News

• 08 July 2010c

FEI issues mandatory guidelines to hypersensitivity protocol .The FEI has undertaken a review of the Protocol for Thermography and Clinical Examination (Hypersensitivity of Legs) and, in an effort to further strengthen the Protocol, has issued the following mandatory guidelines to be applied by the Veterinary Commissions appointed for FEI Event. The new guidelines state:
•                   all Horses that are tested pursuant to the Protocol for Thermography and Clinical Examination will continue to undergo a thermography examination as one part of the evaluation process for hypersensitivity;
•                    no horse may be retroactively eliminated from a Competition pursuant to the Protocol for Thermography and Clinical Examination;
•                   the Person Responsible, or his or her designee, will be presented with a written form if his or her horse is disqualified for hypersensitivity that expressly describes the examination process and the rights of the Person Responsible under the circumstances;
•                   if any Horse is disqualified pursuant to the Protocol more than twelve (12) hours prior to a Competition, the Person Responsible, or his or her designee, will be advised that a written request to the Ground Jury may be submitted within 30 minutes of being notified that the horse is disqualified, for the Horse to be re-examined pursuant to the Protocol. Such request must be granted and the Horse will be re-examined prior to the next Competition at a time determined by the Ground Jury on the day of the Competition. If upon re-examination it is not clear and obvious that the horse is unfit to compete due to signs of hypersensitivity, the horse shall be allowed to compete in that next Competition. However, the horse remains eligible for examination under the Protocol throughout the entire Event. This specific written request opportunity may only be exercised one (1) time during any Event for the same horse.

The new guidelines are effective immediatel.

Source : FEI press release 

• 21 June 2010c

Safety helmets strongly recommended by  FEI Dressage Committee

Following the accident in which Courtney King-Dye (USA) sustained serious head injuries in a schooling fall in Florida earlier this year, the FEI Dressage Committee has today issued a recommendation regarding the wearing of protective headgear.

The FEI Dressage Committee strongly recommends that all riders should wear properly fastened safety helmets when training and in pre-competition warm-ups at all international Dressage shows.

Riders still have the choice of wearing protective headgear in the competition arena.

Source : FEI press release.

 

• March 2010: MINUTES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY INTERNATIONAL DRESSAGE RIDERS CLUB Download the report

• 18 February 2010: FEI ANNOUNCES COMPOSITION OF NEW WORKING GROUP


The composition of the FEI working group tasked with expanding current guidelines for Stewards to facilitate clear implementation of the policy on warm-up techniques following on from last week’s round-table conference on hyperflexion/Rollkur has been finalised today.
As announced after last week’s conference in Lausanne, the working group will be chaired by Dressage Committee Chair Frank Kemperman. Group members are Richard Davison (GBR), Rider/Trainer; John P. Roche (IRL), FEI Director Jumping/Stewarding; Jacques Van Daele (BEL), FEI Honorary Dressage Steward General/Judge; Wolfram Wittig (GER), Trainer; and Trond Asmyr (NOR), FEI Dressage Director/Judge. The working group will also draw on the expertise of a number of other specialists, including but not limited to the participants of the round-table conference*. The working group aims to have the guidelines completed by the end of March 2010. The guidelines produced by the group will be communicated directly to Stewards and also to riders and trainers. The working group is expected to put forward further proposals for the education of Stewards to ensure that FEI rules are strictly adhered to and that the welfare of the horse is maintained at all times.
Guidelines for Stewards will incorporate the use of a range of sanctions, including verbal warnings and yellow cards for riders who transgress. Stewards will also be readvised to watch out for signs of distress in the horse, which may include but are not limited to obvious fatigue, profound or inappropriate sweating, persistent rough use of aids (i.e. bits, spurs or whip) and over-repetition of exercises.
The FEI Management is also currently studying a range of additional measures, including the use of closed circuit television for warm-up arenas at selected shows so that potential abuse accusations can be more readily identified and recorded.
The FEI will ensure that all findings produced by the working group are communicated on an ongoing basis.


 

• 18 February 2010: THE EUROPEAN EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION FORMED


International horse sport has a new European association, the European Equestrian Federation (EEF). The new body was established today (18^th February) by 27 European National Federations present at a meeting in Warendorf (Germany). This process commenced at a meeting of European National Federations in Deauville (France) in March 2009 and was agreed in principle in Antwerp(Belgium) in September 2009. The Federation was officially formed today (18^th February 2010), following the signing of the Statutes by National Federations. It is anticipated that other European Federations and other representative groups, who could not be present at the meeting, will also adopt the new Statutes.
The European Equestrian Federation (EEF) will represent the interests of European horse sport within the FEI. It will also liaise with the European Union and other decision making bodies on matters of concern to the horse community.
Speaking after the meeting, the newly elected President Dr. Hanfried Haring (Germany) said „The EEF will help to ensure that European countries have a clear voice within the FEI. Our goal is to contribute positively to the FEI by improving communication, cooperation and understanding. EEF will try to ensure that the needs of all Federations and stakeholders in the European equestrian community are properly taken into account.”
Other elected members of the interim Board are Christian Paillot (France) and Ulf Helgstrand (Denmark) as Vice Presidents as well as Manuel Bandeira de Mello (Portugal), Andrew Finding (Great Britain), Michal Wroblewski (Poland) and Armagan Özgörkey (Turkey).


 

• 16 February 2010 :


Congratulations to Anne Gribbons. The swedish born FEI "5" star Dressage judge from Florida is now the new technical advisor for the US dressage team.



