Important Meetings
At a glance…
- FEI Sports Forum 2022 in Lausanne (RSA), 25 – 26 April
- FEI Hybrid General Assembly 2022 in Cape Town (RSA), 10 – 13 November
FEI Sports Forum 2022
The 11th edition of the FEI Sports Forum began with a prominent focus on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Regulations with individual sessions for each discipline, followed by a session dedicated to the FEI World Championships 2022. The FEI Sports Forum 2022 was also the perfect occasion for the FEI’s Digital team to provide detailed insights into the digital and social media strategy put in place to promote and engage fans.
The highlight of this edition however, was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the International Grooms Association and the FEI, marking the start of a new era for international grooms.
Events Minimum Standards a project that aims to identify core technical aspects of FEI events and develop systems to ensure that the delivery of these meets the expectations of all our stakeholders.and consultation around the full Rules Revisions for the FEI Veterinary Regulations, FEI Eventing, Dressage and Para Dressage Rules also took centre stage at the FEI Sports Forum providing pertinent input into the Rules Revisions proposals and process for 2022 which would culminate at the FEI General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa in November.
With over 1,400 views online, and over 200 participants attending in-person, it is fair to say that this edition of the FEI Sports Forum was extremely well received. All session documents can be accessed on the FEI Sports Forum hub.
FEI Hybrid General Assembly
Two years later than initially planned, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the South African Equestrian Federation welcomed the FEI Family to the beautiful city of Cape Town, (RSA) for the FEI Hybrid General Assembly 2022. This annual get together once again provided the perfect platform for the FEI’s 136 National Federations to look back on the challenges as well as the achievements and key milestones for the equestrian family over the past year. The Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification System for Jumping, Dressage and Eventing was among the important discussions held during our Sessions Day at the General Assembly week, alongside the much-awaited interim report from the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission, set up in June 2022 in response to growing public concern about the use of horses in sport, and in particular, to investigate ways of developing a practical framework that will strengthen the practice of horse sports worldwide.
The re-election of FEI President Ingmar De Vos, uncontested for his third and final mandate was the big highlight of the General Assembly Day, confirming once again the trust of the FEI’s members in his leadership of President Ingmar De Vos and the tremendous work that has been achieved over the past eight years since he was elected in 2014. when the FEI President at the end of all the elections and voting, he thanked his predecessor HRH Princess Haya (JOR) for the important foundations she laid during her tenure from 2006 to 2014, and highlighted the incredible resilience of the equestrian community, outlining both the achievements and the challenges faced in recent years and his commitment to further strengthening equestrian sport’s status and social licence to operate, from the Olympics to youth, digital innovations and global development to name a few with horse welfare and wellbeing at the core of all endeavours.
Based on a formula that proved highly successful in 2021, this year’s FEI General Assembly was again held in a hybrid format, meaning participants had the option of joining and for those eligible also voting in-person in Cape Town, or online. Important to note that 2022 was the first-year proxies were no longer accepted given the tried and tested hybrid format.
The main decisions of this year included:
- Approval of the modifications to the FEI Internal Regulations as well as the FEI General Regulations
- Approval of the modifications to the FEI Rules in each discipline
- Mark Samuel (USA) and Jack Huang (HKG) were re-elected FEI Vice-Presidents for the four-year term 2022-2026.
- Esteban Abedrabbo (ECU) was elected as Chair, and Gabriel Vidal (URU) elected Deputy Chair of FEI Regional Group VI for the four-year term 2022-2026.
- Jenny Hall (GBR) was re-elected as Chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee for the four-year term 2022-2026.
- Theola Barclay (ZAM) was re-elected Audit & Compliance Committee member for the four-year term 2022-2026.
- Brian Ward (CAN) was elected FEI Tribunal member for the four-year term 2022-2026.
- Diane Pitts (USA) was re-elected FEI Tribunal member for the four-year term 2022-2026.
- Guillermo Valente (URU) was elected to the FEI Nominations Committee for the term 2022-2023.
- Executive Board Composition update following General Assembly: During the second Board Meeting (BMII) which takes place directly after the General Assembly, and with two outgoing executive Board Members, the Board approved the appointment of Chair of the Veterinary Committee Jenny Hall (GBR) and Chair of Regional Group VII Samy Al-Duhamy (KSA) to the Executive Board for the term 2022-2026. The Board also approved the appointment of Jumping athlete Jessica Kürten (IRL) to become Chair of the FEI Athletes’ Committee and Executive Board Member for the term 2022-2026.
The full presentations and decisions, as well as the replay of the General Assembly can be accessed on the FEI General Assembly hub.