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The birds were singing so loudly in the background that I though Lucia Montanarella was out in the countryside when I called her last week. She wasn’t though, she was in her apartment in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland where she has been based since being appointed Head of Media Operations by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in January. Like so many others she was working from home that day.
The new IOC headquarters at Olympic House, described as one of the most sustainable buildings in the world, opened its doors a year ago to mark the 125th anniversary of the organisation that was founded on 24 June 1894 by Pierre Coubertin. Previously the 500 staff were spread across four different locations in Lausanne, but the new building has brought them all together under one roof. However only 30% of the staff are permitted to gather in the office on any given day at the moment due to pandemic restrictions.
I have called Lucia to talk about the career that has taken her from her early years in the world of equestrian sport to the very top of her chosen profession. I begin by asking how she is finding Swiss life? “For someone like me who enjoyed living in Brazil and comes from messy Rome it’s a big change. I’m the sort of person who gets intimidated when everything works, so I don’t fully enjoy all of this perfection all around me, although the lifestyle is brilliant!”, she says with a laugh. “Switzerland came out as the number one country through this pandemic and the reality is we’ve been very privileged, we’ve never been contained”, she explains.
We reflect on the fact that her daughter, Agnese, is now a teenager and that her son, Pietro, was only a four-week-old baby when we both worked at the FEI European Eventing Championships at Burghley (GBR) in 1997 where she was Press Officer. He has just graduated from his Masters in Management at the London School of Economics this summer. The years pass so very quickly…..
Equestrian credentials
Lucia’s equestrian credentials go all the way back to her childhood on the family farm in the north of Rome. Her parents, who first met at the Socieda Hippica Romana, a riding centre near the Olympic Stadium in the heart of the city, bought a property close to the farm owned by the family of Italy’s most famous equestrian press manager, Caterina Vagnozzi of Equi Equipe, and that would prove pivotal in many ways.
Lucia’s father bred horses, and she rode the young ones and competed in Eventing at Junior and Young Rider level. “When I was at University, Caterina invited me to help her in her office. I was just 17 and it really all started from there. I always had a passion for writing, I was obsessed with it from when I was very little. When other children were playing with dolls I was asking for a typewriter”, she says.
She went on to write for a number of equestrian publications along with Rome’s daily newspaper, “Il Tempo”, and also did some radio reporting. “Being an equestrian journalist is a tough job and it was a tough job in those days as well”, she recalls. That led to a position with the Italian Equestrian Federation (FISE) which in turn led to her being appointed Press Officer for a number of events.
“I was Press Officer in Pratoni for the World Equestrian Games (the third WEG, staged in Rome in 1998) and then for a few of the Italian legs of the FEI Jumping World Cup including Verona, and the Final of the World Cup series in Milan. I was also hired by Simon Brooks-Ward for a few years, so I worked at Olympia and Royal Windsor and Burghley and some shows in Spain including Oviedo and Seville”, she says.
Olympic link
Her link with the Olympic Games began when the FEI recommended her as Equestrian Press Manager to SOCOG, the Organising Committee for the Sydney 2000 summer Olympic Games. “I moved to Sydney for a few months with Pietro who was only three at the time, and when I came back I was hired as Director of Communications for the WEG in Jerez (ESP in 2002). Then, a bit out of the blue, in January 2003 I was contacted by the Organising Committee of the Torino Games (Winter Olympics 2006),” she explains.
She laughs now when she recalls her first telephone call in response to the approach from Torino. “I said I didn’t like winter sport, I wasn’t a Juventus fan, I didn’t want to move to Torino and that I was wasn’t really interested! But still they called me back and at the same time my partner Flaminio, who is now my husband, was living in the North of Italy so it was a way for me to be closer to where he lives. So in the end I went for the interview and I was hired!”, she says.
Looking back, Lucia believes she owes a great deal to the experience gained during her time in various roles in the world of equestrian sport. “Torino was a big jump into a different environment, but no matter what area of sport you work in the job is much the same. Whether it’s grabbing someone at Badminton and bringing them to the press conference or doing the same thing at the Olympic Games, there is one goal - to make sure the media gets the stories. The good practices of media services in equestrian sport taught me a lot”.
Made history
She made history at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 when appointed the first-ever female Press Chief in the 114-year history of the Olympic Games, and the first-ever “foreigner” to take up that position. She found herself in a dilemma however, because the day after she was offered the job she discovered she was pregnant with her daughter. She offered to step back in the circumstances but VANOG didn’t blink, encouraging her to travel to Vancouver and take it from there. It was a really big move further up that Olympic ladder.
She says that making that piece of history made her very proud, but that she was “scared to death about the job and then I didn’t know how I was going to manage with this baby that would be born - but it all worked out well!”
Clearly Lucia’s determination to make things work, under any circumstances, is pretty unique. “I was hired by a woman, and her boss was totally against me. He said oh, she (Lucia) will never come back from Italy after she has the baby and she will let you down, but somehow she managed to keep me there”.
While she was in Vancouver, Lucia was contacted by the Bid Committee for the Rio Games to consult with them on the bid for the media services, which she did. When they won the bid in 2009 Lucia found herself in a funny situation. “Chicago was also going for the Games and everyone in Vancouver wanted the US to win because it would be a good transition from Canada to the US. So the morning of the announcement I was the only one supporting Rio. And I remember at 10 o’cock in the morning I had to hide with my friend Cassie under the desk to celebrate, because I was the only one who was happy that Rio got it!”
When she returned from Vancouver, she became a consultant in Media Operations for the IOC and a mentor for the Young Reporters Programme. “Then I did the London (2012) Games, and just beforehand Rio 2016 offered me the same job I had in Vancouver as Head of Press Operations and we moved to Rio (BRA) with the kids in January 2013 and stayed there until December 2016”, she says.
Upheaval
I’m staggered that anyone can cope with such constant upheaval in their lives. “You just have to take it one day at a time!”, Lucia says. “If you look at it then it’s a huge thing, but if you don’t look at it and take one day at a time it’s easy. Although as I’m talking to you now it feels like I am talking about someone else, I can hardly believe I’ve done all this, but I have!”
