The FEI has published its Policy for Enhanced Competition Safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at assisting organizers and national federations with the safe resumption of international equestrian events in line with national and local restrictions.
The Policy will apply to all FEI events held as of July 1, 2020 and has been put in place to limit the risk of transmission and further spread of COVID-19 until an effective treatment and/or vaccine as determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) are available.
Developed by FEI Medical Committee Chair Dr. Mark Hart together with FEI Headquarters, the Policy requires national federations and organizers to carry out a Risk Assessment to evaluate whether it is safe to hold their events. The Policy includes general best practice recommendations for organizers and is to be implemented in conjunction with any requirements imposed by the domestic authorities. In addition, discipline-specific guidance will be issued shortly by the FEI.
The policy is intended to be used in conjunction with the following WHO documents: Considerations for sports federations/sports event organizers when planning mass gatherings in the context of Covid-19; Mass Gathering Sports Addendum Risk Assessment; and the Decision Tree.
It is mandatory for FEI event organizers to conduct the risk assessment together with their national federation and domestic government and public health authorities. Events for which the FEI has not received the completed risk assessment and mitigation measures plan will be removed from the FEI Calendar.
“COVID-19 has caused massive disruption to the FEI Calendar and to national events, with a huge impact on all the various participants of equestrian sports,” Dr. Mark Hart said. “We are all in this together and this pandemic will be with us for at least 12-24 months. We need to adapt to a “new normal” as we move forward.
“The FEI is committed to assisting national federations and FEI event organizers by providing resources to effectively assess the risks potentially posed by Events from the planning phase and mitigate such risks through relevant measures.
“As we anticipate the gradual return of competitions, we must do everything we can to mitigate the risk of transmission and further spread of COVID-19. This is a matter of public health, and it’s also how a sport can demonstrate to public authorities that it is ready to resume activity.”
About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org
The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.
The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting, and Reining.
The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para Dressage and Para Driving.
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.
Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.