The European Union Animal Health Law (AHL) comes into force today, 21 April 2021, and extensive lobbying by the specially convened International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC) Task Force has been instrumental in a number of key provisions either being removed or their implementation delayed.

Two key changes in the legislation are an extension for the use of the current Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for horse movement until August 2021, and the removal of the proposed 30-day isolation period prior to transportation of horses from the United Kingdom (UK) to EU Member States (MSs) and Northern Ireland. In addition, UK horses will no longer be required to do a 30-day isolation period prior to transportation to an EU MSs or Northern Ireland.

The current EHCs remain valid until 20 August 2021, meaning that existing certificates can continue to be used until that time. The new EHCs must be used for all horses from 21 August 2021 onwards, but the provision requiring registration of a horse’s precise location while in the EU will be delayed until January 2022.

Horses originating from the UK that are registered with the FEI, a recognised UK organisation or studbook, will no longer be required to do a 30-day pre-export isolation, but will instead need to be under veterinary supervision for 30 days.

Work on the draft legal provision for digital passports, another key proposal from the IHSC Task Force for Brexit and EU Animal Health Law, is ongoing with the European Commission.

“We really welcome this news from the European Commission and DEFRA, as these were the top of the Task Force’s priority list and we had been pushing hard for them on behalf of the entire European equine industry”, the IHSC Task Force Chair Dr Göran Akerström said. “We really appreciate that our requests have not just been listened to, but acted upon and this will make a huge difference to the industry as a whole.

“The delay in implementation of the new Export Health Certificates until August will give everyone time to put everything in place and help to minimise the delays for horses travelling between EU Member States and the UK. There was already a derogation from the 30-day isolation period in place for competition horses, but this has now been extended to all registered horses and will be warmly welcomed, particularly by the Thoroughbred breeding industry.”

The IHSC Task Force is continuing to work closely with the Ministries in both the UK and EU Member States in order to agree similar conditions for the transportation of high-health horses that existed under the previous Tripartite Agreement between France, Britain and Ireland.

Notes to Editors:

The IHSC Task Force for Brexit and EU Animal Health Law, which was created in March 2020, is the result of a unique collaboration bringing together Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the European Equestrian Federation (EEF), the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation (ITBF) and the European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders Association (EFTBA).

DEFRA is the acronym used for the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in the horse abuse case against Brazilian Dressage athlete Leandro Aparecido Da Silva, who was filmed riding and mistreating his daughter’s very small pony last year.

Under the terms of the Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal has imposed a three-year period of ineligibility on the athlete. A fine of CHF 5,000 and costs of CHF 2,000 were also imposed.

Video footage of the abuse was widely shared on social media and the athlete publicly acknowledged that it was him riding the pony in the video.

In September 2020, the Brazilian Equestrian Sport Tribunal (“Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva do Hipismo Brasileiro”) issued a decision that they had no jurisdiction in this case as it was an out-of-competition incident. As a result, the FEI opened separate disciplinary proceedings against Da Silva in accordance with Article 30 of the Internal Regulations of the FEI Tribunal for alleged breaches of Article 142 of the FEI General Regulations, which prohibits horse abuse.

Following publication of the FEI Tribunal’s Final Decision, the parties have 21 days from the date of notification (19 April 2021) to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The full text of the FEI Tribunal’s Final Decision on this case can be viewed here.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld an appeal against the FEI decision to annul a series of results from events at Villeneuve-Loubet (FRA) between December 2019 and January 2020.

The CAS ruling overturns the decisions of the FEI Secretary General in February 2019 and the FEI Tribunal in June 2020, meaning that all results obtained by the appellants Mathilda Karlsson (SRI) and Andrea Herck (ROM), and other participants in these competitions, are now reinstated.

As a result, the Longines Jumping Rankings are to be recalculated and there are also changes to the individual quotas for this year’s Olympic Games, meaning that Sri Lanka now has an individual place for Tokyo. Hong Kong, which had been allocated an individual slot for Jumping following the removal of the Villeneuve-Loubet results by the FEI, is now the first reserve in Group G for Tokyo. The final list of competing nations at the Tokyo Olympic Games will be confirmed on 5 July 2021.

