IJRC GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2024

The main conference hall at the Marriott Hotel was full today, Friday 13 December, for the annual General Assembly of the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), which began at 9.30 am. The year-end meeting is traditionally held on the occasion of the CHI in Genève and, despite the programme of competitions that keeps riders and the main stakeholders in the discipline busy at Palexpo, attendance is always important because it is a valuable opportunity to discuss and update – in presence - on the most topical issues in which the Club is actively involved.

Top parterre

President François Mathy Jr and Director Eleonora Ottaviani welcomed the participants and presented the report. In the speakers panel were most of the board members, Ludger Beerbaum, Tiffany Foster, Kevin Staut, Richard Vogel, Steve Guerdat. In the audience were many of the world's top riders (among them Henrik von Eckermann, Marcus Ehning, Mclain Ward, Karl Cook, Martin Fuchs, Max Kühner, Christian Kukuk, Scott Brash, Gregory Whatelet, Daniel Deusser) and, for the first time, several representatives from Brazil, led by Pedro Veniss and the President of the Brazilian Federation, Fernando Augusto Sperb.

Award to Sylvie Robert

A very special moment in the Assembly was a well-attended award ceremony. All the medal- winning riders from the recent Paris Olympics were called upon to present Sylvie Robert with the prize awarded by the Club 'in recognition of the extraordinary work she has done over the years in organising events of the highest level in the equestrian world, culminating in the magnificent Olympic Games at Versailles'.

Focus on wellbeing in the sport

The subject of wellbeing and the new measures being taken to guarantee it in the context of social licensing was widely discussed by all the participants, who found the FEI delegation, made up of Todd Hinde, Director of Jumping, Gaspard Dufour, Director of Technical and Sport Services, and Paule Gerritsen, Manager of the Jumping Department, to be a good vehicle for dialogue and to put forward their points of view.

From the issue of the noseband meter, which will come into operation next May, to the use of the double bridle, to the - extremely long - list of doping substances, to what determines today's cases of elimination, the topics discussed gathered the points of view of an audience of true insiders, who showed that very often it is even counterproductive to bring measures on such specific and technical subjects into the limelight in order to communicate with the general public.

According to Todd Hinde (FEI), in a test of 600 measurements taken by a vet, the noseband meter showed only three cases of mis-use.
«It is unlikely that a true equestrian would need a device to measure whether a noseband is correctly fitted or not. These problems would not exist if some officials had more equestrian competence», said IJRC Director Eleonora Ottaviani, pointing to a deeper training for officials.

Tiffany Foster's (CAN) suggestion to use a measurer only in the event of a dispute has been widely supported by the audience.
«IJRC is working closely together with dressage trainer and the FEI, in order to reach an acceptable protocol for its application in May» stressed President François Mathy Jr.

Connected from Riyadh, Stephan Ellenbruch Chair of the FEI Jumping Committee, partly shared the riders' doubts and referred to a more in-depth discussion. Also on the subject of the flash-band, another much-debated issue among the experts.

The ‘testing out of competition’ issue

Another 'hot' topic, always linked to the welfare of the horses - which shows how much it is felt by those in the industry - is doping testing 'at home', between shows.

François Mathy Jr, President of the IJRC, stressed that the problem of doping tests between shows is a necessity, especially in Endurance, saying that «the problem should be tackled where it arises and not lump disciplines together. This would only serve to cast heavy shadows indiscriminately».

Is there really an issue to discuss? Is it really believed that horses are exposed to behaviour between races that is detrimental to their welfare? If we continue to move in this direction, it gives the idea that our sport has grey shadows that do not actually exist» explained Ludger Beerbaum.

There are more than 1,000 active substances on the FEI doping list for horses," explained Max Kühner, who has already presented the work of an independent British laboratory to the FEI in 2020, which is still under discussion. A huge number. Not to mention the fact that between use and contamination - direct or cross-contamination - the FEI's investigations are complex and all too often become a matter for the media before they reach their final conclusion. And it was on this point that Steve Guerdat intervened, calling for greater confidentiality in the future so as not to tarnish the image of the sport once again.

Klaus Roeser, Athletes' Representative in the EEF and member of the FEI Dressage working group, joined the IJRC Assembly in teleconference. He reiterated on several occasions the need for synergetic work by all stakeholders in order to arrive at shared and, above all, useful rules for the sport.

As there will be a full revision of the Jumping Rules next year, with a positive and synergetic look towards the future, the IJRC has strongly invited all riders to send their opinions and questions to the Club before the beginning of next February.

Photos@IJRC/F.Petroni