While she was in Rio, the IOC decided to turn the Olympic News Service into the Olympic Information Service (OIS) and Lucia was appointed Editor in Chief of the new service which successfully operated during the PyeongChang Winter Games in 2018. “Then my predecessor, Anthony Edgar, decided he wanted to retire to Australia and I was offered the position of Head of Media at the IOC starting in January 2020”, Lucia explains.
Tokyo
So what about Tokyo 2020? “I have a big calendar in my kitchen showing all the travel for this year including Tokyo, and now it’s all erased! I don’t want to sound cynical about what has been happening around the world and still is - it’s such a tragedy. But it’s super-interesting to work on the re-planning of the Games because it’s a one-off, and it gives us the opportunity to really look in depth at prioritising what is really needed”, she points out.
"I can picture a lot of tears at the Olympic ceremony in Tokyo, because the opening of those Games will have such a strong meaning for all of us."
Lucia Montanarella
But with so much uncertainty can the Games really go ahead? “I can tell you from the inside that we are really working with our heads down, looking at all kinds of different ideas, like what if we have to limit the number of people in the Mixed Zone, how to manage access, what if you have to take out every other seat in the tribune, everything has an impact. It’s a huge piece of work as you can imagine, and also re-confirming and re-negotiating because all the contracts are gone out the window”. It is indeed a mind-boggling scenario, but apparently most media are sticking with the prospect of travelling in 2021 when the Games are scheduled to run from 23 July to 8 August, and the Paralympic Games from 25 August to 5 September.
“We’ve been conducting a few surveys and nobody is saying that they will cut numbers. However there will be only five months between the Closing Ceremony in Tokyo and the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, so we feel Beijing may be more affected from a media perspective. We are looking at introducing some tools that could help remote reporting, such as following press conferences online, but we are not yet convinced that we will have to introduce it for Tokyo. In the survey we conducted about offices in the Main Press Centre all of the companies that booked an office said they still want it” she points out.
Looking back
Looking back, Lucia says “all my career has been life deciding for me rather than me deciding my life!”, but it’s been a very successful formula for her. Despite her absence from it for quite some time she has managed to maintain many of her contacts in the horse world, and she treasures that.
“Equestrian sport was the perfect springboard for me because it gave me confidence and great experience. When I’m at the Games I make sure to catch up with everyone I can. The equestrian part of my life was, and always will be, very important to me”, she concludes.
The FEI Board allocated FEI Championships and key events for 2021 and 2022 during its three-day videoconference meeting this week.
In addition to the normal allocation process for the 2021 and 2022 Championships, following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to many Championships on the 2020 Calendar, the Board considered a number of requests made by the affected 2020 Organisers and National Federations.
“The pandemic has created an extra layer of complexity for us,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “The FEI General Regulations set out a timetable for when FEI Championships are held to avoid clashes between Continental and World Championships in the same categories in a given year so that National Federations do not have the cost of sending teams to major Championships in the same year, however, in these unprecedented circumstances, the FEI Board has agreed to deviate from this for specific events.”
“In some cases it has been possible to reach agreement with Championship Organisers to reschedule. Regrettably, in some events the FEI Board had to agree to cancellations in 2020 particularly with the Youth Championships, following a clear recommendation from the relevant Technical Committee, as a lack of recent competition mileage poses an unacceptable risk to athletes and horses. In each case we took the decision only after every avenue for a resolution was explored and exhausted.”
The Board agreed that any further Championships that need to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic before the end of December 2020 will not be held later in 2020 or rescheduled to 2021 to avoid further logistical difficulties with rearranging Championships in an Olympic and Paralympic year following the postponement of Tokyo 2020.
“The Covid-19 situation is still very fluid and no one can be certain of where it will lead us in the weeks and months to come,” the FEI President said.
“There may be other cancellations before the end of the year, but in order give our community clarity, the FEI will not reopen discussions on any other 2020 Championships. Any further cancellations will not be considered for reallocation or postponement.”
The Board made a unanimous decision not to reallocate the 2020 FEI Vaulting World Championships for Seniors, originally scheduled to be held in Flyinge (SWE). The Board expressed its gratitude to Saumur (FRA) for offering to host this Event later in the year, but travel restrictions, a lack of opportunities to compete and the impossibility social distancing for pas-de-deux and squad competitions were instrumental in the FEI Board decision.
The Board also decided to confirm the cancellation of the 2020 FEI Eventing European Championships for Ponies originally allocated to Strzegom (POL) as the alternate dates offered by the Organisers in Poland were not in line with a Board resolution passed in April that Youth and Pony Championships should not take place outside the school holidays. As there was no possibility of holding FEI Eventing European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders during school holidays, for athlete and horse welfare reasons, the cancellation of these Championships at Hartpury (GBR) was also confirmed.
The Board followed the unanimous recommendation of the FEI Jumping Committee to confirm the cancellation and not reschedule the 2020 FEI Jumping European Championship for Young Riders, Juniors & Children (originally allocated to Vilamoura) and the FEI Jumping European Ponies Championships (originally allocated to Strzegom) due to concerns that athletes and horses will not have had the opportunity to prepare fully for these important Championships and to avoid any risk to athletes and horses. Vilamoura will now host the Championships in 2021, which had originally been allocated to the Spanish venue at Oliva, but following a proposal put forward by the two organisers and approved by the Board, Oliva will now host the Championships in 2022. Both editions will be held within the school holiday period.
The Board unanimously agreed that the FEI Jumping World Challenge Final 2020 would not be allocated.
The Board approved the postponement of the FEI Driving European Championship for Young Drivers, Juniors & Children 2020 in Lamotte-Beuvron (FRA) to 2021. The Board confirmed that the age limits applicable in 2021 will apply to these Championships in 2021.
The Board also approved the postponement of the FEI Para Driving World Championship for Singles 2020 in Schildau (GER) to next year.
