BY SABRINA IBÁÑEZ, FEI SECRETARY GENERAL & PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PARALYMPIC SPORTS ORGANISATIONS

The following topics are covered in this section:

Important Meetings / Equestrian Community Integrity Unit / Education & Officials / Information Technology / Sponsorship / Media & Digital / Veterinary 

Important Meetings

At a glance… 

• FEI Sports Forum tackles the big topics
• FEI General Assembly sees record participation

FEI Sports Forum

Gender equality was the opening topic of the eighth edition of the FEI Sports Forum. Equestrian is a gender neutral sport in which all athletes compete together on a level-playing field. While it is the only Olympic sport in which all competitions are mixed gender, there remains room for improvement when it comes to representation in governance-related positions (Committees, NFs etc). It was important to discuss how we can help shift the status quo.

Another key session of the 2019 edition was the preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This included a progress report, climate mitigation plans and a presentation on optimising equine and human performance in a challenging climate.

For the first time since its creation, the FEI Sports Forum dedicated an entire day to one topic, namely Endurance. In view of the challenges the discipline has faced in recent times, it was vital to take the time to reflect on the future of this discipline in an open and consultative manner.

As in past editions, valuable feedback was provided and many discussions were held. This once again demonstrated the importance and benefits of providing such a transparent platform for debate open to the entire equestrian community. Read more here.

FEI General Assembly

The FEI General Assembly 2019 took place in the beautiful city of Moscow (RUS) and saw a record number of participants. You will find several key decisions and discussions summarised below, with full details here.

• The General Assembly welcomed three new members to the FEI Family: Bahamas (Regional Group IV), Mongolia (Regional Group VIII) and Ivory Coast (Regional Group IX).
• The new Endurance Rules were voted in by an overwhelming majority, with partial implementation (Transitional Rulebook) on 1 January 2020 and full implementation on 1 July 2020.
• Tokyo 2020 Equestrian Sport Manager Haruta Yasuhiko, Eventing Competition Manager Alec Lochore and Jumping Competition Manager Cesar Hirsch gave delegates a progress report on preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• The General Assembly voted for Reining to remain as an FEI discipline.
• Election of Regional Group Chairs and Deputy Chairs, Committee and FEI Tribunal Chairs, Nominations Committee and FEI Tribunal Members.
• The farewell of outgoing Vice President, HE Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa (BRN) and welcome of new Vice President Jack Huang (TPE).

The Equestrian Community Integrity Unit (ECIU) Report

Integrity in sport is more critical than ever and upholding the rules and values put forward by the FEI is central to maintaining the position as a sporting world leader.

The activity of the ECIU has included: 

• Conducting numerous investigations into allegations of concerns around misconduct, safeguarding and horse welfare
• Oversight of the online Regional Group Chair Elections to ensure the integrity of the ballot is upheld
• Knowledge sharing and Safeguarding Workshops with the FEI and their training partner in London and Lausanne
• Attendance at the FEI Sports Forum, Lausanne

The ECIU have attended and deployed a CCTV surveillance system to the following events in the past twelve-month cycle:

• FEI Group G Olympic Qualifier Jumping, Valkenswaard (NED)
• Longines FEI European Championships, Rotterdam (NED)
• Longines FEI Nations Cup Final, Barcelona (ESP)
• FEI Group F Olympic Qualifier Jumping, Rabat (MAR)

The ECIU also attended the FEI European Endurance Championship held at Euston Park to observe the event.

The following data details how the ECIU records the information received through the hotline and the graphs indicate the trends that are taking place within the Equestrian Community over the past five years.

Horse welfare allegations are returning to figures seen in the past (an average of six reports per year in the first five years) and the ECIU encourages continued identification of incidents that cause concern. The ECIU also understands that horse abuse cases are being reported to the FEI directly. A spike in Safeguarding allegations occurred in the previous twelve-month cycle which has dropped significantly this term which would correlate with greater awareness of the subject around world. The ECIU would urge any member of the Equestrian Community that has concerns about behaviors and practices to contact the ECIU where your identity will remain anonymous if you so choose, as the welfare of the Equestrian Community, horse and human, is paramount.

The ECIU can be contacted through the hotline on +44 (0) 207 935 5822 or by email at report@equestrianintegrity.com

Data Received from ECIU Hotline

Trend of categories reported to the ECIU in the past five years

Education & Officials

At a glance… 

• Education System undergoes revision
• Creation of the FEI Competency-based Evaluation System (CES) framework
• FEI Campus continues to grow
• FEI Officials Exchange Programme (OEP) provides invaluable experience

Education

The Education System for Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving and Endurance, including the career pathway of Officials, was reviewed and harmonised in collaboration with the course directors for each discipline and the relevant departments. The remaining disciplines and Veterinarians will follow in 2020.