The FEI’s original decision to annul specific competition results at the French venue was based on findings from an investigation launched by the FEI after concerns were raised about the integrity of these events. The investigation established that a total of 12 competitions counting for Olympic and Longines Rankings had been added after the Definite Entries deadline in contravention of the FEI Rules (Article 110.2.3 of the FEI General Regulations). The changes to the Schedules were submitted to the FEI by the French National Federation and were mistakenly approved by the FEI.

As a result, and in accordance with Article 112.3 of the FEI General Regulations, the FEI retrospectively removed the additional competitions, requiring a recalculation of the Olympic and Longines Rankings.

An appeal against the FEI decision was dismissed by the FEI Tribunal in June 2020, and the two athletes and the Sri Lankan National Federation then took their appeal to the CAS.

In its ruling, the Panel noted that the “protection of the integrity of FEI's events and competitions will be much more effective if they may also be cancelled retroactively, because - in many cases - the circumstances giving rise to integrity or ethical issues (such as betting, bribery or match fixing) will only become known through information that transpires as late as during or after the event”.

The Panel confirmed that Article 112.3 of the FEI General Regulations gives the FEI Secretary General the authority to remove events or competitions even with retroactive effect, providing an “effective instrument” to intervene when the FEI “becomes aware of circumstances jeopardising the integrity of an event without the FEI having had any chance to prevent such circumstances before or during the affected event”. However, the Panel ruled that it was not the purpose of Article 112.3 “to allow the FEI to retroactively rectify mistakes which entirely stem from its own sphere”, referencing the “human error” at the FEI that had resulted in approval of the updated Schedules.

The Panel referred to the two-stage approval process (National Federation and the FEI) which should ensure that “only those schedules are approved which are compliant with the relevant rules and regulations for FEI events”. While acknowledging that there had been a violation of FEI Rules, the Panel declared “the rule violation would never have occurred without the FEI's erroneous authorisation of the Updated Schedules. The Organiser could not have implemented the updates without permission of both the FFE and FEI.”

The CAS Panel ruled that as the FEI had failed to establish "justified circumstances" for the removal of the competitions, the prerequisites of Article 112.3 were not fulfilled and that, as a consequence, the FEI decision as well as the appealed decision of the FEI Tribunal are unlawful and must be reversed.

“This is a very disappointing result for the FEI, but we respect the decision as we knew that mistakes were made and the CAS decision is based on that”, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said. “When we decided to annul the Villeneuve-Loubet results in order to do the right thing from a sports integrity perspective, we knew there was a possibility we could lose this case on appeal, but we agreed it was a risk worth taking.

“However, we have been proactive in addressing the issues and in February 2020 implemented the online invitation system for FEI Jumping events that introduced a quota system for CSI 2* for the first time, but the rules were not in effect at the time of the events in question. In addition, Organisers of CSI2* events that wish to include competitions counting for the Longines Rankings must now invite a minimum of 50 athletes and the FEI is also reviewing the scale of Olympic Ranking points based on the number of participants in competitions.”

What do you get when you combine an aviation engineer, a successful amateur rider and a galloping event horse? The answer, it seems, is the man who has made a massive contribution to the work of the FEI Eventing Risk Management Committee, and his name is David Vos.

He describes himself as “an airplane nut” who was fascinated from childhood by aviation dynamics and controls. He only started riding when he was 40 years old, but he has competed up to 2-Star International level in Eventing and his contribution to the creation of an updated standard for frangible devices for cross-country fences (https://inside.fei.org/fei/disc/eventing/risk-management/devices) has been pivotal. 

He’s passionate about improving safety. “We have to use all the tools at our disposal, including the people with a world of experience who have been in this sport for a very long time. You can never keep everyone perfectly safe, but we can do what’s necessary to make things as safe as possible if we take a responsible and disciplined approach”, he says.

