Launched in 2012, FEI Solidarity is a global programme aimed at promoting and enhancing equestrian culture, working directly with the FEI’s member National Federations by providing the tools, knowledge and infrastructure required to develop the sport and nurture talent from grassroots to the world stage. Over 40 Technical Experts are delivering education through the FEI’s four pillars of activity and across the three types of assistance as shown below.

NEW IN 2018

• New courses on offer
• New National Federations join the FEI Solidarity Programme
• New Partnership with Longines for the Retraining of Racehorses

INCREASING THE SCOPE // SINCE 2012…

2018 HIGHLIGHTS

THE FEI WORLD CHALLENGE SERIES:

A versatile and multi-layered development tool…

The FEI World Challenge series for Jumping and Dressage is an ideal tool to help countries develop and gain experience both from a sporting and administrative perspective. The series provides Athletes with the opportunity to participate in international Jumping and Dressage competitions without having to leave the country, acting as a valuable first stepping stone to the international scene.

In addition, the series also provides a testing ground and an opportunity for Coaches, Officials and Organising Committees to experience and learn from an international competition setting on home ground. Every year the rules are reviewed to allow for improvements that will benefit all key stakeholders involved.

From an administrative perspective, a special IT platform has been put in place by the FEI in order to register Athletes and their results at all FEI World Challenge events. The implementation of this platform facilitates the gathering of data and also introduces National Federations to a platform similar to the FEI Database, which is used for all information relevant to international Events, Athletes and Horses.

FEI Jumping World Challenge

The format of the FEI Jumping World Challenge is simple and effective, testing local infrastructures with an international backdrop. This yields very positive results for:

• Athletes: Competitors have the opportunity to compete on home soil over the same course and, as a result, they receive an individual classification per country, geographical zone and category worldwide. The Challenge competitions also serve as qualifiers for Regional and Continental Games, including the Youth Olympic Games and the Africa Youth Games in 2018. Interesting to note two-thirds of the NOCs present at YOG qualified through the FEI Jumping World Challenge series.
• Officials: As part of its global development objective, the FEI World Challenge offers National Federations opportunities for their national Jumping Judges to gain experience by appointing them as members of the Jury alongside experienced FEI Judges.
• Coaches: The technical aspects of the courses are linked to Levels 1 and 2 of the FEI Coach Education Programme, which is implemented by the National Federations taking part in the Challenge. Since the change of format in 2015 and the introduction of three competitions as opposed to one, there is a clear progression in terms of technical difficulty and height between each competition, requiring Coaches to adapt the preparation and training of their Athletes.
• Organising Committees: The OCs gain invaluable experience when hosting qualifiers and Finals. Following the 2018 Final, Tashkent (UZB) went on to successfully bid for and host the FEI Children’s Classics Final held in 2019!

Series 2018

• Course Designer: Jaime Morillo (ECU)
• 332 competitions
• 43 National Federations
• 10 geographical zones

3 Categories

• A: 1.20-1.30m
• B: 1.10-1.20m
• C: 1.00-1.10m

FEI Jumping World Challenge Final 2018

• The best two Athletes in each Regional Rankings for Category A qualify for the annual Final organised on borrowed horses.
• Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• 19 best Athletes from Category A (all ages)
• Borrowed horses
• 15 Nations represented
• Course designer: John Vallance (AUS)

More on the Challenge Final 2018 here.

FEI Dressage World Challenge

Based on the same principles as the FEI Jumping Challenge series, the FEI Dressage World Challenge is an annual series providing Athletes with the opportunity to obtain a global Individual and Regional classification per level without having to travel abroad. There is also a World Team Classification based on the results achieved by the three best team Athletes, the scores varying depending on the coefficient corresponding to the level of the team members.

The FEI Dressage Challenge also provides Officials and Coaches with important milestones and opportunities with links to the FEI Coach Education Programme. It also serves as a platform for the education of national Officials through the Equestrian Sport Educative Event (ESEE) or an existing National Federation Official’s programme.

Focused on performance and providing a solid stepping stone to international level competition, the new format now uses the official FEI Dressage tests allowing Athletes to develop their skills and gauge their ability and progress prior to entering their first CDI.

Series 2018

• Individual and Team classification
• 5 performance levels
• 2 age groups
• 40 competitions 
• 39 National Federations
• 9 geographical zones

First For 2018

• The series was officially recognised as a qualifying competition to obtain a Certificate of Capability in view of the Central American and Caribbean Games in Baraquilla (COL).

FEI COURSE FOR NATIONAL FEDERATION ADMINISTRATORS 2018

A first for Secretary Generals…

The FEI Course for National Federation Administrators welcomed Secretary Generals for the first time since its inception in 2016. For five days, the FEI Headquarters in Lausanne played host to 27 administrative staff members from 17 National Federations, including 12 Secretary Generals. The course provided two tailor-made workshops to support and guide them in their national development plans and structures.

• Group I: TUR, SLO, SVK
• Group II: LAT, LTU
• Group III: RUS, KAZ
• Group IV: CAN
• Group V: VEN, CUB
• Group VI: URU
• Group VII: JOR, ALG
• Group VIII: HKG, PHI, IND
• Group IX: NAM

Key themes explored:
NF position in the Olympic movement
NF implementation of the FEI Rules and Regulations
FEI discipline structures and administration
FEI services and tools for NFs
Communications and marketing

FEI SOLIDARITY RETRAINING OF RACEHORSES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LONGINES

The first Technical Experts Course in Singapore…

In 2018 and in partnership with Longines, FEI Solidarity launched its Retraining of Racehorses programme, specifically created to address the shortage of sport horses in South East Asia. The first step of this new programme was to train Technical Experts in the Retraining of Racehorses, so they could in turn deliver courses to Coaches and Athletes in their home countries. The first course for Technical Experts took place in Singapore in September, under the leadership of FEI Solidarity Expert Anthony Lowry (SGP).

How is the FEI Solidarity Retraining of Racehorses (RTR) programme in partnership with Longines structured?

The RTR programme is split into three modules which are to be held separately and spread out over a 12-month period. The first module consists of establishing the fundamentals, the second focuses on building on existing foundations, while the third and final module is about preparing for competition, including where possible an additional competition day at a basic Dressage, Jumping and Eventing level.

COACH EDUCATION

More courses and more opportunities on the horizon…

The FEI Coach Education Programme was created in 2003 to help developing National Federations that do not have a system in place organise their coaching structures. Since its inception, over 300 courses have been held, with approximately 4,000 national coaches educated through the system.

In 2018…

Some Highlights…

• Creation of a working group to develop the Para Dressage Coaching Module which will be made available to National Federations in 2019/2020!
• Turkey hosts the third Level 3 course for Dressage Coaches!
• Five new courses held in 2018 following the launch of the Endurance module in 2017!