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American actress and avid equestrian Kaley Cuoco is the voice of the FEI’s latest digital campaign, sharing her enthusiasm, passion and love for the sport that has been at the core of the Olympic Movement for over a century.
#ForTheLoveOfEquestrian has launched with an exclusive heart-warming video narrated by the actress, who has been riding since she was a teenager.
“Why do we do it? Because it’s the greatest feeling in the world. Because it’s a partnership like no other. We do it for the love. The love of this life. #ForTheLoveOfEquestrian”
The campaign, scheduled to run over the summer, features incredible stories of passion, commitment and pride from elite athletes and their teams, to everyday riders, embracing the dedication and courage that underpins equestrian sport and its surrounding lifestyle.
“We made it our priority to engage with our community and have created a new digital campaign to celebrate all the positives that make our sport unique”, FEI Commercial Director Ralph Straus said.
“We are a global sport but we are also a way of life. Equestrian events not only provide thrilling action for fans and spectators around the world, but equestrian sport is all about the connection and, whether we can be together or not, we wanted to make sure that with the launch of this campaign, we are helping to fill the void created by the lack of live sport during this difficult time.”
To learn more about #ForTheLoveOfEquestrian, join the community conversation, view and share inspiring stories on the FEI YouTube channel and engage with the FEI on Facebook and Instagram.
With no live action currently being broadcast, the FEI is putting the sport back centre stage with an all-new, six-part series, Icons. Delving into the archives to relive some of the most exciting and heart-stopping moments from FEI Championships and Series of days gone by, Icons looks back at the careers of some of the most successful and influential equestrian athletes of recent times.
Each 26-minute episode focuses on a specific athlete, including household names such as three-time FEI Dressage World Cup™ winner and six-time Olympic gold medalist Germany’s Isabell Werth and compatriot and five-time Olympian and reigning European Eventing champion Ingrid Klimke.
Also featuring are Charlotte Dujardin CBE, the most successful British Dressage athlete in the history of the sport with Olympic, FEI World Cup™, World and European Championships titles to her name, Swiss Olympian and current European Jumping champion Martin Fuchs, two-time Olympic silver medalist and twice Sweden’s Sports Personality of the Year Peder Fredricson, and Australian Driving legend Boyd Exell, five-time world champion and with five FEI World Cup™ Final wins to his credit.
Icons, which launches this coming Friday 29 May, puts the spotlight on those career-defining moments that make these athletes such super heroes! Watch live and free every week on FEI.TV
Professor Vittorio De Sanctis, the man widely recognised for introducing the sport of Endurance to Italy and the FEI, has passed away. He was 84.
A qualified lawyer, he had a life-long passion for equestrian sport that he passed onto his children and grandchildren.
He was Vice-President of the Italian Equestrian Federation (FISE) from 1980 to 1988 and a member of the FISE Council. He was also a founder member and President of the National Equestrian Tourism Association.
Vittorio De Sanctis was an FEI Bureau Member from 1982 to 1988 as well as Deputy Chair of the FEI Judicial Committee and Chair of the Special Disciplines Committee. He was also an FEI Endurance Course Designer, Judge and Technical Delegate.
He became FEI 1st Vice President in 1982 working alongside HRH the Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón, who passed away in January this year. He was appointed FEI Honorary Vice President at the end of his mandate in 1998 and continued to be an active member of the international equestrian community.
“Vittorio De Sanctis represented the world of equestrian sport with great passion and dedication,” FISE President Marco Di Paola said. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to his entire family during this difficult time.”
“We are truly sorry to have lost such a great advocate for our sport,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “He will be sorely missed, not just by his Italian equestrian family but also by the international community.”
The FEI extends its deepest sympathy to Vittorio De Sanctis’ family, to the Italian Equestrian Federation and the global equestrian community.
The FISE tribute to Vittorio De Sanctis is published here.