As an athlete who came so late to the game, his integration into the Eventing Risk Management Steering Group took some time. “When you enter a new community no-one is going to listen to you”, he points out. It was through friends of his wife, journalist and entrepeneur Patricia Vos, that he was introduced to USEA Cross-Country Safety Committee Chair Jonathan Holling and it kicked off from there.

First versions

“I took videos of 2* and 3* horses running at Fairhill and began monitoring what the trajectory looked like and how the horses jumped. I saw the first versions of frangible fences when I started eventing myself and I just knew from an engineering perspective that it could be so much better. I’m super-interested in this from a physics and systems point of view. 

“It evolved pretty quickly because that’s my specialisation area. I was surprised how little of that existed in the dialogue which was much more driven by trial and error and experience, but very little by theoretical physics - the dynamics of systems.”

Talking with someone who knows how to use mathematical modelling to explain and predict natural phenonema could be a bit like swimming through soup for some of us. But David balances the conversation with stories of his groundbreaking inventions, his love of nature and his pioneering work through the Vos Foundation which aims to ensure the diversity of life by planting billions of trees. And he talks about his horses too of course.

It’s not just his intellectual energy that shines through, it’s also his altruism and humanity.

Free spirit

Born near Capetown in South Africa in 1961 he has always been something of a free spirit, hitch-hiking around the beautiful countryside from the age of 11. “When I was growing up my two big loves were nature and aviation. Animals have always been very special to me, and today it really hurts to know that when I was a kid there were half a million lions in sub-Saharan Africa but today there’s maybe 30,000 or some tiny number like that”, David says. 

His parents and his sister remain in South Africa while his brother moved to London in 1987. “We grew up in the apartheid era and hated our Government. I discovered very early on that good ademic credentials would be my ticket out of the country - basically the world hated us all so it was pretty hard to find a home”, he explains.

He seemed destined for a life in the aviation business. “There’s something magical about flight - my father was always into it and his brothers were pilots who flew in the Korean war.” Instead of becoming a pilot himself however he set his sights on a place at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston, USA and, at the age of 26, his wish came true. He made a big impact when, as part of his PhD project, he developed a unicycle robot in a laboratory that was also home to Marc Raibert and Robert Playter who went on to found the world-famous robotics company Boston Dynamics. It was the first step on the road to an extraordinary career.

Contracts

He started small, working out of his own basement for several years before forming a company that went on to win contracts all around the world. “The unmanned aviation market was just beginning in the late 90s so it was perfect timing”, he says. In one of many research projects, he blew off 80% of a wing and tail of an airplane in flight and demonstrated how the automation system would just keep adjusting the aircraft so it could land successfully. It was ground-breaking stuff in the early days of drone technology, and by 2008 his company, Athena Technologies, was a hot property that was eventually bought by avionics and IT giant Rockwell Collins. 

“I worked for them for four years as part of the contract and then left in 2012 and tried to hide away because I wanted to spend more time on our lovely 200-acre farm in Virginia where I had always felt I was just visiting. I wanted to immerse myself in the countryside and the animals, and to spend real time with my wife. I managed to do that for two years, but then Google found me through Patricia’s horse business and I ended up incubating their business on drone delivery service for two years”, he says. It was a real hit. “We delivered 1,000 burritos by drone and they wanted me to take it further, but that’s when I decided I was retiring for real!”

Horses

It was in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 that David was first introduced to the sport of Eventing, and he was immediately hooked. He and Patricia were living in Cape Cod at the time, and on that infamous 9/11 morning boarded the third of the 8am flights out of Boston. The first two were hijacked.

“It was a bizarre day and I ended up stuck in DC for several months because the aviation world shut down and we were busy with my business there. Patricia came to visit me after being stuck in Europe, and she dragged me out of my office to go to this thing called a Horse Trials in Fairhill and I immediately decided I wanted to do it. In six months we packed up our Cape Cod property and bought our farm in Virginia”.