Furthermore, in collaboration with the FEI Jumping Department, a Level 4 Course was developed and delivered.

FEI Competency-based Evaluation System (CES)

The framework of the CES was developed in the first half of 2019 and then went into its implementation phase. It is intended to evaluate the functions of over 11,000 Officials in 11 FEI Campus assessments.

CES will be introduced step by step, with a first phase planned for 2020, based around the knowledge of FEI Rules and Regulations. Additionally, each Official will have to personally certify that they are “Fit to Officiate” according to the function requirements. The English proficiency of around 650 Top Level Officials was also evaluated in 2019.

FEI Campus

The content of FEI Campus continues to grow and be adjusted to the latest e-learning standards, alongside the Virtual Classroom module which has been tested and is now available. The ongoing successful collaboration with the University of Zurich (UZH) led to the production of 53 horsemanship courses.

All the 2019 highlights of FEI Campus are available here.

FEI Officials Exchange Programme (OEP)

Throughout 2019, the OEP provided financial support to FEI Officials of all disciplines and levels. As a result, Stewards, Course Designers, Technical Delegates, Judges, Classifiers and Veterinarians had the opportunity to travel to foreign countries in order to gain experience by officiating at higher levels compared to those currently available in their own country.

Information Technology

At a glance… 

• Inside.FEI.org new look and feel
• History Hub revisited
• FEI Database in constant improvement
• New FEI Entry System
• FEI Online Invitation System enters pilot phase

Inside.FEI

A major revamp of the look and feel, as well as the navigation of Inside.FEI.org was deployed in July. This was a huge undertaking, with over 38,500 pages transferred and rearranged according to the new structure. This included a review of dedicated hubs and sections, including a major revamp of the Athletes hub. The latter was done in direct response to the needs expressed by the members of the Youth Panel at the FEI Sports Forum 2018 for tools to help when transitioning into the professional circuit. Other hubs, such as FEI Solidarity and FEI Awards, have also had major reviews to enhance navigation and simplify access to information.

FEI History Hub

Launched in 2012, this website presents the history of equestrian sport at the Olympic, Paralympic and FEI World Equestrian Games™. The redesigned FEI History Hub is connected to the FEI Database and provides a fully responsive and user-friendly platform to shine a spotlight on all the equestrian heroes and champions of past Games. You will find equestrian results as well as anecdotes, sporting achievements and photos from all the Olympic and Paralympic Games since equestrian was officially featured in the Olympic programme in 1912 and Paralympic programme in 1996.

Take a stroll down memory lane and visit the new FEI History Hub.

FEI Database

The FEI Database allows the collection of all competition results across all disciplines as well as the calculation of the FEI rankings and standings. The IT Department is constantly working with Organising Committees and IT service providers to improve the workflow of results data collection. OCs are becoming increasingly autonomous at feeding data to the FEI which is then directly displayed in the FEI Database. The FEI IT Department is responsible for quality control of all data registered in the FEI Database, which requires monitoring and follow-up on a daily basis.

The FEI Education Department has recently released the framework of the Competency-based Evaluation System (CES) for FEI Officials. In the context of this project, the FEI Database has been adjusted to manage the follow-up, send reminders to FEI Officials who have to follow CES courses, as well as managing the maintenance of Official’s status automatically. At the beginning of 2019, the FEI also released a Chinese version of the FEI Database.

FEI Entry System

The new version of the FEI Entry System for Jumping has been fully operational for all FEI Jumping events since 1 April 2019. This version includes a brand new user interface, providing easier interaction as well as new features, concepts and services for National Federations and Organising Committees, the main users of the system. In addition, features and functionalities are now available for Athletes, which will be developed further next year.

This new version of the FEI Entry System has been developed to be fully integrated with the FEI Online Invitation System for Jumping. The current version of the FEI Entry System will continue to manage Dressage, Eventing, Endurance and Driving entries, including management of Athlete and Horse qualifications. These disciplines will then progressively be moved into the new version.

FEI Online Invitation System

The FEI Online Invitation System allows for correct application of the Jumping CSI Invitation Rules in order to invite Athletes from the Longines Rankings in descending order to CSI5*, CSI4*, CSI3* and CSI2* events.