The Board decided that Organisers, such as Hartpury (GB), whose Championships had been cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic were eligible to enter bid processes for future unallocated editions of the Championships even though the deadline for submission of bids had passed.
The FEI Board decided to defer any decisions regarding all Reining Championships scheduled for allocation to a later date until a decision on next steps for FEI Reining had been confirmed.
Discussions are ongoing with the Spanish Equestrian Federation and Vic, the Organiser of the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses 2020 and the FEI Endurance European Championship for Young Riders & Juniors 2020. More information will be provided regarding these Championships shortly.
The Board also decided to postpone allocation of the FEI Endurance World Championships 2022 to its meeting in November to allow for a further review of the bids received from Dubai (UAE), Padise (EST), Riyadh (KSA) and Verona, Isola della Scala (ITA) and for further follow-up with the bidders.
The final allocations are as follows:
FEI Championships 2020 (postponed to 2021)
*FEI Driving European Championship for Young Drivers, Juniors & Children – Lamotte-Beuvron (FRA), dates TBC
*FEI Para Driving World Championship for Singles – Schildau (GER), dates TBC
*The above postponements were both approved as Emergency Board Resolutions under Article 20.3 of the FEI Statutes.
FEI Championships & Finals 2021
Jumping
- South American Jumping Championships for Young Riders, Juniors, Pre-Juniors and Children – Carrasco, Montevideo (URU), 7-13 September 2021
- FEI Jumping European Championships for Young Riders, Juniors & Children – Vilamoura, dates TBC
Driving
- FEI Driving World Championship for Young Horses – Mezohegyes (HUN), dates TBC
FEI Championships & Finals 2022
Jumping
- FEI Jumping European Championships for Young Riders, Juniors & Children – Oliva (ESP), dates TBC
Dressage
- FEI Dressage European Championship for Juniors & Young Riders – Hartpury (GBR), dates TBC
Eventing
- FEI Eventing European Championship for Juniors & Young Riders – Hartpury (GBR), dates TBC
Driving
- FEI Driving European Championship for Young Drivers, Juniors & Children – Ászár-Kisbér (HUN), dates TBC
- FEI Driving World Championship for Singles, Haras du Pin (FRA), dates TBC
Vaulting
- FEI Vaulting European Championship for Juniors, Kaposvár (HUN), 27-31 July
FEI Driving World Cup™ Series Season 2020/2021
The legs of the FEI Driving World Cup™ series for the 2020-2021 season were allocated as follows:
The Final of the FEI Driving World Cup™ 2021 has already been allocated to Bordeaux (FRA) on 4-7 February 2021.
FEI Dressage World Cup™ Series Season 2020 / 2021
The Board approved a change in venue for the Danish leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Series 2020/21 from Herning to the National Equestrian Centre in Vilhelmsborg.
The FEI General Assembly 2020, which was due to be held in Johannesburg (RSA) in November, has been cancelled and will now be held online due to Covid-19 social distancing requirements and travel restrictions.
The decision was approved by the FEI Board during its three-day videoconference meeting this week, and the Board also gave its unanimous support to allocate next year’s FEI General Assembly to Johannesburg.
“The safety of our community is our highest priority and although it is regrettable, cancelling our in-person General Assembly this year and going online was the responsible thing to do,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
“We are very grateful to the National Federation of South Africa for the support and flexibility they have shown, as well as their willingness to host our General Assembly next year when the situation will hopefully have improved for everyone.
“We are lucky to live in a time where it is possible to meet virtually, even though face-to-face meetings and discussions keep us together as a community.”
With the pandemic legally defined as “force majeure” in Switzerland, the country’s Federal government has adopted ad hoc temporary measures to facilitate the organisation of General Assembly meetings for Swiss based associations like the FEI.
Under these special regulations, the FEI is permitted to hold its General Assembly electronically. Other large international gatherings, including next month’s IOC Session, will also be held online.
The FEI is currently considering a number of electronic solutions for running the General Assembly online and will communicate these to National Federations in due course
“While we are of course disappointed not to be able to hold the FEI General Assembly in South Africa this year, we appreciate the confidence that the FEI has shown to us by giving us the opportunity to host the General Assembly next year,” President of the National Federation of South Africa Adv Willem Edeling SC said.
“It will be the first time that an international equestrian gathering of this scale will be held in South Africa and we look forward to welcoming delegates from around the world to our world class meeting facilities. 2021 is the centenary of the FEI, and we feel privileged that our event will form part of the 100-year celebrations.”
About the FEI General Assembly
The FEI General Assembly is a platform for discussions and voting on the major decisions of the FEI and the governance of the sport. It is held in a different location every year.
The General Assembly governs the overall direction, development and management of the FEI’s disciplines worldwide. Elections are held at the General Assembly and decisions are taken, by vote, on changes to FEI Statutes, long-term strategies, FEI budgets and important equestrian matters.
The FEI has today launched the FEI eDressage™ Online platform in partnership with Black Horse One (BHO) and SAP, to provide a unique environment for FEI registered Dressage and Para Dressage athletes to boost their training and development.
FEI registered athletes can upload videos to the FEI eDressage™ Online platform every week for their FEI Dressage tests to be judged anonymously by a pool of FEI 5* level Dressage and Para Dressage judges. In the first phase, a number of videos will be randomly selected and athletes will then be provided with feedback on their performance and given pointers for improvement.
“This new platform is yet another example of the ways in which technology can be introduced into equestrian sport to transform training techniques,” FEI Commercial Director Ralph Straus said.
“Athletes now have the opportunity to have their tests remotely evaluated by a group of top level judges and to receive key insights that could benefit their performances.
“While the current pandemic highlights the value of a platform like this to athlete training when travel and competition restrictions exist, it can also be particularly useful to athletes residing in remote regions of the world, who would otherwise be unable to avail of the international expertise provided through this platform.”
