FEI Hybrid General Assembly 2022 – Ordinary General Assembly and FEI BOARD MEETING II

FEI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Cape Town (RSA), 13 November 2022

FOCUS ON: FEI RULES AND REGULATIONS, MODIFICATIONS TO THE JUMPING RULES, ELECTIONS.

Below are some of the main discussions and decisions.

FEI President Ingmar De Vos opened the FEI Hybrid General Assembly in Cape Town (RSA) with a look back at all the achievements and key milestones of the equestrian family over the past year.

Full opening speech available here.

MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE

The President asked delegates to join him in remembering cherished members of the FEI and Olympic Family lost in the past 12 months.

QUORUM

The Secretary General confirmed the required quorum is 69.

National Federations voting in-person in Cape Town (RSA):

66 National Federations voting online: 42
Total: 108

MINUTES FEI HYBRID GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2021

The Minutes of the FEI Hybrid General Assembly 2021 were unanimously approved

FINANCE

The FEI Chief Financial Officer (CFO) provided delegates with a detailed presentation on FEI Finances, covering the years 2021 to 2022.

The CFO reported that the FEI has decided to take a conservative approach to the operational revenues for 2023 and has reduced some operational revenues assumptions by 10% compared to 2019. This concerns Organising dues, passports, and Equine Anti- Doping and Controlled Medication Program (EADMCP) fees.

FEI RULES AND REGULATIONS

The General Assembly approved the modifications to the FEI General Regulations, Anti- Doping Rules for Human Athletes, Equine Anti-Doping & Controlled Medication Regulations, Para Equestrian Classification Rules, Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Regulations, and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Ranking Rules.

The modifications to the FEI General Regulations was approved by 98,85% of the votes.

All changes can be viewed here in due course.

JUMPING

The discipline has seen a return to regular competition scheduling in 2022.

The introduction of the FEI Veterinary Department’s EHV-1 prevention protocol greatly reduced the risk of the outbreaks that were experienced in mainland Europe in 2021.

The FEI Jumping Committee found that the changes introduced to the fully revised 2022 Jumping Rules have enhanced the foundations of horse welfare and fair play in the Jumping discipline.

The Jumping Committee report can be viewed here.

The Chair confirmed approval by the FEI Board of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations CupTM Rules 2023, Longines Global Champions Tour Rules 2023, Global Champions League Rules 2023, Longines EEF Series Rules 2023, FEI Jumping World Cup Rules 2022-2023, and FEI Nation’s Cup Youth 2022 Rules.

In a separate vote the General Assembly approved the approval of a per diem for CSI3* Events in Europe & North America of €250 for President of the Ground Jury, Foreign Judge, Chief Steward, and Foreign Steward and a per diem of €175 for all other officials.

The General Assembly approved the modifications to the Jumping Rules.

All changes to the Jumping Rules can be viewed here in due course.

VETERINARY

The General Assembly was informed that the sanction system (approved by the FEI GA 2021) was revised after concerns had been raised by Athletes and National Federations, and was implemented globally on 1 July 2022.

Due to vaccine shortage, a Board Emergency Resolution to derogate the booster intervals of vaccinations against Equine Influenza, was implemented on 1 October 2022. At their meeting on 13 November, the FEI Board decided to extend the derogation to 1 April 2023.

The Veterinary Committee report can be viewed here.

The General Assembly approved all modifications to the Veterinary Regulations.

These changes can be viewed here in due course.

MEDICAL

The Chair reported that there will be a testing programme increase in 2023 and that the FEI Education programme is now mandatory under the WADA Standards for Education. He reminded National Federations of their critical role in helping athletes avoid doping violations by conducting anti-doping education.

ATHLETES

The FEI Athletes’ Committee report is available here.

FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez presented the new Athletes Committee, and she expressed disappointment that the voting participation rate was low despite the fact the voting system had been simplified, the number of athletes’ eligible to vote increased and there was a significant communication’s push.

FEI SOLIDARITY

The FEI Solidarity Committee report which includes a round-up of activities from September 2021 until mid-August 2022, updates on the Department’s various projects, and information on the FEI World Challenges 2022 can be viewed here.

NOMINATIONS

The FEI Nominations Committee report can be viewed here.