The first thing Patricia, who has spent many years re-training off-the-track racehorses, put in place was David’s trainer, American rider Jennifer Simmons. “It was a synergistic partnership because we used to sponsor her and bought her a bunch of upper-level horses over the years. She was a great coach for me”. But he admits he hadn’t the first idea what he was letting himself in for.

“When I started I thought you take one lesson, buy a horse and off you go. I had no idea it was a lifelong process of always learning, and and going through all the ups and downs with different horses and how easily they get injured. Maybe if I knew that ahead of time I mightn’t have started!”, he says with a laugh. 

First horse

His first horse was lame within six months but lived out a long and happy life on the farm until passing away last year at the age of 27. “After that I bought any old horse as long as it was sound!”, David laughs again. A wild Trakehener/TB mare was followed by off-the-track Thoroughbreds, but it was a telephone call from US rider Will Coleman that introduced him to his most successful horse to date.

“Will said he’d seen a great Irish Sport Horse in someone’s back yard in England and that I should come and try it. So we combined a visit to Burghley in 2012 with going to see the horse along with Jennifer Simmons and Chris Hunnable”. It wasn’t love at first sight “he was more bulky that I had in mind”, but once David sat on him “I took a deep breath, and that was it”. The pair of them went from strength to strength despite some drama along the way.

“His name is Pablo (Spring Centurion) and he took me from Training all the way to the old 2* (now 3*) level. He was eight when I got him so he’s now 17 and I’m hoping to have him back in work again soon”. Pablo has twice ripped off part of a hoof - once out in the field and then in his stable - and he’s still recovering from that second incident. “But I’m a person that never gives up, so I’m still hoping he’ll come back!”.

On a business-trip to Ireland in 2016 he bought another horse, Apollo, as a four-year-old. “His mother is Irish and his father is German and he’s a super-nice guy!”, David says. He started working with Apollo after retiring for the second and last time in 2017. “I always wanted to train a young horse. It’s been a bit like the blind leading the blind but a whole lot of fun! 

“One of the really great things about the horse world is the relationship we have with our horses. They are really cool characters, and they give us very good life lessons in how to be zen about things we can’t control!”

Segues

Asked how his aviation systems expertise segues into advising on Risk Management in the sport he loves so much - especially since animals are not machines and therefore must be less predictable - David says “that’s the interesting part! You’d be surprised when a horse jumps how the physics really dominates. There’s a cross-domain convergence of really high-tech physiology, psychology and human-animal relationships and it’s really cool!

“At Burghley in 2019 for example I worked together with British Eventing and the FEI and we had up to 25 cameras around the course and I could show how the physics and the video aligned with each other within 5% of accuracy. It gave us confidence in the methodology and in simple tests such as putting a kettle bell on a chain and swinging it at a frangible fence. Depending on the release heights you can very accurately determine the energy of the impact”. 

Then we segue into talking about David and Patricia’s work in the Vos Foundation and the Trillion Trees project. “Right now our main drive is to significantly increase the publicity about tree-planting. We launched together with the Eden Project back in 2018 in Mozambique and so far around 20 millions trees have been planted and are growing and we are working with them and others to scale up the message.

“When you think about it, tree planting is the only known solution to mankind today to resolve our carbon dioxide problem. And all we have to do is plant one more tree for every three out there on the planet today. If we do that by 2030 we will buy probably as many decades as we need to bring online all the sustainable energy solutions the world needs to be able to have humans easily survive on the planet without driving carbon dioxide and global warming nuts!

“It’s incredibly exciting doing this simple thing - pushing seeds into the ground and letting nature grow them. All we have to do is help nature here and we can resolve this monstrous problem that we, as humans, have created.”

Similarities

Back talking horses, David says there are strong similarities between people in the equestrian world and his academic and business colleagues. “There are always people who are really brave, people who are really scared and people who are really smart, and I believe that being clever about things is about being a fearless thinker more than anything else. 

“To reach the top of anything you need fortitude and commitment along with solid doses of humility. There are awesome people everywhere and I’m a really big believer that most people are good people and want to do the right thing. The Eventing Risk Management Group is full of people like that.”

