-vests is being monitored. Contacts with National Federations and riders have taken place and the new generation of hybrid air-vests could be considered in order to establish whether national or international standards will be created.

o Statistics: the 2010 safety report has been compared with the 2004-2009 statistical bench-marking tool. This has allowed the Committee to measure the results of the different projects and continuously monitor the level of risk involved in the sport.

o National Federations involvement: 22 National Satefy Officers (NSOs) attended the annual meeting, held at Greenwich, London (GBR). The national data collection for the 2009 season was reviewed; more consistent and reliable information is expected to be produced for the 2010 season.

Education of officials:

o The Global Education Program (GEP), launched in March 2009 as a complement to the regular education program for Eventing officials, focuses on enhancing education of officials in developing/smaller nations. It includes shadow judging, exchange of officials per continent, and mentor schemes. The system includes ongoing evaluation and external verification of procedures.

o A yearly conformity seminar for overall Course Directors selected on regional basis was established.

o Seven regular courses for Judges, Technical Delegates and Course Designers have been held this year.

Development: in 2011 a development plan for South America in view of the Pan American Games was set up. The Eventing Development Officers are working closely with the FEI Headquarters on opportunities in Eastern Europe, South Africa, India and South East Asia. The current development programmes for the discipline, which are being financed by the Olympic Solidarity, will be reviewed in order to ensure sustainability as well as a consistent approach to the FEI Solidarity Programme.

The GA was informed about the Bureau’s approval of the following proposal by the FEI Eventing Committee:

o FEI World Cup™ Eventing: to further discuss with NF/OCs the continuation of the series for 2012 under the current rules. Such ongoing discussion is needed due to the lack of support from the main European Eventing nations on one side, and the strong interest and support of the series in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, and Sweden.

o Rankings HSBC - prize-money distribution: include riders further down in the classification to spread the money between more riders.

o FEI Eventing Nations Cup Series: The introduction of an FEI Nations Cup™ for Eventing (team event) at three-star level for a trial year using the current rules, which will be reviewed at the end of 2012.

The modifications to the FEI Rules for Eventing, 23 edition, were accepted. The proposals included only clarifications to existing rules as the consultation process is currently ongoing for the overall revision of the rules to be implemented in 2013. The updated rules will be published on this PAGE.

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