Dressage Calendar Task Force agrees proposals via videoconference

The Dressage Calendar Task Force, one of the eight discipline-specific task forces created by the FEI to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the FEI Calendar and propose ways of mitigating its effects, held its first meeting via videoconference yesterday (16 April 2020).

The 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. Jumping was the first of the Calendar Task Forces to meet online on 2 April.

The members who joined yesterday’s Dressage teleconference call were FEI Vice Presidents Mark Samuel (CAN) and Jack Huang (TPE), Chair of the FEI Dressage Committee Frank Kemperman (NED), European Equestrian Federation Vice President Ulf Helgstrand (DEN), Dressage Athletes’ Representative Beatriz Ferrer-Salat (ESP) and Thomas Baur (GER), 1st Vice President of the Equestrian Organisers (formerly International Equestrian Organisers Association - IEOA). The FEI Dressage Director, FEI Calendar Administrator and representatives of the FEI IT, Legal and Governance departments were also on the call.

The main topics discussed by the group included:

• Deadlines for National Federations to come back to the FEI with proposed alternative dates for Events looking to reschedule in 2020
• Rules relating to date clashes and late-date/date change applications
• Prioritising all CDIOs
• Dressage Championships in 2020 and 2021
• FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ series 2020 and the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2021
• Initiatives to help Organisers

The proposals from the Dressage Calendar Task Force will now go to the FEI Board for consideration. The Board has already tasked each of the Calendar Task Forces 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 and, where required, will assist in finalising proposals to be put forward to the FEI Board for approval.

The principles agreed by the Board after the first Jumping Calendar Task Force meeting at the beginning of the month have been shared with the other seven Task Forces that will evaluate the impact of the virus on the FEI Calendar for their discipline. Each of these Task Forces consists of the core group plus the Chair of the relevant Technical Committee, a representative of the Athletes and the FEI Sports Director of the specific discipline.

Meeting dates for each of the Calendar Task Forces are now confirmed:

20 April – Joint Task Force meeting for Driving, Vaulting and Reining, specifically to discuss FEI European Championships for Youth and Seniors in 2020 and 2021, which is the most pressing calendar issue. Following this, separate meetings will be held with each discipline Task Force to review potential date clash issues.
22 April – Jumping (2^nd Task Force meeting)
24 April – Eventing
28 April – Dressage (2^nd meeting)
29 April – Endurance
30 April – Para Equestrian

About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org
The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.

The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.

The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para Dressage and Para Driving.