Paddy McMahon, individual Jumping European Champion in 1973, passed away peacefully on 4 April 2021. He was 87.

One of the greatest British Jumping athletes of all time, Paddy McMahon was most memorable for his successes in the 1970s, including that famous championship gold medal in Hickstead 1973. He was also a member of the British team that won the Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show the same year, and again in 1975.

His legend lives on through the memories and stories told by those who knew him, some of which can be found in “The Golden Age of Show Jumping”, a book written by Frank Waters about famous athletes and horses that had the same celebrity status as movie stars.

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Paddy McMahon’s family and friends, the British Equestrian Federation (GBR) and the global equestrian community.

British Olympic Dressage athlete, Sarah Whitmore, sadly passed away on the 27 March at the age of 89.

Sarah Whitmore started her international competitive career as an Eventing athlete, but after breaking her back in a fall, she switched to Dressage. Her greatest Dressage highlights included representing Great Britain at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, where she finished 22^nd individually and eighth with the British team.

Alongside her own success, she helped shape the career of many international British Dressage athletes, including Laura Fry, who was selected for the European Championships in 1991 and for the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. Sarah Whitmore was also an international judge and a member of the International Dressage Trainers Club.

She was an inspiration for many athletes, a fantastic mentor and friend. She will be sorely missed.

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Sarah Whitmore’s family and friends, the British Equestrian Federation (GBR) and the global equestrian community.

Fans can expect a new and totally authentic look to their equestrian eGame experience with the release of the official FEI Equestriad™ World Tour version in May. The game, which targets horse lovers of all ages, has a potential global audience of over three billion gamers in more than 175 countries.

Developed by GoGallop Studios, a leading publisher in the mobile game world, the FEI Equestriad™ World Tour simulates an Eventing competition where horse and athlete combinations compete across the three tests of Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping.

The FEI has entered into a five-year licensing agreement with GoGallop Studios, giving the Australian-based company exclusive rights across the eGaming sphere to the FEI Brand as well as the FEI named Series and Competitions. First launched in November 2020, the Equestriad™ World Tour has already seen over 1.4 million downloads and plans are already underway to release FEI branded Jumping and Dressage Events within the game.

“This agreement with GoGallop Studios is a unique opportunity to take our sport to a more global and diverse audience,” FEI Commercial Director Ralph Straus said.

“We are looking forward to working closely with GoGallop, a company with a stellar reputation for developing authentic and realistic online gaming experiences.

“The sport will definitely benefit from having a deeper level of fan engagement, particularly with Generation Z who play a vital role in the ongoing growth and sustainability of our sport. It will also enable us to connect in a unique way with this audience to convey know-how on the topics of horse welfare and horsemanship.”

To bring a greater sense of realism and player immersion to the game, the FEI Equestriad™ World Tour already features the 5* star Eventing competitions at Badminton, Burghley, Kentucky and Adelaide. It also includes world-renowned Eventing course designers, such as Mike Etherington-Smith, Captain Mark Phillips and Ian Stark, as well as top athletes like five-time Olympian Ingrid Klimke (GER) and three-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Jung and their horses.

“The majority of games that have been made in the equestrian space have been based more around the fantasy horse world,” Craig Laughton CEO of GoGallop Studios explained.

“One of the key things that we’re doing, and why this game stands out from all others, is the authenticity of the game and the FEI Equestriad™ World Tour gives a real grassroots voice to the global equestrian community and horse lovers in general.

“We’re taking the cutting edge in game design and technology and bringing it to equestrian games. And if this new game can inspire the next generation of Eventers to get out there and have a go, what an awesome thing that would be!”

After an introduction to the basics of horsemanship and once they have honed their skills in qualifying events, players can progress to 5* Eventing where they are evaluated on timing, control and even appearance. The more players train and nurture their horses, the better their horse will perform. Players can compete in solo career mode or team competitions with family and friends as well as with other gamers from across the globe.