Photo caption: FEI Honorary Vice President Vittorio De Sanctis together with his grandson, Vittorio Fabrizio De Sanctis, who is now an FEI Eventing athlete. (Mauro Beta)
The FEI European Championships in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines of Jumping, Eventing, Dressage and Para Dressage will not be held in 2021 due to the revised dates for the Tokyo Games next year. European Championships in the non-Olympic disciplines will still be organised in 2021.
The Hungarian capital of Budapest had been due to play host to five disciplines next summer – Jumping, Dressage, Para Dressage, Driving and Vaulting – from 23 August to 5 September. However, the proximity of the Championships to the rescheduled Olympic and Paralympic Games has meant that it is no longer feasible to run Jumping, Dressage and Para Dressage. As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations of the first FEI European Driving Championships in Budapest back in 1971, the Organisers will maintain both Driving and Vaulting next year.
The FEI European Eventing Championships 2021 were scheduled to take place from 11-15 August at Haras du Pin (FRA), venue for the Eventing test of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014, but the decision has been made to cancel the Championships following the postponement of Tokyo 2020.
The new dates for the Tokyo Olympic Games are 23 July to 8 August 2021 and the Paralympic Games will run from 24 August through to 5 September 2021.
The FEI Board has agreed that the bid process for the European Championships 2021 in these four disciplines will not be reopened, as all organisers would face the same challenges of trying to host major Championships so close to the Tokyo Games.
“Together with the Organising Committees of both Budapest and Haras du Pin, as well as the Hungarian and French National Federations, we have examined every possible option to try and save the Championships in 2021”, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said, “but we have reached the regrettable decision that it simply is not possible to have these important events so close to the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.
“While there are some nations that have enough horsepower to send strong teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and also to the European Championships across the four disciplines, we have to offer a level playing field to all eligible countries and we simply cannot do that in this case, so we have agreed that the focus should be on Tokyo next year.
“Of course it is desperately disappointing to lose these Championships from the 2021 Calendar, but we will continue to support Budapest with their double Europeans for Driving and Vaulting.”
The FEI Secretary General has overall responsibility for the FEI Calendar and is currently chairing the eight discipline-specific Task Forces that have been set up to seek ways of mitigating the effect of the current Covid-19 pandemic on the FEI Calendar, including the knock-on effects into 2021.
“It was the very first time that a Central European country had won the opportunity to organise the prestigious FEI multidiscipline European Championships, Dorottya Stróbl, Member of the Managing Board of the Budapest Organising Committee and Secretary General of the Hungarian National Federation, said. “We strongly believed that the event would serve as a high motivation for the owners and sponsors in Hungary and in the neighbouring countries and promote the sport towards the elite level, but we understand that the significant challenges of holding major FEI Championships in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines in the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has meant that unfortunately cancellation was inevitable. However, we will continue to work to ensure the very highest level of FEI Driving and Vaulting European sport in Budapest next year.”
Valérie Moulin, President of the Ustica Organising Committee at Haras du Pin, also expressed her disappointment: “We are very disappointed that the rescheduling of Tokyo 2020 has led to the cancellation of the Championships in Haras du Pin, but unfortunately we were unable to find alternative dates outside August 2021. We had gathered a lot of local partners and we were financially invested. All riders counted on this date, nevertheless we understand that the situation has changed over the last months with the postponement of the Olympic Games. We have made a proposal to the FEI about potentially hosting the Championships in 2023 and we look forward to hearing about that.”
Discussions around other FEI Championships, including the Europeans in 2023, will be held during next month’s FEI Board videoconference meeting, which is set for 23-25 June.
The FEI has announced new adverse analytical findings (AAF) involving prohibited substances under both the equine and human anti-doping rules.
The equine cases involve *Banned Substances under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).
In the first case, the athlete has been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification (26 March 2020).
Horse: Easy Boy 23 (FEI ID 105AF89/ESA)
Person Responsible: Joaquin Albisu (FEI ID 10161938/ARG)
Event: CSIO4* - Wellington FL (USA), 25.02-01.03.2020
Prohibited Substance(s): Boldenone, Boldienone, Boldenone Undecylenate
The two following cases involve the same athlete whose two horses tested positive to the same Prohibited Substance following sample collection at the same event. The athlete has been provisionally suspended as of the date of notification (21 April 2020) until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horses have been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.