Although the platform has been designed primarily with the horse and athlete in mind, it has the potential to become a valuable source of content for training FEI Officials in close collaboration with the FEI’s online e-learning platform, FEI Campus. The user-generated content would allow the FEI to improve the video material used in training programmes for FEI Dressage and Para Dressage judges.
The FEI eDressage™ Online platform is not the first time software development company Black Horse One, and the market leader in enterprise application software SAP, have come together with the FEI to create unique technological solutions for the sport.
While previous initiatives have been created to enrich the competition experience for live audiences and judges, the FEI eDressage™ Online platform has been specifically created for a non-competitive environment. Tests will not be judged and no rankings will be provided, but performances will be critiqued by an elite group of judges purely for training purposes.
"It is an absolute pleasure for us to launch the FEI eDressage Online platform together with the FEI and SAP, our close partner for many years now,” CEO of Black Horse One Daniel Göhlen said.
“We at Black Horse One provide innovative, high-performance software solutions specialised in equestrian sports and see this new platform as a fantastic technological development to support athletes all over the world, especially during these current uncertain times. The FEI eDressage Online platform is built on the basis of our paperless judging solution eDressage and benefits from several of our other innovations which have been supported by SAP and established by the FEI."
SAP Director of Strategic Partnerships in Equestrian, Henrike Paetz, also welcomed the initiative. “The launch of the new FEI eDressage Online platform is another milestone in our partnership with the FEI and long-standing cooperation with Black Horse One,” she said.
“Providing a virtual training and feedback environment for international athletes is an innovative way to stay connected and up-to-speed during these challenging times and beyond and reflects our ambition as the Official Analytics Sponsor of the FEI Dressage World Cup series. We are proud to once more help reinvent the athlete experience based on our SAP Cloud Platform technology.”
Previously, the two companies combined their expert knowledge in technology and fan engagement to create the award-winning Spectator Judging® app in 2017.
The app enables audiences at FEI Dressage World Cup™ events to get into the judge’s seat, with audience scores and rankings created in real-time during the competitions and then placed side-by-side with official results on the arena scoreboards. It’s a dynamic way for live audiences to participate more actively in the sporting action provided by the world’s top Dressage athletes and their horses.
A further collaboration between SAP and Black Horse One in 2018 led to the development of the Dressage Paperless Judging software, a system allowing FEI Dressage and Para Dressage competitions to be scored without a scribe having to write down each mark on an FEI Dressage score sheet. The Paperless Judging system was designed to deliver finished and signed scores and comments to athletes immediately after each test, and also maintain fan engagement by reducing the time between the end of a competition and the awards ceremony.
“The beauty of the FEI eDressage Online platform is that it has the potential to grow and develop over time and become something larger than we initially imagined,” FEI Director Information & Sports Technology Gaspard Dufour explained. “For developments like these to really impact a sport, it is necessary that our technological partners understand equestrian and the needs of our stakeholders. Long-term collaborations like ours show that having the time to grow and develop together can impact the industry in a meaningful way.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rendered its Decision in an equine anti-doping case involving the horse Saura De Fondcombe (FEI ID: 103CM83 /SUI), ridden by Swiss Jumping athlete Nadja Peter Steiner (FEI ID: 10006562/SUI).
Samples taken from the horse at the CSI3*-W in Tetouan (MAR), 5-8 October 2017, tested positive for the Banned Substance O-Desmethyltramadol. The FEI Tribunal imposed a two-year ineligibly period on the athlete, which was due to end on 23 May 2021, as she was unable to establish the source of the positive finding in her horse. The athlete was also ordered to pay a fine of CHF 7,500 and contribute CHF 2,000 to the costs.
The athlete appealed the FEI Tribunal Decision to the CAS and, in the course of the appeal procedure, the athlete explained that the banned substance had most likely entered the horse’s system when it ingested hay that had been urinated on by a member of her Support Personnel, who had been taking Tramadol.
As the athlete was able to provide a plausible explanation for the source of contamination, it was therefore concluded that the athlete bore No Fault or Negligence. As a result, the FEI entered into an agreement with the athlete to eliminate the suspension and fine imposed by the FEI Tribunal.
The CAS accepted the agreement reached between the FEI and the athlete in its decision of 18 June 2020, meaning that the athlete’s suspension was lifted with immediate effect. Because of the presence of the banned substance in the horse’s system, which was not disputed, the horse’s results at the event remain disqualified.
The CAS Decision 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 Longines FEI Endurance World Championships 2020 have been postponed until May 2021 due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on equestrian sport. The decision to postpone comes following agreement between the FEI, the Italian National Federation and the Organisers in Pisa.
The Championships were due to be held at San Rossore, Pisa in September this year, but the pandemic and the restrictions on both travel and training of horses has meant that is was simply not possible to maintain the original date.
The FEI Executive Board and the Endurance Temporary Committee were in favour of postponement and, following consultation with the Endurance Calendar Task Force and meetings with the Italian National Federation and the Pisa Organisers, the move to May 2021 was agreed. Final approval of the postponement was given by the FEI Board at an extraordinary Board meeting held by videoconference on 19 June.
Qualification for the Championships will be under Article 836 of the FEI Endurance Rules (11th Edition), which come into effect on 1 July 2020.
The FEI Board also agreed to prolong the qualification period for these Championships in order to allow more time for horses and athletes to qualify following the disruption to this year’s FEI Calendar caused by the pandemic. Details will be defined by the Endurance Temporary Committee and FEI Headquarters and communicated later.
Two Continental Championships are already scheduled to run next year – the FEI Endurance Pan American Championships for Seniors & Young Riders in Campinas (BRA) from 28-29 July and the FEI Endurance European Championships in Ermelo (NED) from 6-ll September. The FEI last week proactively reached out to all 51 National Federations that compete in Endurance in order to understand their views on the proposed postponement of the World Championships and its potential impact on next year’s Calendar.
National Federations were asked whether they were in favour of postponing the Longines FEI Endurance World Championships to May 2021 and if they would also participate in their region’s Continental Championships if the Worlds were moved to next year.