While current customisation features allow for the creation of unique elements such as styles of clothes, horse face markings, patterns and breed, the FEI Equestriad™ World Tour will also have hundreds of unlockable items available to discover horse accessories, supplies, ribbons and prizes. The game’s new “Tack Shop” also allows users to download avatars of the world’s top Eventing riders and their horses.

The game is available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play.   

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decisions in two equine anti-doping cases involving Banned Substances.

The horse Easy Boy 23 (FEI ID 105AF89 /ESA), ridden by Joaquin Albisu (FEI ID 10161938/ARG), tested positive for the Banned Substances Boldenone, Boldienone and Boldenone Undecylenate, following samples taken at the CSIO4* Wellington (USA), on 25 February to 1 March 2020.

The athlete was unable to account for the positive findings and investigated further with the owner of the horse and the veterinarian to determine how the banned Substances entered the horse’s system. The owner admitted having treated the horse with Anabolde, containing Boldenone Undecylenate and consequently the athlete, as Person Responsible, admitted the violation directly. The FEI has opened a separate procedure against the owner.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete from the event, and imposed a 14-month suspension on the athlete. The period of the provisional suspension of the athlete, which came into effect on 26 March 2020, was back-dated to the date of the sample collection (26 February 2020), meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 28 April 2021. He was also fined CHF 5,000.

The parties can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision (7 April 2021).  

The full Decision is available here. 

 

The horse Denitha (FEI ID 104MR05/UAE), ridden by Abdul Rahman Ahmed AMEEN (FEI ID 10064049/UAE), tested positive for the Banned Substance Strychnine, an alkaloid and a toxic substance causing muscular convulsion and used as a rodenticide, following samples taken during the CSI5*-W Sharjah (UAE), 30 January to 2 February 2019.

As the athlete could not explain the origin of the Strychnine in the horse’s system there could be no reduction of the standard two-year sanction.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete from the event, and imposed a two-year suspension on the athlete. The period of the provisional suspension of the athlete, which came into effect on 4 March 2019, is credited against the period of ineligibility imposed in the decision, meaning the athlete is now eligible to compete again. He was also fined CHF 7,500.

The parties had 21 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from the date of receipt of the decision (2 March 2021).  

The full Decision is available here. 

 

Separately, the FEI has announced new adverse analytical findings (AAF) involving equine Prohibited Substances. The cases involve *Banned Substances under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

In the following Endurance 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.

Case: 2021/BS02

Horse: CALAI (FEI ID 105RF80/UAE)

Person Responsible: Hassan Bin Ali (FEI ID 10017909/UAE)

Event: CEI2* 120 - Bou Thib (UAE), 10-12.01.2021

Prohibited Substance(s): Salicylic Acid, 2-hydroxyethyl salicylate, Arsenic

Date of notification: 3 March 2021

Details on this case can be found here.

 

In the following Jumping case, the athlete has been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse was provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.

Case 2020/BS11:

Horse: HALO (FEI ID 105ZA57/ITA)

Person Responsible: Giuseppe DE LUCA (FEI ID 10047635/ITA)

Event/ID: CSI2*- Oliva (ESP), 29.09-04.10.2020

Prohibited Substance(s): Stanozolol

Date of notification: 11 November 2020

Details on this case 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 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.

 

The FEI has added new modules to the FEI HorseApp to monitor key mandatory requirements in the Return To Competition measures that will allow for a safe resumption of international sport in mainland Europe today, 12 April.

Key areas covered by the Return to Competition protocols, which were launched on 30 March, include advance PCR testing (for certain designated events only), temperature monitoring of horses as well as enhanced Examination on Arrival procedures. Stringent biosecurity measures and mitigation plans, in line with the FEI Veterinary Regulations, also form part of the Return To Competition measures.

The measures include a number of temporary provisions that will remain in place until 30 May 2021, providing a science-based safety margin to allow for monitoring of any further related outbreaks. This date can be extended if required.

The FEI Veterinary Epidemiology Working Group has already agreed that there is currently no evidence indicating that it would be unsafe to return to international competition in mainland Europe as planned today, provided the mandated enhanced preventive measures are implemented. However, the Group will continue to monitor the evolution of the outbreaks on a daily basis.

