The FEI today announced bold steps that will ensure improved protection of the welfare of horses in Endurance events, proposing unprecedented athlete penalties for equine injuries, extended rest periods and increased accountability. The moves were fully supported by delegates attending today’s Endurance round table on the second day of the FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne (SUI).
“The welfare of the horse is not just a veterinary issue, it’s an issue for all those who work in the sport,” FEI 1st Vice President John McEwen and chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee said.
Proposed rule changes relating to officials’ accountability and responsibility, increased protection of horses through athlete penalty points and extended rest periods, appointment of Independent Governance Advisors (IGA) and improved conflict of interest regulations received wide support from attendees.
There was also wide support for the new FEI Endurance Codex, which the Endurance Committee has produced to cover Endurance officials, and separately Endurance athletes and registered trainers. The Codex, which defines responsibility, accountability and sanctions for those in breach of the Codex, already exists for FEI Veterinarians.
The rules changes will be circulated to National Federations for final review prior to going before the FEI Bureau at its in-person meeting on 9-10 June for approval and immediate implementation.
During the debate session that followed, there was a call for information about injuries at national events to be included in the Global Endurance Injuries Study (GEIS), which was backed by Dr Tim Parkin of Glasgow University, who was commissioned by the FEI to set up the study.
“The FEI has done a great job of demonstrating what can be done with data that is currently available from FEI events and it is clearly going in the right direction,” he said. “Adding in data from national events is only going to improve that situation. The new regulations have an impact that is really beneficial to the welfare of the horse.”
Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, also voiced his support for the GEIS and improved monitoring. “The need to make evidence based decisions is so important for equine welfare and I fully support the FEI’s injury surveillance programme,” he said. “Notwithstanding the limitations on data from national competitions, I would urge National Federations to provide data to the GEIS and for the FEI to use all its influence to make that happen.”
Andrew Finding, chair of the Endurance Strategic Planning Group (ESPG) which was tasked with producing a long-term plan for the discipline, expressed his appreciation for the support of the Group’s recommendations. “I would like to express on behalf of myself and my colleagues on the ESPG our gratitude for the support and the determined effort made by the FEI to put in place our recommendations,” he said. “You should be applauded for that work, and we are grateful for the diligence you have applied.”
Brian Sheahan, chair of the Endurance Committee, voiced the opinions of everyone attending the session. “To protect the welfare of the horse, we need to know that we’re doing the right thing,” he said. “I would like to see increased completion rates, reduced injuries and illness in the horse, and better course design. To maintain the integrity of our sport, we need a reduction in doping, improved compliance by athletes and trainers and improved rule enforcement by officials. This sport should demonstrate the highest standards of sportsmanship in a fair and equal competition. And may the best combination of horse and athlete win.”
John McEwen complimented the Endurance Committee on its work. “The Endurance Committee has worked tirelessly to produce functional regulatory structure which will take the sport forward and I am pleased that the regulatory changes and the implementation of those changes is working towards achieving the targets set by the ESPG.
“The Task Force will be extremely useful in helping implement the work done by the Endurance Committee and the Department. The processes that we have put in place will create, and do create, an enormous workload upon the departments responsible, but in my opinion the work is absolutely essential and very worthwhile.”
Panellists for the Endurance round table were John McEwen, FEI 1st Vice President and Chair of the Endurance Committee; Brian Sheahan, Chair of the Endurance Committee; Committee members Dr Khalid Ahmed Hasan (BRN), Jaume Punti Dachs (ESP) and John Robertson (GBR); and Ian Williams, FEI Director Endurance.
An online discussion platform to continue the debate on all topics discussed at the FEI Sports Forum 2014 is available here:http://sportsforum.fei.org/ |
La FEI anunció hoy fuertes pasos que que asegurarán el mejoramiento de la protección del bienestar de los caballos en Enduro, proponiendo penalizaciones sin precedentes para los atletas for lesiones equinas, períodos de descanso prolongados y una mayor responsabilidad. Los movimientos fueron totalmente apoyados por los delegados asistentes a la mesda redonda de enduro de hoy en el segundo día del Foro FEI de Deportes en Lausanne (SUI).
“El bienestar del caballo no es simplemente un asunto veterinario, es un asunto para todos aquellos que trabajan en el deporte”, dijo el 1er. Vicepresidentes de la FEI John McEwen y Director del Comité Veterinario de FEI.
Un importante apoyo de los asistentes recibieron los cambios propuestos al reglamento relativos a responsabilidades de los funcionarios, aumentar la protección de los caballos a través de penalizaciones a los atletas y extensión de los períodos de descanso, así como la designación de Asesores de Gobierno Independientes (AGI) y mejoramiento de la reglamentación sobre conflicto de intereses.
También hubo un amplio apoyo al nuevo Codex FEI de Enduro, el cual ha producido el Comité de Enduro para cubrir a las Funcionarios de Enduro y separadamente a los atletas y entrenadores registrados de Enduro. El Codex, que define responsabilidades y sanciones para aquellos que incumplan con el Codex, ya existe para los Veterinarios FEI.
Los cambios al reglamento se harán circular a las Federaciones Nacionales para su revisión final antes de remitirse al Bureau de la FEI a su reunión presencial del 9-10 de junio para su aprobación e inmediata implementación.
Durante la sesión de debate que prosiguió, hubo un llamamiento para obtener información acerca de lesiones en eventos nacionales que serán incluidas en el Estudio Glogal de Lesiones de Enduro (EGLE o GEIS en inglés), que fue respaldado por el Dr. Tim Parking de la Universidad de Glasgow, a quien la FEI le encomendó realizar el estudio.
“La FEI ha hecho un gran trabajo en demostrar lo que se puede hacer con la información que actualmente está disponible de los eventos FEI y claramente está yendo en la dirección correcta”, dijo. “Agregándole datos de eventos nacionales solamente mejorará la situación. La nueva reglamentación tiene un impacto que es realmente beneficioso para el bienestar del caballo”.
FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 29 April 2014 |
