Session 4: Eventing Risk Management

Eventing Risk Management
David O’Connor (USA), FEI Bureau Member and Chair of the Eventing Committee, gave an update on the FEI’s Eventing Risk Management programme, presenting the updated 2017 statistics which show that numbers of competitions and numbers of starters have increased significantly and, importantly, numbers of fallers continue to decrease.
The presentation, which looked at statistics from 2008 to 2017, provided figures on falls at national events versus fall at international fixtures, the role of the National Safety Officers, and the importance of the coach in risk management.
The discipline now has a record 700 events in the FEI Calendar for 2018.

David O’Connor, Chair of the FEI Risk Management Steering Group, gave a comprehensive review: “Sitting on horses has a risk to it, so it becomes about risk management.
“2017 was the first year we’ve had data from every single competition and it means we can identify trends."
“Experience and education has an effect on the risk management of the sport – the less experienced you are going to a four-star the more risk you are at of having a fall."
“Every single fence that is jumped at an FEI event is catalogued and put into the data system, and then you can start to see trends. Every year the FEI collects and enters in the database 670 fence description forms with more than 21,000 fences; 1,100 fall reports and 700 fence analyses."
“Coaching is an important part of our next step in risk management. The aim is to develop an FEI Coaching System, which is already going on but it’s focusing on equestrianism not so much about Eventing.”
A survey was conducted last year to identify National Federations that had a specific Eventing National Coach Education programme, with the objective of further developing Cross Country coaching guidelines specifically for Eventing. The coach is the most important advisor on the level at which the combination can compete and preparing them for that level, as well as evaluating the level of fitness, health, mental and physical preparation and technical ability.
The FEI Coaching System for Eventing will use an agreed syllabus for the on-going education and improvement of coaches in all equestrian disciplines in developing NFs for the benefit of the sport and all those involved. The coaches produced by these courses will be certified jointly by the NF and the FEI.

Speaker: David O’Connor (USA), FEI Bureau Member and Chair of the Eventing Committee.