The Aim

To help National Federations improve their administrative structure through education, IT solutions, as well as to offer them advice and consultancy on any aspects of equestrian sport through different types of support and assistance including: 

• Governance and Administration (National Development Plan; Education of NFs Administrators; IT NF Platform)
• National Sports Structures (Development of national education and certification systems for Officials and Coaches; Development of national FEI disciplines structures through ESEEs; Development of Pony Club structures; and consultancy services on equestrian infrastructures)

Here are some of the highlights from 2019…

FEI Course for National Federation Secretary Generals and Administrators 2019

For five days, Secretary Generals and NF administrators from around the world convened at the FEI Headquarters in Lausanne (SUI) for an intense workshop looking at all aspects of the sport, from development opportunities to good governance, IT and social media promotion. The aim is to provide National Federations with the tools and the knowledge to manage and administer the sport in cooperation with the FEI as well as best practices when it comes to delivering professional services to their members and stakeholders. 

Development of National Coach Education Programmes

Four National Federations were actively involved in 2019 when it comes to the development of National Education Systems for their Coaches, some making their first steps whilst others were successfully finalising their programmes.

GREECE

In 2017, the Hellenic Equestrian Federation took up the task of developing an updated Education Programme in order to educate Coaches in accordance with the new technical needs of the sport and international standards for equestrian coaches.

Following the initiation of this project, the Hellenic Equestrian Federation worked closely with the relevant governing institutions as well as the FEI which advised them on the overall structure of the programme in order to develop the educational material. 

The EQ School for Coaches 2019 is the first step in building a solid National Education System in equestrian sport in Greece and is set to play a vital role for the next generations of equestrians in Greece.

SOUTH AFRICA

In 2017, the South African National Federation approached FEI Solidarity with a project to develop a National Education Structure for Coaches, which would be accredited by the South African education system as part of the directives given by the Department of Sport and SASCOC and in accordance with the requirements given by the SA Department of Higher Education.

The FEI Solidarity Officer has worked closely with the Federation in the development of this structure and, in 2019, seven elite coaches were certified by the professional body Sports Coach South Africa (SCSA).

This recognition will now allow the next step of the project to take place and for these Coach Developers to educate coaches as part of the overall National Education System.

CHINA & RUSSIA

China and Russia also approached FEI Solidarity for support in the set up of a custom made National Education System in accordance with their needs and the requirements defined by their respective governing bodies. In 2019, FEI Solidarity travelled to both countries in order to start this process, meeting with the National Federations and relevant governing bodies to put in place the first step of this process.

Two courses in two different regions (Beijing and Guenzu for China and Moscow and St Petersburg for Russia) were organised to identify the potential Tutors and deliver the course content for the first level.

The courses were a great success with an attendance of over 40 Coaches and potential Tutors in each country.

The second step of the process will start in 2020 with more specific courses for the Tutors with the ultimate goal of having new National Education Systems running in both countries and according to the specific laws and national rules by 2021. 

Equestrian Sport Educative Events

The aim of the ESEE is to build the foundations of a discipline in a country through the education of national Officials. 

FEI Solidarity has allocated 201 ESEEs in all the FEI disciplines since 2015.

In 2019, a total of 41 ESEEs were delivered involving 30 NFs.

New Technical Experts to deliver Jumping and Dressage ESEEs in Asia have been trained through a Pilot event in Iran in April 2019. With these new Experts, the FEI Solidarity ESEE programme is now covering all five Continents.

National Federation IT Platform

An IT solution for Horse Sport Management tailored to developing National Federations. In 2019: