You have to hand it to the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) for ramping up their engagement in the politics of their sport. In recent weeks, the riders have influenced a U-turn in two unpopular FEI proposals. One is the reinstatement of the Table C from the World Equestrian Games (WEG) – an omission that […]
Scientific evidence proves that the intensive training techniques and the high competition speed typical in endurance can have a drastic impact on horses.
There had to be a few catches in the out-of-court settlement between the FEI and Jan Tops’s Global Champions League. Last week we started to find out what they are. In a flurry of get-togethers by those who have seen the two former adversaries’ new Memorandum of Understanding, Tops and FEI president Ingmar de Vos […]
Danger of forum fatigue: Getting experts to debate things making people feel accomplished when in reality nothing changes.
Today's suspensions for doping offences in endurance, along with the news of plans to reduce fatalities, represent a turning point in the UAE crisis.
What a relief that the FEI has settled out of court with the Global Champions League. On the face of it, the good news is mostly for the elite jumpers who can continue chasing the humongous Global tour prize-pots, and for the two parties now spared the equally humongous legal fees incurred by fighting this […]
Please indulge me for a few paragraphs – there is a point to my recounting my amazing Christmas break in Russia. A concert pianist friend invited me to Maestro Valery Gergiev’s International Piano Festival at the famed Mariinsky theatres in St Petersburg (December 19-30), which has a tie up with the 2016 Sydney International Piano […]
If you want a glimmer of understanding about what officials are up against in UAE endurance, watch this interview during a FEI ride.
The question that was posed on social media this week by irate and/or bewildered Carl Hester fans: How the hell did that happen?
In dressage, everyone has a personal opinion on the rights and wrongs of judging being a matter of personal opinion. But there is a limit, as we are reminded with the recent dismissal of the appeals of Ukrainians Iryna Shulga and Maria Dzhumadzuk against their three-month suspensions for “nationalistic” judging at Lier in Belgium from […]
