A follow-up meeting between the FEI and the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), when several vital issues were aired last Monday, was described afterwards by IJRC representatives as positive.

The meeting was proposed by FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez at a tense IJRC General Assembly in Geneva last December following the fallout from the FEI’s own General Assembly held in Tokyo. There, the FEI had adopted far-reaching changes to the Olympic and World Equestrian Games competition formats.

These were strongly opposed by the majority of international riders who felt the changes would impact riders, owners, breeders and active national federations. Rider representatives Steve Guerdat, Kevin Staut, Francois Mathy Jnr and Clarissa Crotta, together with IJRC Director Eleonora Ottaviani, met for over four hours at the FEI headquarters in Lausanne with its officials. These included President, Ingmar De Vos, Vice-President and FEI Jumping Committee chairman John Madden and FEI Jumping Director John Roche.

Among the issues raised at the meeting was the need to strike a balance between Nations Cup duty and competing in the lucrative Global Champions Tour league; blood disqualification rules and proportionate sanctions; a review of rider rankings and FEI membership criteria for national federations and their right to vote.

Making the FEI Nations Cup league more attractive and defending the ethics of the sport was another major concern. Kevin Staut is one rider, along with Pénélope Leprévost and Steve Guerdat, who has opted not to compete in the GCL.

“We aim to defend the values of our sport as we love it. Our sport offers irresistible moments, but we live in a world governed by money and politics. We are not against the Global, we would simply like to defend other circuits and find a healthy balance, to have a sport that is accessible to all, and avoid giving full power to a circuit where financial concerns are very present,” he said.

Ottaviani said: “The riders were able to say everything they thought and all their questions received an answer. We hope that our relations can continue in this positive way. However we will have to have further discussions at Sports Forum to present our case on entry fees and rankings.”