Horse: Linkin Park (FEI ID 105RH03/MEX)
Person Responsible: Nicolas Pizarro (FEI ID 10002381/MEX)
Event: CSI2* - San Miguel de Allende (MEX), 12-15.03.2020
Prohibited Substance(s): Ractopamine
Horse: Come Back (FEI ID 104SH43/MEX)
Person Responsible: Nicolas Pizarro (FEI ID 10002381/MEX)
Event: CSI2* - San Miguel de Allende (MEX), 12-15.03.2020
Prohibited Substance(s): Ractopamine
Three AAFs have also been notified under the FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).
In the first case the athlete has been provisionally suspended from the date of notification (2 April 2020) until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision.
Athlete: Abraham Gaspar Ojeda Serrano (FEI ID 10012274/MEX)
Event: Out of Competition
Date of sample collection: 04.06.2019
Prohibited Substance: Clenbuterol
In the two following cases the athletes have not been provisionally suspended as the Prohibited Substances are Specified Substances.
Athlete: Signe Kirk Kristiansen (FEI ID 10137871/DEN)
Event: CDIO3*-NC - Wellington FL (USA), 11-15.03.2020
Prohibited Substance: Bis-4-cyano-phenyl-methanol (Letrozole metabolite)
Date of sample collection: 13.03.2020
Date of notification: 28.04.2020
Athlete: Mohamed Talaat (FEI ID 10021782/EGY)
Event: African Games-S - Rabat (MAR), 20.08.2019 – 24.08.2019
Prohibited Substance: Cannabinoides/THC (11-nor-9-carboxy-delta9-tétrahydrocannabinol)
Details on these cases can be found here.
Notes to Editors:
FEI Equine Prohibited Substances
The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.
In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.
**Specified Substances
The FEI introduced the concept of Specified Substances in 2016. Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other Prohibited Substances (i.e. whether Banned or Controlled). Rather, they are simply substances that are more likely to have been ingested by horses for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance, for example, through a contaminated food substance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.
Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.
FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA)
The FEI is part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of this movement is to protect fair competition as well as athlete health and welfare.
WADA’s Prohibited List identifies the substances and methods prohibited in- and out-of-competition, and in particular sports. The substances and methods on the List are classified by different categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping).
The List comes into effect on 1 January of each year.
As a WADA Code Signatory, the FEI runs a testing programme for human athletes based on WADA’s List of Prohibited List of Substances and Methods and on the Code-compliant FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).
For further information, please consult the Clean Sport section of the FEI website here.
The FEI Board held an extraordinary meeting yesterday (27 April 2020) to review proposals from six of the discipline-specific Calendar Task Forces. Discussions at the meeting, which was held via videoconference, were on Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Vaulting and Reining.
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 Organisers, will be deferred to its June meeting.
National Federations and Organisers 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 from yesterday’s meeting are:
Jumping: Due to the uncertainty about the organisation of Competitions worldwide during July and August 2020, the Board has approved all Calendar date applications/modifications for Jumping Events that take place up to and including 30 August 2020. No date clash rules will apply for this period.
Dressage: date applications and/or modifications for high level events (CDI5*/CDI4*/CDI3* and CDI-W) must reach the FEI eight weeks prior to the event. Date clash rules will not apply to CDI3*.
Eventing: 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.
Driving: date applications and/or modifications must reach the FEI four weeks prior to the Event.
Vaulting: date applications and/or modifications must reach the FEI four weeks prior to the Event.
Reining: date applications and/or modifications must reach the FEI four weeks prior to the Event.
Detailed information on resolutions for each discipline are available here.
Meetings for the remaining two Calendar Task Forces are scheduled for this week – Endurance tomorrow (29 April) and Para Equestrian the following day (30 April). Proposals from these two Task Forces will be discussed by the FEI Board at its next meeting on 5 May 2020.