ELECTIONS

Election of Scrutineers

Nara Ketusingha (THA) was approved as Chair of the Scrutineers, with Jukka Koivisto (FIN) and Glenda Warburton (Eswatini formerly known as Swaziland) confirmed as members.

FEI President, Board Member

FEI President Ingmar De Vos was elected with overwhelming support for a third and final term in office. President De Vos will complete his term in 2026.

In his acceptance speech, FEI President congratulated colleague Board Members that had been elected and re-elected, as well as all the other members elected during the 2022 elections and looked forward to working with them in the future.

A press release on the re-election of Ingmar De Vos for a third term can be found here.

FEI Vice Presidents, Board Member

Mark Samuel and Jack Huang were re-elected FEI Vice-Presidents for the four-year term 2022-2026.

Regional Group Chairs and Deputy Chairs

EEF Regional Group: the election of Theo Ploegmakers (NED) as EEF Regional Group Chair was approved by the General Assembly for the four-year term 2022-2026. Quentin Simonet (FRA) was also approved by the General Assembly for the position of EEF Regional Group Deputy Chair for the four-year term 2022-2026.

FEI Regional Group VI: Esteban Abedrabbo (ECU) was elected as Chair, and Gabriel Vidal (URU) elected Deputy Chair of FEI Regional Group VI for the four-year term 2022- 2026.

FEI Veterinary Committee Chair
Jenny Hall (GBR) was re-elected as Chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee for the four- year term 2022-2026.

Audit & Compliance Committee Member
Theola Barclay (ZAM) was re-elected Audit & Compliance Committee member for the four-year term 2022-2026.

FEI Tribunal Members

Two positions were in contention for the FEI Tribunal:

- Brian Ward (CAN) was elected FEI Tribunal member for the four-year term 2022-

2026.

- Diane Pitts (USA) was re-elected FEI Tribunal member for the four-year term

2022-2026.

Nominations Committee Member
Guillermo Valente (URU) was elected to the FEI Nominations Committee for the term 2022-2026.

CLEAN SPORT

The report from the FEI Global Equine Anti-Doping Controlled Medication Programme (EADCMP) can be viewed here.

INTERNATIONAL HORSE SPORTS CONFEDERATION (IHSC)

The Veterinary Director opened his presentation with an update of the ongoing activities between the World Organisation for Animal Health and the IHSC. He also informed delegates of the need for African Horse Sickness (AHS) vaccines, the availability of these vaccines in South Africa and potential mid to long-term solutions to solve the issue.

The report on the IHSC activities can be found here.

OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC GAMES

As representatives for Paris 2024 were unable to attend the FEI General Assembly, a video providing an overview of the venue and preparations was shown to the General Assembly.

FEI MANAGEMENT

The FEI Management report from each of the non-sports Departments at FEI Headquarters can be viewed here.

FEI TRIBUNAL

The Chair of the FEI Tribunal provided an overview of the FEI Tribunal decisions in 2022, as well as information on the Hearings, Preliminary Decisions, Agreements, CAS Appeals and Decisions. More details can be found here.

EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY INTEGRITY UNIT

Lord John Stevens, Chairman for Quest Global Ltd, presented the report of the Equestrian Community Integrity Unit, which is available here.

WORLD HORSE WELFARE

Roly Owers, Chief Executive of the equine charity World Horse Welfare, spoke about what can be done to establish an even stronger horse/human relationship, and a fairer partnership, especially in horse sport.

FEI SPORTS FORUM & GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2023

The FEI Sports Forum 2023 will be held in Lausanne (SUI) on 24 and 25 April 2023 and there will be a special celebration event for the FEI Centenary on 26 April.

The Sessions for the FEI Sports Forum 2023 will include discussions on the report of the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission, FEI Events Organisation, FEI Endurance Full Rules Revision, update on the Longines FEI Jumping Nations CupTM Series and a Progress report on Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Delegates were also informed that the FEI Hybrid General Assembly 2023 will take place from 17-21 November in Mexico City (MEX).

FEI BOARD MEETING II, Cape Town (RSA), 13 November 2022:

FEI Olympic Group Qualification Events

The Board approved the following FEI Olympic Group Qualification Events for Paris 2024:

Jumping

- Group C (Central and eastern Europe) – Prague (CZE), 27-30 July

- Group G (South East Asia/Oceania) – Valkenswaard (NED), 18 July