International Federation for Equestrian Sports

The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (French: Fédération Équestre Internationale, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Fédération Equestre Internationale
SportEquestrian
CategorySports
JurisdictionInternational
AbbreviationFEI
Founded1921; 103 years ago (1921)
Affiliation
Affiliation date1921, 1983
HeadquartersLausanne, Switzerland
PresidentBelgium Ingmar De Vos
Vice president(s)Chinese Taipei Jack C. Huang
Canada Mark Samuel
SecretaryUnited States Sabrina Ibáñez
SponsorLongines
Official website
fei.org

The FEI is responsible for drafting and enforcing regulations within the six disciplines under its jurisdiction. Besides regulation, overseeing all international competitions and Championships, overseeing and cooperating with all affiliated national federations, overseeing and educating officials and registering riders and horses are core tasks of the FEI. As an umbrella equestrian organisation, the FEI focuses on promoting equestrian sport, attracting and cooperating with sponsors, media and fans, and representing equestrian sport on various online and offline channels.[1]

An FEI code of conduct[2] protects the welfare of the horses from physical abuse or doping. On 2 March 2022, in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FEI banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, horses, and officials from FEI events, and subsequently an FEI Tribunal panel dismissed an appeal by Russia's Federation of Equestrian Sports challenging the ban.[3]

Disciplines

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The FEI recognizes six disciplines under global governance in both regular and para-equestrianism competition:[4]

Reining was an FEI discipline from 2000 until 2021.[12]

The following two disciplines are under regional governance:

The FEI does not govern or provide rules for horse racing (International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA)) or polo, but in the latter case, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federation of International Polo (FIP).

Values

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Vision

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To grow the unique and mutually beneficial bond between horse and human in sport globally.[13]

Mission

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To drive and develop equestrian sport globally in a modern, sustainable and structured manner with guaranteed integrity, athlete welfare, equal opportunity and a fair and ethical partnership with the horse.[13]

Sub Federations

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  1. Asian Equestrian Federation
  2. European Equestrian Federation

Regions

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Normal

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  1. Southern Europe – Group I: ALB AND AUT BEL BUL CRO CYP CZE ESP FRA GRE HUN ISR ITA LIE LUX MKD MLT MON POR ROU SLO SMR SRB SUI SVK TUR
  2. Northern Europe – Group II:DEN EST FIN GBR GER IRL ISL LAT LTU NED NOR POL SWE
  3. Eastern Europe & Central Asia – Group III:ARM AZE BLR IRI GEO KAZ KGZ MDA PAK RUS TKM UKR UZB
  4. North America – Group IV:ANT BAR BER CAY CAN HAI ISV JAM PUR TRI USA
  5. Central America – Group V:CRC CUB DOM ESA GUA HON MEX NCA PAN
  6. South America – Group VI:ARG BOL BRA CHI COL ECU PAR PER URU VEN
  7. Middle East – Group VII:ALG BRN EGY IRQ JOR KSA KUW LBA LIB MAR OMA PLE QAT SUD SYR TUN UAE YEM
  8. Asia and Oceania – Group VIII:AUS BRU CAM CHN HKG INA IND JPN KOR MAS MGL MYA NZL PHI SIN SRI THA TPE
  9. Africa – Group IX:BOT COD ETH KEN MAD MAW MRI NAM RSA SEN SWZ ZAM ZIM

World Cup

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By 2024 FEI World Cup Finals (show jumping and dressage):

  1. FEI Western European League
  2. FEI Central European League (Northern, Southern)
  3. FEI Pacific League
  4. FEI North American League
  5. FEI Arabian League (Middle East, Northern Africa)
  6. FEI Eurasian League
  7. FEI Japan League

Events

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Source:[14]

Olympic and Paralympic Games

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The first Olympics held under its authority were in 1924. Jumping, Dressage and Eventing have been a part of the Olympics since 1912.[15] Para-Equestrian Dressage has been part of the Paralympic games since 1996.[16] Jumping has been part of the Youth Olympic Games since its creation in Singapore in 2010.[17]

FEI World Equestrian Games

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The FEI has organized the FEI World Equestrian Games every four years since 1990. The idea of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) came into being in the mid-1980s and was strongly supported by HRH Prince Philip, who was then FEI President.