The Dressage Calendar Task Force held its second meeting today (28 April) to review applications received for higher-level events. The Jumping Calendar Task Force will hold its third meeting on 4 May 2020, followed by Eventing’s second meeting on 14 May when its Task Force will review applications for higher-level event date changes.
The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decisions in seven cases involving Prohibited Substances and one horse abuse case.
The first case involves the horse Sohair Des Bruyere (FEI ID 104VK62/QAT), ridden by Elizaveta Minina (FEI ID 10140497/RUS), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Testosterone following samples taken at the CEI2* in Doha, Mesaieed (QAT) on 20 January 2018. On 15 March 2018 the trainer Hassan Khamis Mohammed A Al Shahwani (FEI ID 10131286/QAT) admitted the use of Testosterone on the horse following a suggestion from a veterinarian.
A Final Tribunal Decision on the case against the athlete was issued on 25 October 2019, but separate proceedings were initiated against the trainer. The FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached on 24 February 2020 between the FEI and the trainer, under which the trainer would be suspended for 22 months instead of the standard two-year ineligibility period due to prompt admission of the substance being administered. The period of ineligibility was ruled to run from the date of notification (23 April 2018) until 22 February 2020. The trainer was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 7,500 and the legal costs of CHF 1,500.
The second case involves the horse Orient Akhmin (FEI ID 104WR20/UAE), ridden by Adel Mohd Ali Al Housani (FEI ID 10055482/UAE), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Testosterone following sample collection at the CEI1* in Abu Dhabi, Al Wathba (UAE) on 27 October 2018. The FEI Tribunal imposed a two-year period of ineligibility on the athlete, with the provisional suspension (effective from 13 November 2018) credited against the full suspension, meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 12 November 2020. The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 7,500 and contribute CHF 2,000 towards the costs of the proceedings.
The third case involves the horse Soda (FEI ID 104PY45/UAE), ridden by Ayed Sauod Alosaimi (FEI ID 10048137/KSA), which tested positive for the Banned Substances Boldione and Boldenone following sample collection at the CEI1* in Al Qaseem (KSA) on 1 December 2018. The FEI Tribunal Decision imposed a two-year period of ineligibility on the athlete, with the provisional suspension (effective from 15 January 2019) credited against the full suspension, meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 14 January 2021. The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 7,500 and contribute CHF 2,000 towards the costs of the proceedings.
The fourth case involves the horse Trynytee Des Aunetes (FEI ID 104UI94/FRA), ridden by Sarah Marcel Dirickx (FEI ID 10095832/FRA), which tested positive for the Banned Substance O-Desmethyl Venlafaxine following sample collection at the CSI1* in La Baule (FRA), 17-20 May 2018. The FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached on 25 March 2020 between the FEI and the athlete. As the athlete was able to prove to the satisfaction of the FEI Tribunal that she bore no fault or negligence due to accidental contamination caused by a person on anti-depressant medication who urinated in the horse’s box, she will not serve any period of ineligibility. The athlete had already served a provisional suspension from 11 July 2018, which was lifted on 1 August 2018. The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. Each of the parties will pay their own legal costs.
The fifth case involves the horse Bolota De Alcantara (FEI ID 105MF17/POR), ridden by Rodrigo Picão Abreu (FEI ID 10064534/POR), which tested positive for the Banned Substance O-Desmethyl Venlafaxine following sample collection at the CEI2* in Reguengos de Monsaraz (POR), on 17 February 2018. Since the athlete could not establish the source of the Banned Substance, to the satisfaction of the FEI Tribunal, a two-year period of ineligibility was imposed, with the period of provisional suspension (effective from 19 March 2018) credited against the full suspension, meaning the athlete is now eligible to compete. The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 1,200 and contribute CHF 500 towards the costs of the proceedings.
