The FEI Bureau has acknowledged that while some efforts have been made by the United Arab Emirates National Federation (UAE NF) to clean up endurance in that country since the reinstatement of the national federation in July, 2015, the UAE NF cannot guarantee that horse welfare would be fully protected at the FEI World Endurance Championship scheduled for December 10-17 at the Dubai International Equestrian Centre (DEC). As a result, the Bureau has removed the 2016 FEI World Endurance Championships from the UAE and reopened the bid process to find a suitable replacement venue outside the UAE.
The deadline for receipt of bids is May 18; the allocation to a new host will be made during a Bureau teleconference on June 14. It is expected that the championships will now take place in September or October, so the qualifying period will be moved back by two months and results beginning September/October 2014, instead of December 2015, will now count for qualification.There was unanimous agreement among the FEI bureau members at the recent Sports Forum that rule breaches are absolutely unacceptable and that the FEI must work even more closely with the UAE NF to enforce the full implementation of FEI rules and regulations to guarantee the welfare of the horse in national and international events. Additionally, and until further notice, the FEI will not sanction any events organized by the DEC.
On April 5th, the group Sustainable Endurance sent a petition with over 6,500 signatures and related comments to FEI president Ingmar de Vos, protesting the deplorable conditions and cruelty endured by endurance horses in the UAE, and the continuing blatant disrespect for FEI rules.
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