A total of 34 National Federations responded to the questionnaire, of which 33 were positive, both to the postponement and their participation, where relevant, in one of the Continental Championships next year.
“Our Endurance community made it very clear to the FEI that they want a World Championships, particularly after losing the last edition at Tryon in 2018, but horse welfare and a level playing field could not have been guaranteed if the Championships had run in September, so it was the best solution to move the Championships to May of next year”, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said.
“Having consulted with the National Federations that compete in Endurance, we now feel that we have reached a compromise that works for everyone, but especially for our horses, as there will now be time for them to do the necessary preparation work and achieve their qualification for this major event.”
The Secretary General is in charge of the FEI Calendar and, throughout the Covid-19 crisis, has chaired the eight discipline-specific Calendar Task Forces that have been working to minimise the impact of the pandemic on the sport and the fixture list. More than 800 events have already been cancelled and numerous events have been rescheduled.
The FEI Endurance World Championships for Young Horses and the FEI Endurance European Championships for Young Riders & Juniors, which are due to be held in Vic (ESP) from 25-27 September 2020, will be discussed by the FEI Board during this week’s three-day meeting via videoconference (23-25 June).
When I called David Broome last Tuesday he had been haymaking at Mount Ballan Manor near Chepstow in South Wales which, apart from being the family farm, is also home to the hugely popular Wales and West showgrounds.
The legendary British showjumping rider is deeply rooted in his home place. His parents, Fred and Millie, moved to Mount Ballan in 1947, and all four of their children - David, Liz, Mary and Frederick - had a passion for horses from an early age. David’s grandfather worked for a veterinary surgeon in Pembroke (Wales) and his father, Fred, was an experienced horseman and a well-known pony dealer. David recalls his introduction to the saddle and his first, very early, retirement.
“Father had me riding when I was about two years old, using a harness out of a pram with a buckle in front, a buckle behind and buckles on both sides. As time went on the buckles were removed and I became number one jockey when he was breaking Welsh Mountain ponies, but I got bucked off so often that I retired from the sport when I was five!”
However two years later everything changed with the arrival of a pony called Beauty. “I took a fancy to her so I started again, and my career kind of went from there!”, he says.
Ponies
Fred was always on the lookout for talented ponies for his children. “The ones we kept were good, like Ballan Lad who had a run of 28 clears. Every one of them cost 60 quid (GB Pounds) and I had a great career in 14.2s. There were about five shows in which I jumped three clear rounds on all three ponies in the same class. We only had one saddle, so I could have a little breather while the saddle was being changed over!”
David told his teachers at Monmouth Grammar School that he wanted to be a veterinary surgeon, but it wasn’t true. Working on the farm and riding horses was what really appealed to him but he knew they wouldn’t approve of that. “I left school when I was 17 and the horses were there and one thing seemed to follow another,” he says.
“My first year in seniors I had a couple of horses my father used to ride. And then we bought one called Wildfire from the Monmouthshire Hunt that was next door to us - also for £60. He was stopping (refusing at fences) but he had competed Eventing. We straightened him out and he was a hunter hireling in the winter and then we started jumping the following spring. I’ll always remember our first show at Glanusk, there was a triple bar away from the collecting ring and we got eliminated. If ever there was a fence to test a stopper that was it. So my father said, ‘that fellow has just one more chance’. We went to Stowell Park the following week and on the second day he won three classes out of three!”
I’m loving how this man still treasures these early achievements in a career that was nothing less than glorious.
Wildfire
I ask him to describe Wildfire. “A 16.1hh bay gelding with a swishy tail, ears pinned back and a sour look, but he and I had a great relationship and he busted a gut for me”, David says. A rule-change worked to the advantage of the partnership because when time was introduced into the sport then Wildfire really came into his own.
“It used to be that three clear rounds decided the result, but when we started jumping against the clock I was made up. Wildfire was really sharp, a thoroughbred with plenty of speed and a beautiful bouncy canter you could adjust. Against the clock he was just heaven! He put me on the road, he was Leading Horse in Britain in 1959, and then he got me on the Olympic team until Sunsalve came along”, David explains.
His ability to get along with tricky horses is well-documented, and when I ask David about that he says he owed a lot to the experience he gained during his pony-riding years. “I had three ponies and they all went entirely differently. One galloped on and scotched up (shortened) when he got to a fence, he just couldn’t do a one-striding double in one stride so he always took two so I always had to milk my way through a combination. The second one was a very old-fashioned one, you set him up and you had three strides to get your bumph (distance) to it, and the third was a short-tailed cob called Chocolate who just went on an even keel the whole way around. I was so lucky because it trained me to ride three different ways”, he points out.
Big names
So who were the big names in showjumping when David was moving up the ladder in his career? “Pat Smythe, Harry Llewellyn and Alan Oliver, and then I eventually ran up against Harvey (Smith) when I was 19.”
The tough Yorkshireman Harvey would become one of the most popular and colourful characters in the sport in years to come and the perfect foil to the quiet but determined Welshman. So how was it when they first met at a show in Northampton? “I felt total respect really, he was self-made, hardworking and we became great friends outside the arena. But inside it was bloody hellfire!”
What was their rivalry like? “He made me better, and hopefully I made him better as well. With a lot of good sportsmen you need two of them in the game at the same time so they push each other.
"He was one of best losers I ever came across because if he was having a bad time then five minutes after he left the ring he was absolutely normal again. But when he was a winner it was a very different story because he was the biggest pain you’ve ever come across - he’d say we were all useless and that none of the rest of us could ride!"
David Broome (GBR) talking about his great friend, rival and compatriot Harvey Smith
David says with big laugh.
It was a twist of fate that saw Wildfire being replaced by Sunsalve for the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. “We had one of our Olympic training sessions at Ninian Park Football Club in Cardiff and Pat Smythe had just been given the ride on Sunsalve. She won the class and I think I was second, and on the way home my father said ‘Pat won today, but that horse will never go for her again’. It was a strange thing to say after someone has won, but he was a real horseman and he’d seen something and he was right. From there we went on a European tour to Wiesbaden (GER) and Lucerne (SUI), and Sunsalve never did go again for Pat.
