Calendar Task Force work continues with combined three-discipline virtual meeting

A meeting of the joint Calendar Task Forces for Driving, Vaulting and Reining was held via videoconference yesterday, 20 April 2020. The combined group, which included representatives from each discipline, held the virtual meeting specifically to discuss FEI European Championships for Youth and Seniors in 2020 and 2021, the most pressing calendar issue facing the three disciplines. Separate meetings will be held with each discipline Task Force to review potential date clash issues.

The joint-meeting was chaired by FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez, who has overall responsibility for the FEI Calendar and who is chairing each of the discipline Task Forces. The Jumping and Dressage Calendar Task Forces have already met, and Jumping will be holding its second online meeting tomorrow, 22 April.

The members who joined yesterday’s triple-discipline videoconference were FEI Vice Presidents Mark Samuel (CAN) and Jack Huang (TPE), Chair of the FEI Driving Committee Károly Fugli (HUN), John Eccles (GBR), Chair of the FEI Vaulting Committee, Sven Friesecke (SUI), Chair of the FEI Reining Committee, European Equestrian Federation representative Quentin Simonet (FRA), Vaulting Athletes’ Representative Kristina Boe (GER), Driving Athletes’ Representative Boyd Exell (AUS), Reining Athletes’ Representative Francesca Sternberg (GBR) and Jeroen Houterman (NED), representing the International Equestrian Organisers Association. The FEI Driving, Vaulting and Reining Directors, FEI Calendar Administrator and Directors of the FEI IT, Legal and Governance departments were also on the call.

The group discussed Championships in 2020 and 2021 for each of the three disciplines:

Driving: the FEI World Four-in-Hand and Singles Championships, the World Young Horse Championships, the European Youth Singles Championships and the World Para Driving Championships 2020; and the World Pairs, World Ponies, World Young Horse and European Four-in-Hand Championships 2021.

Vaulting: the FEI World Senior and European Junior & Young Riders Championships 2020; and the European Senior and World Junior Championships 2021.

Reining: the FEI World Senior and European Junior & Young Riders Championships 2020; and the European Senior and World Junior & Young Riders Championships 2021.

Qualification procedures for the FEI Driving World Cup™ 2020-21 season, date clash rules and the deadline for applications to host events were also discussed.

Proposals from this joint-Task Force will now go to the FEI Board for approval, prior to individual Task Force meetings for each of the three disciplines to review potential date clash issues. As with the other discipline-specific Calendar Task Forces, the FEI Board has tasked each group to look into the impact of the requested date changes on the existing Events in the Calendar and to provide proposed solutions to the FEI Secretary General and the Board.

The FEI President is being kept fully updated on the work of each of the Task Forces.