“The recent EHV-1 outbreak has underscored the importance of early detection and prevention in disease transmission,” FEI Veterinary Director Göran Åkerström said.

“The FEI HorseApp is a crucial tool to facilitate the traceability of horses attending FEI Events, as well as for data gathering to allow for better risk assessment analysis and informed decision-making. It is a key element in ensuring a safe return to competition today and in minimising the impact of a disease outbreak in the future.”

The FEI HorseApp will be used for uploading negative PCR results for designated events. In addition, the FEI Veterinarian conducting the Examination on Arrival will scan the horse’s microchip with a reader connected via Bluetooth to the FEI HorseApp, and also record the horse’s temperature in the FEI HorseApp.

Under the Return To Competition measures, it will also be compulsory for all horses to be officially checked out at the Show Office using the FEI HorseApp. This ensures traceability should a disease outbreak occur.

“Data driven technologies are a key part of the solution to the current EHV-1 pandemic,” FEI Director Information & Sports Technology Gaspard Dufour said. 

“We have been able to use the existing functionalities of the FEI HorseApp to actively monitor horse movement and horse health status and added new modules that provide for a safer return to competition.

“But importantly, the collection of this quantitative data is critical to tracking the evolution of the disease and allows us to make better informed decisions concerning the smart and safe resumption of equestrian sporting activities.”

The FEI HorseApp is available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play for Android devices. The new version of the FEI Horse App, including the Return To Competition modules, is now available for download.

The Return To Competition measures are available here.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle in England. His death, at the age of 99, was announced by Buckingham Palace.

He was the longest serving FEI President (1964-1986) and was succeeded in this role by his daughter Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, for the following eight years.

Some of Prince Philip’s own greatest sporting achievements came in the sport of Driving which he introduced as a new discipline in the FEI and helped to develop during his FEI Presidency. He helped standardise international rules and became a hugely successful competitor himself, winning team gold at the 1980 World Driving Championship and bronze in 1978, 1982 and 1984. He also placed sixth individually in 1982.

Prince Philip strongly supported the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ series, which is now one of the crown jewels in the Jumping calendar, and was hugely supportive of the launch of the FEI Jumping World Cup™ in the 1970s. He was also instrumental in the creation of the FEI World Equestrian Games™, having lobbied for such a competition for many years before it was finally staged for the first time in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990.

An all-round horseman, he played polo during his time in the Royal Navy in the 1940s and became one of Britain’s top-10 players. His passion for all things equestrian was shared by his wife and passed on to their children, particularly Prince Charles who was also a keen polo player, and Princess Anne, who claimed individual gold at the FEI European Eventing Championships in 1971, and individual and team silver four years later, before becoming the first British Royal to compete at an Olympic Games when she rode in Montreal 1976.

Prince Philip’s grandchildren have also inherited a love of horse sport. Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall took the Eventing world title in 2006 and was a member of the British silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Princes William and Harry are also regularly spotted on the polo field.

Born in Corfu, Greece and educated in France, Germany and Great Britain, he was just 18 years old when he joined the Royal Navy in 1939. During World War ll he served with the Mediterranean and Pacific fleets, and by the time he left the service in 1952 he had reached the rank of Commander. At the age 26 years, he married the then Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth ll) in November 1947.

“The passing of Prince Philip is a huge loss for equestrian sport and his legacy, particularly at the FEI, will live on for many many decades to come”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “I first met him in London at the FEI General Assembly in 2005, and again at the FEI Eventing European Championships in Blair Castle in 2015. He was a man of incredible energy and a great sense of humor and the FEI was honoured to have him as our longest serving President.

“His dedication to equestrian sports cannot be underestimated and will never be forgotten, especially in the Driving community. He was born in the same year the FEI was founded and sadly he will not be with us to celebrate his own and the FEI’s centenary this year. We will celebrate his life and remember him as a great ambassador of our sport.”

The FEI extends its deepest sympathy to the British Royal Family and joins the equestrian community in mourning the loss of this remarkable man.