Photo courtesy: Mary Phelps www.phelpsphotos.com


Congratulations to Eva Salomon,former FEI Dressage and Para Equestrian Director became the newly appointed USEF Dressage Manager and chef d'équipe



• 10 February 2010 : FEI ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE RESOLVES ROLLKUR CONTROVERSY


Following constructive debate at the FEI round-table conference at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne today (9 February), the consensus of the group was that any head and neck position achieved through aggressive force is not acceptable. The group redefined hyperflexion/Rollkur as flexion of the horse’s neck achieved through aggressive force, which is therefore unacceptable. The technique known as Low, Deep and Round (LDR), which achieves flexion without undue force, is acceptable.
The group unanimously agreed that any form of aggressive riding must be sanctioned. The FEI will establish a working group, headed by Dressage Committee Chair Frank Kemperman, to expand the current guidelines for stewards to facilitate the implementation of this policy. The group agreed that no changes are required to the current FEI Rules.
The FEI Management is currently studying a range of additional measures, including the use of closed circuit television for warm-up arenas at selected shows.
The group also emphasised that the main responsibility for the welfare of the horse rests with the rider.
The FEI President HRH Princess Haya accepted a petition of 41,000 signatories against Rollkur presented by Dr Gerd Heuschman.
The participants in the FEI round-table conference were:
HRH Princess Haya, FEI President
Alex McLin, FEI Secretary General
Margit Otto-Crépin, International Dressage Riders Club Representative
Linda Keenan, International Dressage Trainers Club Representative
Sjef Janssen, Dressage Representative
Frank Kemperman, Chairman, FEI Dressage Committee (by conference call)
François Mathy, International Jumping Riders Club Representative
David Broome, Jumping Representative
Jonathan Chapman, Eventing Representative
Roly Owers, World Horse Welfare Representative
Tony Tyler, World Horse Welfare Representative
Ulf Helgstrand, President, Danish Equestrian Federation
John McEwen, Chairman, FEI Veterinary Committee
Dr Sue Dyson, Veterinary Representative
Dr Gerd Heuschman, Veterinary Representative
Prof. René van Weeren, Veterinary Representative
Jacques van Daele, FEI Honorary Steward General Dressage
Graeme Cooke, FEI Veterinary Director
Trond Asmyr, FEI Director Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage
John Roche, FEI Director Jumping and Stewarding
Catrin Norinder, FEI Director Eventing
Carsten Couchouron, FEI Executive Director Commercial
Richard Johnson, FEI Communications Director
Source : FEI press release



• 9 February 2010 : FEI ROUND-TABLE CONFERENCE ON ROLLKUR

FEI Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage Director Trond Asmyr speaks about the outcome of the meeting. To view the clip, please click this link.

The complete statement is available here.

 

• 18 January 2010 : FEI launches NEW CLEAN SPORT WEBSITE


The FEI today launched a new website dedicated to its ongoing Clean Sport Campaign. The website’s address is: www.feicleansport.org The website contains information about the new regulations that the FEI is implementing this year to combat doping in equestrian sports. The rule changes and other components of the Clean Sport Campaign were approved unanimously at the FEI’s General Assembly in Copenhagen last November. “We felt it was important to have a dedicated site where people could go to get all the information they needed,” FEI Secretary General Alex McLin said. “We firmly believe this site will raise awareness of our anti-doping efforts and increase overall compliance with the new rules when they come into force on 5 April this year.” The site is specifically tailored to the needs of athletes, vets, officials, media and others to help them understand their roles in the Clean Sport Campaign. The site also contains details about the new Equestrian Community Integrity Unit that was a key recommendation of the Joint-Commissions to help monitor corruption, identify offenders and conflicts of interest in equestrian sports, as well as safeguard horse welfare. Members of the Equestrian Community Integrity Unit will be present at major FEI events beginning in April.


Illustratie : FEI Clean Sport Button



• 15 January 2010 : FEI officially recognizes the IDOC as full Associate Member.

 

• 13 January 2010 : FEI relaxes requirements for ground juries at CDIs3* and below outside Europe for 2010:




The FEI has announced today that following dispensation may be granted based on application from the relevant NF in 2010


 - For CDI3* and below outside Europe, NOT championships          

       - Big tour to be judged by 5 judges as today, but an option to use three judges from host nation, instead of two as it is in the rules.

       - Small tour, incl. YR, J and P can be judged by three judges (at least two foreign).



• Applications should be sent  to the FEI Dressage Department by the organizers in connection with submitting the event Draft Schedule or earlier.




• 5 January  2010 : FEI releases report from the General Assembly in Copenhagen (November 16-19, 2009).  The report contains a summary of the main decisions taken by the FEI General Assembly other than those related to the restructuring of the organisation and Clean Sport. Download the report




 

• 1 December 2009 : The International Dressage Officials Club released a press statement regarding abusive treatment of horses during the warm-up phase at FEI competitions. Full text of the statement can be downloaded here




 

• 18 November 2009 : IDCJ General Assemblykicks off this week. Organized during the German Masters in Stuttgart, theIDOC Seminar & General Assembly are taking place this week. The latest draft of the new statutes can be downloaded here

 



 

• 27 October : Judging, Myths, Facts andSolutions : look up David Sticklands’s presentation during the Global Dressage Forum and other interesting documents on the website : www.dressage-analysis.com
• 16 October 2009:  Dressage Task Force’s final report presented to the FEI.
• The full Dressage Task force Report can be downloaded here



Photo courtesy: www.eurodressage.com