Following pilot phases in 2018, it was decided to run additional pilot phases in 2019 after further analysis showed that the system could be modified to provide additional opportunities for all Athletes ranked in the Longines Rankings, as the sequential approach used in the tested version of the system did not invite enough Athletes further down the Longines Rankings. Based on how successful these pilot phases will be, the system is intended to be launched at the beginning of 2020.

Sponsorship

At a glance… 

• Longines
• Horse Pilot becomes Official FEI Equestrian Apparel Supplier through to 2023
• Peden Bloodstock becomes Official FEI Equine Logistics Partner & Title Sponsor of the FEI Best Athlete Award
• Cavalor becomes Official FEI Nutrition Partner & Title Sponsor of the FEI Best Groom Award

Longines

Our Top Partner Longines extended its agreement as title partner of the FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League series and signed an agreement as presenting sponsor of the FEI Awards Gala 2019.

Horse Pilot

In April 2019, the FEI signed a four-year agreement with Horse Pilot that sees the French company become the Official FEI Equestrian Apparel Supplier through to 2023. During the partnership, Horse Pilot will provide the FEI with equestrian apparel. Additionally, both parties have co-designed and produced an exclusive bespoke clothing range for FEI staff and representatives.

Horse Pilot, which is present in more than 200 stores across 40 countries, has a strong sporting representation in Jumping, Dressage and Eventing through its partnerships with professional Athletes around the world.

Peden Bloodstock

The FEI has teamed up with horse transportation experts Peden Bloodstock in a four-year partnership deal. Having provided their services for the majority of FEI Regional and World Championships and multiple Olympic and Paralympic Games, Peden Bloodstock represented the perfect fit to become the FEI’s Official Equine Logistics Partner. In addition, the brand has become Title Partner of the FEI Best Athlete Award, which is dedicated to the Athlete that, over the past year, has demonstrated exceptional skill and taken the sport to a new level.

Cavalor

The Belgian-based equine nutrition brand that has helped thousands of Horses achieve top level performance through proper nutrition and care, signed a partnership deal to become the FEI’s Official Nutrition Partner and Title Partner of the FEI Best Groom Award in September 2019. The Cavalor FEI Best Groom Award recognises the indispensable efforts made by the person who works behind the scenes in the stables to ensure the Horses they look after are given the best possible care.

You can read all about the FEI’s partners and commercial structure here.

Media & Digital

At a glance… 

• Broadcast viewership on the rise
• FEI.TV “Seven Sports Strategy” pays off
• Record year for FEI’s digital channels

Broadcast

The new content approach resulted in a growth in media value for most of the FEI Series in a very challenging market. The FEI saw a 32% increase in viewership for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ season 2018/2019, compared to the previous one. Part of the success was the new strategy put in place of supplying customised news clips to relevant broadcasters, hence boosting the distribution across several territories.

For the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2019 was also extremely succesful from a broadcast perspective, with overall growth seen across all KPIs for TV performance in comparison to 2018:
+33% in TV audiences worldwide
+96% in broadcast hours
+90% in news audiences due to custom news
+30% in media value

For the FEI Dressage World Cup™ season 2018/2019, the global viewership also increased by 21% compared to the previous one. For the new upcoming season, focus will be on continuously growing media distribution and tapping into emerging markets such as North America, China and India to increase the viewership, while upgrading the production standards across the main events and series.

FEI.TV

Following the increase in performance from FEI.TV last year, the platform continues to grow steadily. New functionalities and enhancements have been deployed, improving the user experience. The content offering has been diversified and categorised across the FEI Disciplines in accordance with the “Seven Sports Strategy”.

Digital

2019 was a very successful year for the FEI’s digital channels, showcasing growth across the board. FEI.org expanded significantly, both in numbers of visits and time spent on the website, especially around the #TwoHearts and lifestyle-related content. Find out everything about the digital success here.

Veterinary

FEI Horse Monitoring Project for Tokyo 2020

In order to assist Athletes and Horses optimise their performance, the FEI commissioned a major research study to identify best practices and management of horses training and competing in hot and humid environments. Conducted at the Ready Steady Tokyo Test Event in August 2019, and led by the FEI’s climate expert Dr David Marlin, the study monitored the combined effects of long travelling times and distances, time zone disruptions, and heat and humidity on competing horses.

Horses were monitored before and during the test event, including how they adapted to the challenging climate in Tokyo. Central to the report was data collected on-course and post-competition, which allowed for detailed analysis of the cross country test. The study findings showed that horses generally coped extremely well with the conditions and remained in good health for the duration of the test event, held at the same time of year as the Games in 2020.

The complete study can be found here.