Sent it back
“So the Olympic Committee said the horse was useless and sent it back to the owner, Mr Anderson in Norfolk. As it happened, in our pony trade we had a lady in Newmarket called Ann Hammond - we sold her 465 ponies over the years. And when we were at her place a couple of weeks later my father asked if she knew Mr Anderson and she said she did. She agreed to introduce us, we borrowed her car and set off for his little farm and father and he got on like a house on fire! Mr Anderson had bred the horse and his daughter had ridden it and won the Queen’s Cup with it. In ten minutes, over a cup of tea, he had given Sunsalve to us”, David explains.
It wouldn’t be all plain sailing to begin with. “Ten days later we went to a show and he went well, but at the next event I took both Sunsalve and a little horse called Discutido and they were both eliminated in a £20 class! So my father asked if the organisers would leave the jumps up after the Musical Chairs (a novelty class always staged at the end of horse shows in those days) and we schooled both of them afterwards.
“Four days later Sunsalve won the King's Cup (King George V Gold Cup) at the White City, the following week Discutido won the National Championship and the next week I won the Grand Prix in Dublin with Sunsalve”, David recalls.
That was followed by the Olympics in Rome where the individual competition was staged at the beautiful Piazza di Siena where David and Sunsalve clinched individual bronze while host-country heroes Raimondo and Piero d’Inzeo took gold and silver.
Team final
The team final took place at the Olympic Stadium a few days later, and Great Britain was among eight countries to be eliminated while Germany, USA and Italy topped the podium.
David remembers that day well because he learned something he’d never forget. “When I jumped the first round in the morning there were about 8,000 spectators but when we came back for the second round in the afternoon there were about 120,000 and I couldn’t believe it! When the bell went I cantered down to the first fence and missed it (got the stride on approach wrong) because I was all nerves. But luckily the horse got me out of it and I pulled myself together and he went clear after that. I decided that day that nerves don’t do you any good, and apart from getting a few butterflies an hour before the King's Cup or something like that nerves never affected me again. I decided when you go in the ring the only thing you have to worry about is how your horse is going, nothing else will help you, the occasion has nothing to do with it. That stood with me for the rest of my career”, he says.
The King's Cup, the Grand Prix trophy in Dublin and the Olympic bronze medal in Rome were already in the bag when David and Sunsalve headed for the World Championships in Venice (Italy) where they also claimed individual bronze.
“I was so lucky to have Sunsalve when I had him, I was just 20 at the time and when I rode him I let him gallop on and the horse thought he was doing it his way. If I’d had him later in my life I would have tried to change him and he probably wouldn’t have been a tenth of the horse that he turned out to be. I’ve ridden a lot of horses, but he was THE Olympic horse. He jumped like a deer, his jump was unbelievable”, says the Welshman.
Sports Personality
There’s a wonderful YouTube clip of David being presented with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award for his 1960 achievements in which, clearly to David’s astonishment, Sunsalve is brought into the studio and he is legged up onto the horse in front of the equally astonished audience. Showjumping was prime-time viewing in Britain at the time, and this award gave the sport an even bigger boost.
David’s CV is beyond staggering. He claimed individual bronze again at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico riding Mister Softee and World Championships individual gold with Beethoven in 1970 as well as team gold with Philco in 1978. His European Championship record includes a double of golds with Mister Softee in 1967 and 1969, team silver with Philco in 1977, team gold in 1979 riding Queensway Big Q and team silvers again in 1983 and 1991 riding Mr Ross and Lannegan.
And then there is the coveted King George V Gold Cup which he scooped six times on six different horses. “In the ‘50s and ‘60s it was the ultimate class to win, and it’s such a beautiful trophy”, David says. The first time he won it with Sunsalve he kept it for six months on a shelf just inside the front door of his house. But as the years went by it became near-priceless so by the time he claimed it for the final time in 1991 he handed it over to his patron, Lord Harris, “because his security was a bit better than mine!”, David says.
Then and now
I ask David to compare the sport back then to the way it is now. “Jumps are nowhere near as big nowadays. We had one oxer in Mexico, the front pole was about 5ft 4ins (1.64m), it was a 6ft 6ins (2.1m) spread, and the back pole was 5ft 8ins (1.76). Only two horses jumped it in the whole of the Games, I’ve never seen a fence like it before or since! When Olaf Petersen came along he changed the sport so it became more technical, and that saved it in a lot of ways. The only thing is we’ve now gone away from testing horse’s bravery and I think something needs to be done about that. In showjumping the narrowest fence is 8 feet (2.43m) wide, but in eventing it’s four feet (1.2m) so why not have some narrow fences and test rider’s control of their horse”, he suggests.
David was hugely influential in the establishment of the FEI Jumping World Cup™ series. “I won the Grand Prix in ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED) - there were only six or eight indoor shows in those days - and I thought we need to have a final for all these indoor shows.
“We had formed the International Jumping Riders Club around that time and Prince Philip was President of the FEI and thought it was a great idea. He invited us to send two representatives every year to the Bureau Meeting at the General Assembly to air views and make suggestions which was a great breakthrough, so I went along with Eric Wauters. I spoke to Paul Schockemohle and he said I know a man that will sponsor the series, Mr Gyllenhammar from Volvo, and then Max Ammann jumped on the bandwagon and took it over and that’s how it all started”, he says.
Favourites
Asked to name some of his favourite venues and events, David replies, “I always love the day of the Aga Khan Cup (Nations Cups) in Dublin, Rome just because of where it is, Olympia (London) because it’s probably the best indoor show but Aachen these days is the number one venue in the world. If they had the World Championships there every year I don’t think anyone would complain!” he answers.
Who were the opponents he most admired during his career? “Well Harvey because he was always the man to try to beat because he never gave up. Alwin Schockemohle because he was the ultimate professional. He would be second-last to go in the jump-off and go into the lead but when he came out of the ring he’d give his horse two or three minutes settle-down work while the last horse was jumping. Everyone else would be jumping off their horse to watch the last one go and hope they didn’t beat you. But not Alwin, he’d quietly school his horse ready for tomorrow. He was a real horseman. His technique for having horses leg-to-hand, having them supple, well mannered - he was superb. I always admired him and he is the loveliest man.
“And Rodney Jenkins, I watched him warm up Idle Dice at Madison Square Gardens in New York and he trotted down to a 5ft 6ins rail and the horse just popped it. The Americans' position in the saddle was always fantastic. We started off in our careers doing acrobatics, but the Americans were always perfectly balanced. Bill Steinkraus - his legs never moved, and you only get that style if you have the horse going correctly”, he points out.
Proudest moment
David’s proudest moment comes as a bit of a surprise, “when I won the Foxhunter (Novice Championship) with Top of the Morning jumping the only the clear round at Wembley”, he says. And what’s his advice to competitors in the sport today? “Remember that you don’t necessarily win more the more often you jump”.
In recent years David’s attention has turned to the Wales and West showground at Mount Ballan Manor which hosts many events throughout the year including a hugely popular Home Pony International. “It has been the second part of my life”, he says. “My father wanted to build the Welsh version of Hickstead so he started about five years after Hickstead was created and I like to think we’ve been successful. We run a happy show, it’s now organised by my sons James and Matthew and they do a great job and I’m proud of them”.
Reflecting on his sparkling career David concludes, “I was a farmer’s son and horses have taken me around the world. I’ve been lucky in so many different ways, I was very lucky to meet Lord Harris who supported me from when I was 30 onwards and I’ve had some wonderful horses and some great sporting days. For all that I can only be eternally grateful.”
The FEI has welcomed its top tier classification in the Association for Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) governance review that was released this week.
The FEI joins the BWF (Badminton), FIFA (Football), ITF (Tennis), UCI (Cycling) and World Rugby as one of six International Federations that ASOIF said “stood out from the rest” after scoring between 170 and 187 points out of a possible 200 on a self-assessment questionnaire.
The International Federations were divided into groups based on their total score, with the top six all being placed in the A1 group, the highest classification that can be achieved. This is the third review conducted by ASOIF following similar governance audits in 2017 and 2018, and the first time that the performance of each International Federation has been made public.
“We are pleased to see these results which is testimony to the hard work we have undertaken over the years to ensure we have robust governance structures and practices in place,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
“While governance is an evolving concept, the one constant is the public expectation that our organisations will be run to the highest standards. The sports community has the duty to ensure that this is done to the very best of our ability and there can be no shortcuts when working to instil and maintain best practice.
“The report’s findings are good news for us as the governing body for equestrian sport and we remain just as committed to regularly reviewing our internal procedures and to make changes when and where necessary.”
A total of 31 International Federations participated in the study which checked their governance structures against 50 measurable indicators covering five areas: Transparency, Integrity, Democracy, Development and Control Mechanisms.
The questionnaire was slightly revised for 2019-20 to incorporate two new indicators on safeguarding and on data protection/IT security. An independent sports governance consultancy, I Trust Sport, reviewed the responses and moderated the scores through evidence-based evaluation.
The full report is available here
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.
An appeal against the FEI decision to annul results from competitions held in France where Olympic and Longines Ranking points were on offer has been dismissed by the FEI Tribunal.
The appeals by Sri Lanka’s Mathilda Karlsson and Romanian athlete Andrea Herck, which were consolidated by the FEI Tribunal, resulted from the international governing body’s decision in February of this year to retrospectively remove six competitions from three FEI Jumping Events held in Villeneuve-Loubet in December 2019 and a further six competitions from three events at the same venue in January 2020.
The decision was based on the findings from an investigation launched by the FEI after concerns were raised about the integrity of these events. The investigation established that, contrary to the FEI Rules (Article 110.2.3 of the FEI General Regulations), two competitions counting for the Olympic and Longines Rankings were added at each of the three December 2019 events after the respective Definite Entries deadlines. The updated Schedules for these events were submitted 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 these additional competitions, meaning that athletes who participated lost their ranking points from these competitions. The decision meant that the Olympic and Longines Rankings were updated, resulting in Mathilda Karlsson dropping from second to seventh in the Group G Olympic Rankings and Sri Lanka losing its Olympic individual quota slot.
Additionally, the FEI established that three of the six events at Villeneuve-Loubet in January 2020 also had two classes counting for Longines Rankings points added after the Definite Entries deadline, again contrary to the FEI Rules. As a result, these additional competitions were also removed retrospectively and athletes that participated lost their ranking points for these competitions. Andrea Herck’s appeal was based on the loss of Longines Ranking points following the removal of the additional competitions at Villeneuve-Loubet.
In its Final Decision, the Tribunal found that the integrity of the sport had been jeopardised and, therefore ruled that “justified circumstances” existed which allowed the FEI Secretary General to make the decision to remove the competitions and annul the Olympic and Longines ranking points from these competitions.
The FEI Tribunal, which is an independent body, ruled that the FEI’s decision of 17 February 2020 to remove the competitions was “rightfully taken” and dismissed the appeals. Each party will pay their own costs in the proceedings.
"This is an important decision to ensure the integrity of the sport, and particularly the Olympic and Longines Rankings”, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said.
The parties have 21 days from the date of notification (16 June 2020) to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The full Decision is available here.
On his debut as a roving reporter, Shetland social media influencer Beachboy Jasper visits Carl Hester’s yard in Gloucestershire, England where he gets the lowdown on some of the inmates. His timing isn’t perfect because the big names have just gone hacking in the morning sunshine. But Bella the Broodmare is at home, and she’s more than pleased to show him around and spill the beans about some of the most popular personalities in the sport of Dressage.....