The sixth case involves the horse Sarem (FEI ID 105MZ22/KSA),ridden by Ahmad Althmaly (FEI ID 10134840/KSA), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Stanozolol and its metabolite 16-beta-hydroxystanozolol following sample collection at the CEI1* in Al Qaseem (KSA) on 12 January 2019. The same horse tested positive for the Banned Substance Stanozolol following sample collection at the CEI2* in Al Ula (KSA), on 2 February 2019. The athlete was also the trainer of the horse.
The FEI Tribunal imposed a two-year period of ineligibility on the athlete, with the provisional suspension (effective from 7 February 2019) credited against the full suspension, meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 6 February 2021. The results of the athlete and horse at both events were disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 7,500 and contribute CHF 2,000 towards the costs of the proceedings.
The seventh case involves the horse Kekmadar (FEI ID 104YV16/UAE), ridden by Said Al Balushi (FEI ID 10079195/OMA), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Arsenic following sample collection at the CEI1* in Abu Dhabi, Al Wathba (UAE) on 8 December 2018. Another horse, Si Quilombo (FEI ID 106HC75/UAE), ridden by the same athlete, tested positive to the same Banned Substance following sample collection at the CEI1* in Abu Dhabi, Al Wathba (UAE) a week later, on 15 December 2018.
Due to these aggravating circumstances, the FEI Tribunal Decision imposed a three-year period of ineligibility on the athlete, with the provisional suspension (effective from 7 February 2019) credited against the full suspension, meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 6 February 2022. The results of the athlete and the horses at both events were disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 10,000 and contribute CHF 2,000 towards the costs of the proceedings.
The Final Decisions on these cases can be found here.
The horse abuse case, which was opened by the FEI following a protest filed by Pippa Cuckson, involved the horse 8 Minute (FEI ID: 104BW22/UAE). The FEI Tribunal ruled that the athlete, Rashed Hamoud Humaid Al Junaibi (FEI ID 10083889/UAE), committed horse abuse during the CEI3* in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi (UAE) on 9 February 2019. In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal imposed a three-month suspension on the athlete, starting from the date of the Decision (13 March 2020). The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. The athlete was also fined CHF 2,000 and ordered to pay CHF 3,000 towards the costs of the proceedings.
The Final Decision on this case can be found here.
The parties in all these cases can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decisions.
Notes to Editors:
FEI Equine Prohibited Substances
The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.
In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.
**Specified Substances
The FEI introduced the concept of Specified Substances in 2016. Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other Prohibited Substances (i.e. whether Banned or Controlled). Rather, they are simply substances which are more likely to have been ingested by horses for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance, for example, through a contaminated food substance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.
Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.
Four-time Olympian Margit Otto-Crépin, an iconic figure in the world of Dressage, has passed away at her home in Hamburg (GER) after a short illness. She was 75.
Born on 9 February 1945 in Saarbrücken (GER), Margit Otto-Crépin studied in Michigan (USA) and then at the Sorbonne University in Paris (FRA), but a life with horses always beckoned. She changed nationality following her marriage to Frenchman Daniel Crépin and started competing under the French flag in 1971. During her illustrious career, she trained with some of the sport’s best-known coaches, including Fritz Tempelmann, Patrick Le Rolland, Dr Uwe Schulten-Baumer, Colonel de Ladoucette and Colonel Christian Carde.
In a life filled with competitive highlights, her greatest successes came with Corlandus, the horse that took her to individual silver at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul (KOR) and victory in the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final in Gothenburg (SWE) the following year. She is still the only French Dressage athlete to have won the annual title. The partnership also took individual gold at the FEI European Dressage Championships 1987 in Goodwood (GBR), claimed individual silver at Mondorf les Bains (LUX) two years later and bronze in Donaueschingen (GER) in 1991.
Margit Otto-Crépin was a four-time Olympian, also competing in Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, rode at two FEI World Equestrian Games™ (1990 and 1998), including coming agonisingly close to an individual medal at the inaugural WEG in Stockholm (SWE) where she finished fourth with Corlandus. She also competed at the 1986 FEI World Championships, the last version before the WEG concept was born, and flew the French flag at a total of six European Championships.
