Badminton Horse Trials has joined calls to make the use of safety devices mandatory on suitable cross-country fences, as pressure mounts on the FEI to act in the run-up to its General Assembly next month in Montevideo, Uruguay (November 18-21).

The endorsement of a premier four-star event is a further shot in the arm for campaigners, who have garnered support on social media following the death last month of Maxime Debost at a one-star event in France. Debost the 67th eventer ride to perish since 1995, suffered a rotational fall at an ascending spread which one of the fence-types suitable for “pinning” with a frangible device, but not fitted with one. To date the use of frangible and deformable technology has been “strongly recommended” by the FEI but left to the discretion of each event’s course designer and technical advisor.

Last week the United States Eventing Association (USEA) issued a formal plea for devices to be mandatory, promptly supported by Canadian Eventing and the International Event Officials Club.

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