FEI Secretary General reacts to Endurance Committee member’s statement

FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos has today reacted to Endurance Committee member Pierre Arnould’s public statement on Endurance.

“I do not accept the statement made public by Pierre Arnould, a member of the FEI Endurance Committee, for a number of reasons:

• Mr Arnould has made unsubstantiated allegations about the sport and, in so doing, has brought the sport and the FEI into disrepute.

• Mr Arnould has stated publicly that the FEI Bureau has rejected proposals put forward by the Endurance Committee. This is absolutely untrue.

• Mr Arnould spoke as a Member of the FEI Endurance Committee without either mandate or consultation. The Chair of the Committee has written to Mr Arnould on this issue.

Like all FEI Committee Members, Mr Arnould signed a non-disclosure document and a declaration agreeing to support and actively endorse FEI policies.

As an individual Pierre Arnould can speak his mind, but he cannot speak on behalf of an FEI Committee without consulting its Chair and his fellow Members.

This is not just a legal issue. His actions show a total lack of respect for his colleagues on the Committee, but also for other volunteers within our organisation. Mr Arnould is in clear breach of this signed agreement and his behaviour is totally unacceptable.

In my capacity as FEI Secretary General, and in consultation with the relevant bodies within the organisation, I am currently looking into whether any further action needs to be undertaken.

In response to Mr Arnould’s statement, I state categorically that the FEI is working to address the issues in Endurance and has been for some time.

Additionally, in 2012 the FEI undertook a full review of the Endurance rules, including a full Endurance session at the Sports Forum, in order to address the issues that arose from the strong growth of this discipline. These efforts continued in 2013.

With the organisation of a round table session, the creation of the ESPG and the start of an Injuries Surveillance Study, the FEI is clearly fully committed to safeguard the further development of this discipline.

In preparation for next month’s General Assembly, the FEI President has sent a statement on Endurance to all member National Federations today.”