She was crowned French national champion four times, in 1988 and 1989 with Corlandus, and in 1980 and 1981 with Caprici.
Speaking of Corlandus in a 1987 interview with The Horse Magazine, she said: “He is the horse of an era. To own such a horse is the most wonderful thing. He is like riding nothing else. I feel so dissatisfied when I am on other horses. Yet the feeling he gives me helps me to make the others better. He is an inspiration.”
After her competition career, Margit Otto-Crépin lent her depth of experience and understanding of the discipline to the administrative side of the sport. She was a member of the FEI Dressage Committee from 2009 to 2011, as well as the athlete representative on the FEI Medical Committee from 2007 to 2009, contributing the athletes’ perspective to the committee debate and decisions.
She also headed the Dressage Commission at the Fédération française d’équitation (FFE) and was president of the International Dressage Riders' Club from 1998 to 2010.
She was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite by French President François Mitterrand and awarded the Écuyer d’Honneur by the Cadre Noir in Saumur (FRA) to celebrate a career that made her the most successful French Dressage athlete in history.
“The entire Dressage community is in mourning following the news of Margit’s passing,” FEI Dressage Committee Chairman Frank Kemperman said. “We have lost a good friend, a tremendous athlete and champion for our discipline.
“On behalf of the FEI and the equestrian community, we send our sincere condolences to Margit’s family and friends. We will always fondly remember her talent, class and dedication to our sport.”
The FFE tribute can be read here.
The Dressage Calendar Task Force, one of the eight discipline-specific task forces created by the FEI to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the FEI Calendar and propose ways of mitigating its effects, held its first meeting via videoconference yesterday (16 April 2020).
The 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. Jumping was the first of the Calendar Task Forces to meet online on 2 April.
The members who joined yesterday’s Dressage teleconference call were FEI Vice Presidents Mark Samuel (CAN) and Jack Huang (TPE), Chair of the FEI Dressage Committee Frank Kemperman (NED), European Equestrian Federation Vice President Ulf Helgstrand (DEN), Dressage Athletes’ Representative Beatriz Ferrer-Salat (ESP) and Thomas Baur (GER), 1st Vice President of the Equestrian Organisers (formerly International Equestrian Organisers Association - IEOA). The FEI Dressage Director, FEI Calendar Administrator and representatives of the FEI IT, Legal and Governance departments were also on the call.
The main topics discussed by the group included:
The proposals from the Dressage Calendar Task Force will now go to the FEI Board for consideration. The Board has already tasked each of the Calendar Task Forces to look into the impact of the requested date changes on the existing Events in the Calendar and to provide proposed solutions to the FEI Secretary General and the Board.
The FEI President is being kept fully updated on the work of each of the Task Forces and, where required, will assist in finalising proposals to be put forward to the FEI Board for approval.
The principles agreed by the Board after the first Jumping Calendar Task Force meeting at the beginning of the month have been shared with the other seven Task Forces that will evaluate the impact of the virus on the FEI Calendar for their discipline. Each of these Task Forces consists of the core group plus the Chair of the relevant Technical Committee, a representative of the Athletes and the FEI Sports Director of the specific discipline.
Meeting dates for each of the Calendar Task Forces are now confirmed:
20 April – Joint Task Force meeting for Driving, Vaulting and Reining, specifically to discuss FEI European Championships for Youth and Seniors in 2020 and 2021, which is the most pressing calendar issue. Following this, separate meetings will be held with each discipline Task Force to review potential date clash issues.
22 April – Jumping (2nd Task Force meeting)
24 April – Eventing
28 April – Dressage (2nd meeting)
29 April – Endurance
30 April – Para Equestrian
About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org
The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised 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.
FEI.TV the FEI’s online television platform, will be providing all its coverage of past events and special equestrian features free of charge to everyone while live sport is on hold until end of June.
