“We must continue to educate the non-equestrian community about equestrian sport and our values as there is a lot of misinformation which exists out there and could threaten the integrity of the sport we love," shared FEI President Ingmar De Vos as he opened the first-ever FEI Hybrid General Assembly in Antwerp, Belgium. Wrap-up notes following the conclusion of the Assembly were shared with the public online. Interesting highlights pertinent to the sport of eventing include:
Quick Quotes from Antwerp
“This has been draining and overwhelming at times, but as I stand here I am proud and humbled by the strength of our community and our resilience in the face of adversity. We showed true resourcefulness, but especially we showed a positive and proactive community that can move forward and embrace change. And this is something we have really thought about a lot in our 100th year. What do we want for our collective future, for the next generations? From sporting integrity, good governance and sustainability, how are we creating a positive legacy for the future?” - President Ingmar De Vos on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Equine Herpes Virus outbreak.
“We can agree to disagree, we can have intense debates, but once a vote has been taken, and decisions have been made, we need to move on - Together – and this is exactly the word used to update the Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together!” - President Ingmar De Vos
“The idea behind social license is that we must be transparent, ethical and accountable for what we do. We must do right by our horses – and be seen to be doing so. If we are not, we risk losing our social license and face dwindling support, and potential intervention by outside regulation. We have such a great story to tell about the horse-human partnership, about what makes our horses such
impressive athletes as well as such engaging characters. We need to demonstrate that this is a true partnership based on respect, and where there is no respect, there are serious sanctions.” - Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare Roly Owers.
At the August USEA Board of Governors meeting, a proposition was brought forth to officially recognize what is commonly referred to as “Starter level” as a USEA division. For many years now, Starter level has been offered as a test at USEA approved events. The decision to recognize the level officially would allow those competing in Starter level divisions to receive recognition on the USEA Leaderboards and to compete at the Starter level at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) in the future. The motion was approved to recognize this level, and the USEA staff have been hard at work preparing all of the rules, guidelines, and standards that will go along with this level’s recognition for the 2024 season.
Karma is developing into one of the fastest and most-reliable cross-country horses in the West. The 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare and James Alliston won their third-straight blue ribbon together at either the four-star or Advanced level in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California, with the only double-clear cross-country round on Saturday.
Most couples share a kiss and part ways at 8:00 a.m. as they head off to their own work days, but eventing power couple James and Helen Alliston do it all together. We gave our USEA members the opportunity to submit their questions for this West Coast-based couple, and USEA Podcast host Nicole Brown gets them to share all on many topics: eventing in the U.S. versus the U.K., who is the most competitive of the two, dealing with warmer temperatures, why James likes to drive illegally slow, and so much more!
The Plantation Field International CCI4*-S concluded today with the cross-country phase, and the final standings were nearly a matter of “last one standing.” As Tropical Storm Ophelia brought a torrential downpour to the area, a number of riders decided to opt out: of 39 competitors, only six completed, and 17 withdrew before the start of cross-country.