“Don’t worry about the dogs”, says Bella as I’m surrounded by at least a dozen of them jumping and barking with excitement. I’m not bothered because when you’re handsome, debonair and sophisticated then being the centre of attention is all in a days' work. But I get a bit of a fright when a flock of ferocious two-legged things come thundering towards me, led by a colossal beast with its tail-feathers fanned out and shrieking at the top of its head.
“Don’t worry about that lot either - it’s just peacocks and chickens and ducks and guinea fowl. There are so many attention-seekers around this place - it’s mad to be honest!”, Bella says with a giggle.
I compose myself as best I can while keeping a beady eye on the peacock that seems to be stalking me, and ask what life has been like over the last few months while most of us ponies and horses have had nowhere to go with competitions called off because of the people-virus? “Well Carlos Santana has been fussing about managing the finances and running the yard - all that ‘I’ve got staff and I’m responsible for so many people’ stuff y’know? But I reckon he’s enjoyed every minute of it. Anyway he’s back teaching again this week so that’s keeping him quiet”, she explains.
It’s a lovely yard, and I peek over the door of the stable normally occupied by Valegro who, I’m told, is nearly as good a mover as myself. He’s won a few shiny things and people make a lot of fuss of him. At home he’s called Blueberry, so what is he like?
“A gentleman to his tippy-toes”, she says. “He never made a fuss about all the big wins he had, never bowed to the pressure or changed his personality, he’s always stayed humble, always helpful and extremely happy to see everybody. He loves a good cuddle, especially from children. But boy, (I knew there had to be a weak spot) does he like his grub!”
I’m admiring him even more now, sounds like my kind of chap. “Even the year he went to the Olympic Games in London (2012) and won double-gold he couldn’t control his appetite."
"You’ve never seen anything like it, there’s nothing he doesn’t eat. He goes on and on about his diet and controlling his waistline, but he just can’t seem to stop himself!"
Bella can’t seem to stop herself either, now that she's on a roll she wants to dish all the dirt. “Y’know there are days when this nice lady called Tricia Gardiner comes to hack him out and the pair of them are gone for hours. Not because he’s doing any real work. No, it’s just that she’s not strong enough to hold him when he drags her into every hedgerow along the way so he can nibble the nice pickings. He comes back munching bits of twigs and sticks and branches and looking very pleased with himself every time, he’s unreal!”
Not what I was expecting to hear about the horse who has set more world records than most of us have had bran mashes, but you can tell that Bella really admires him. “Charlotte (Dujardin) rode him beautifully, and I think he was always grateful that Carl was there to help her handle the pressure at the big events. He achieved so much, and we’re all very proud of him here - Blueberry is a prince!”, she insists.
However she doesn’t feel quite the same about Mount St John Freestyle, the mare, also ridden by Charlotte, who brought home two medals from the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) 2018 in Tryon, USA and who won the FEI Dressage World Cup™ qualifier at London Olympia (GBR) last season.
“Now there’s a bossy one”, says Bella with a bit of a growl. “She’s a right prima donna, it’s all about her, she wants everything and she wants it ‘now!’. She wants to be fed before everyone else, she wants to come in from the field when she wants to come in - not two minutes later, she only wants to go out if it’s nice and sunny because she doesn’t want to get wet or have a hair out of place even if it’s only slightly windy or rainy. She’s a bit annoying if you ask me…”
“At least now she’s learned that she does actually have to do a days work. And ok she’s good at it, but she’s been building up a bit of a fan-club and that’s just making her fancy herself even more. She’s a right one, I’m telling you!”
So I move on to ask about Nip Tuck who I’ve heard is a bit of a character. “We call him Barney and, to be honest, he’s a head-case but a very sweet one. He’s part of the gang that go out in the field at night-time. There are 18 horses here and only eight live out at night….the ‘normal’ ones go out during the day and the daft ones at night so they can run the Grand National if they like, but at least they have their brains in their heads when it comes to working the following morning.”
It seems Bella has a big soft spot for Barney. “He’s hysterical, he’s tipped Carl off a good few times because he’s scared of his own shadow. He’s a big fellow and should be brave as a lion but instead he’s really spooky and scared of a mouse! I remember him telling me how he fell on Carl when he got a huge fright because a waiter dropped a tray as he was passing by at a show (at Aachen, Germany European Championships in 2015), but sure he’s done that here at home too. They were going out the gate at the end of the avenue one day and something scared him and he went into reverse and knocked down the gate-pillars - mad stuff! And Carl came home from the Olympics in Rio (2016) with whiplash because he spun around during a test for no real reason at all - Barney couldn’t even explain it himself afterwards!”
But he took team silver at those Europeans in Aachen, and again at the WEG in Caen in 2014 and in Rio in 2016, so how did Barney manage to do all that if he’s such a scaredy-cat? “I think it’s because there were no big expectations of him. Carl used to say ‘Barney will never do this, he’ll never do that, he’ll never be a championship horse, he’ll never do a Grand Prix, he’ll never get around that ring in Olympia'. But he did all of those things because he tried really hard. He even won at Olympia which he says is the scariest arena in the world because the spectators are almost sitting on top of you. And he did it not once, but twice. In the end I reckon he did it all because he really enjoyed proving Carl wrong!”, Bella says.
All this talk about working so hard is a bit exhausting. I ask the mare if it's been boring having to #stayhome and not do very much over the last few months? “No, quite the opposite, we all had a really nice time, lots of freedom, lovely grass, sunny weather, sunbathing all day - it’s been dreamy actually”, she explains. So how is everyone feeling about getting back to work now that things are slowly starting again?
“Well we’ve got two completely different attitudes here. Charlotte is preparing like the Olympic Games might suddenly and miraculously come back to life this year even though we know they won’t be happening until next summer. She’s off to Hickstead in a few weeks for something called the Rotterdam Hickstead online challenge and she can’t wait.
“But Carl? Well he has no intention of putting himself under pressure until he absolutely has to…..Charlotte doesn’t call him ‘Grandad’ for nothing you know….”
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