Under normal circumstances, FEI.TV live-streams all major FEI Series and Championships, with an extensive range of replays, special features and historic events coverage available on-demand combining to provide unparalleled coverage of equestrian sport year-round.
But with no live sport, access to FEI.TV will be free and existing subscribers will be compensated for the months of April, May and June. They will get automatically refunded on their account. All content on the platform, including VOD, will be freely available to all users who will need to register, meaning that fans can re-live all the action from past events so there’s no need to miss out on your fix of equestrian sport.
“Premium content like this usually sits behind a paywall and is normally available only to subscribers, but while there is no “live” sport, we want to give equestrian fans the chance to binge-watch for free during this terrible pandemic”, FEI Commercial Director Ralph Straus says.
This week’s Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ and FEI Dressage World Cup™ Finals in Las Vegas were one of the early high-profile victims of the Covid-19 outbreak when they were cancelled in mid-March. But Jumping and Dressage fans now have the opportunity to relive some of the very best moments of the FEI World Cup™ Finals from the past five years – 2015 to 2019 – live and free on FEI.TV, FEI Jumping and Dressage Facebook pages, and FEI YouTube channel daily. And if you can’t watch it live, catch it on replay on FEI.TV
For fans of the other equestrian disciplines, FEI.TV has lots more unique content, ranging from FEI Vaulting and Driving World Cup™ highlights to wrap-ups of the FEI Eventing and Dressage Nations Cup™ series.
An additional broadcast offering has been made available by the FEI, equestrian sport’s global governing body, providing free access to video archive footage to TV broadcasters in EBU member territories across Europe through its partnership with EBU, and to key territories in the rest of the world via its partnership with IMG.
“Our broadcast partners are struggling to fill their air-time without live sport, so this initiative has been put in place to ensure that they have access to top equestrian footage and, together, we can keep our fans around the world happy with their daily dose of equestrian content”, Straus says.
With the global sporting calendar decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the FEI has made drastic changes to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2020 rules in a bid to maintain the series Final at Barcelona in October this year.
Under changes proposed by the FEI Jumping Committee and approved by the FEI Board during its teleconference this week, a total of 22 nations will be invited to compete at the Longines Final, staged at the prestigious Barcelona Polo Club. The 22 teams would be 10 from Europe, three from North America, two from South America, two from the Middle East, two from Asia/Australasia, one apiece from Africa and Eurasia, plus the host nation Spain.
The event held in February this year in Wellington (USA) will no longer be considered as a qualifier, and while events in North America and Europe that are still scheduled to take place over the next few months can be hosted as a Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™, no qualifying points will be awarded for the Final.
The three teams from North America and the 10 teams from Europe Division 1 will qualify directly for the Final, while the UAE and Syria, who claimed the two top spots at the Middle East qualifier in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, will retain their places for the Final.
The qualification system for the other divisions will be based on the Longines Rankings, using the combined points of each National Federations’ four best Athletes on the Longines Ranking published one month prior to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final:
With Spain as the host nation of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final, this brings the maximum number of teams competing to 22.
As the EEF has today announced the postponement of the Longines EEF Series launch until 2021, there will be no promotion and relegation this year, so Division 1 will start with the same 10 teams for the 2021 season.
“The global pandemic has meant that sadly we have had a number of cancellations in the series, and even though we still don’t know what events will take place later in the season, we needed to provide clarity to all our stakeholders as soon as possible, so out of respect to all our Organisers, to our National Federations and their athletes, and of course to our Top Partner Longines, making this decision now was the only way forward”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
“There is no certainty that teams would be able to travel to any of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup events that are able to go ahead, and without a fair qualification system and the impossibility of being able to offer a level playing field where all teams have the same possibility to train and participate at events, this was a decision that had to be made.”
“Of course all this is dependent on what happens with the pandemic, and we truly hope that there will soon be respite from all the terrible suffering around the globe, but we need to be optimistic and having the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona in October with up to 22 countries competing for our sport’s most prestigious team title is a goal we are hoping can be realised.”
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