The WEG encompasses the World Championship titles in all the FEI global disciplines.[18]

World Cup

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The FEI World Cup is an indoor series and takes place throughout the world with qualifying leagues leading to a final in each of the disciplines. The FEI World Cup series began with show jumping in 1978 and has since been extended to the disciplines of dressage, driving, and vaulting. Main events include:

FEI Jumping Main Events

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Source:[19]

  1. Global Champions Tour
  2. Longines League of Nations™
  3. FEI Jumping World Cup Series
  4. Longines FEI Jumping World Cup
  5. FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth - Since 2018
  6. FEI Jumping Children's Classics - Since 2008
  7. FEI Jumping Ponies' Trophy - Since 2017
  8. FEI Jumping World Challenge (FEI World Challenges exist in Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Vaulting, Driving and Para Dressage) - Since 2016
  9. Continental & Regional Games

World, continental and regional championships

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FEI World, Continental and Regional Championships are held in all the FEI disciplines and age categories. Events include:

European

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American

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Asian

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Ratings

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History

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The FEI was formed in 1921 with the joining of the national organizations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America.[20] Today, there are 136 National Equestrian Federations affiliated with the FEI.[21]

Year Number of
affiliated nations
1921 8
1928 21
1938 31
1960 48
1970 54
1975 62
1986 81
2014 132
2015 133
2016 134
2018 135
2020 138
2021 136
2022 137

On March 2, 2022, in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FEI banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, horses, and officials from FEI events, and subsequently an FEI Tribunal panel dismissed an appeal by Russia's Federation of Equestrian Sports challenging the ban.[3]

Presidents

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FEI Headquarter in Lausanne, Switzerland.

There have been 13 different presidents of the organization. Major Jhkr Karl F. Quarles van Ufford is the only individual to have served twice. Nowadays, a President can serve for a maximum of three terms. Since 2014, the President of the FEI is Ingmar De Vos from Belgium.

# President Nation Term
1 Baron du Teil France   1921–1927
2 General Gerrit Johannes Maris Netherlands   1927–1929
3 Major Jhkr Karl F. Quarles van Ufford Netherlands   1929–1931
4 General Guy V. Henry USA   1931–1935
5 Baron Max Von Holzing-Bertstett Germany   1935–1936
6 Major Jhkr Karl F. Quarles van Ufford Netherlands   1936–1939
7 Magnus Rydman Finland   1939–1946
8 Baron Gaston de Trannoy Belgium   1946–1954
9 Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Netherlands   1954–1964
10 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh UK   1964–1986
11 Anne, Princess Royal UK   1986–1994
12 Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz Spain   1994–2006
13 Princess Haya bint Hussein Jordan   2006–2014
14 Ingmar De Vos Belgium   Since 2014

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About FEI". www.inside.fei.org. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ^ "The FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "FEI Tribunal dismisses Russian appeal against equestrian ban". www.insidethegames.biz. 30 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Sport". 15 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Disciplines – Dressage – About Dressage". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Disciplines – Driving – About Driving". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Disciplines – Driving – About Para Equestrian Driving". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Disciplines – Endurance – About Endurance". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Disciplines – Eventing – About Eventing". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Disciplines – Jumping – About Jumping". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Disciplines – Vaulting – About Vaulting". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Welcome to Reining". FEI. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  13. ^ a b "FEI Values | FEI". 12 June 2019.
  14. ^ "All Events".
  15. ^ "Does Olympic horse-riding have a gender problem?". The Economist. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Americans Hart, Shoemaker & Trunnell Win 4 Para-Equestrian World Medals – For A Program That Had None". Team USA. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Equestrian". 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  18. ^ "FEI Championships". FEI. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Jumping Main Events". 9 March 2012.
  20. ^ Allen, K; Schumacher, SA (2015). "Chapter 26: Impact of FEI rules on sport horse medications". In Sprayberry, KA; Robinson, NE (eds.). Robinson's Current Therapy in Equine Medicine (7th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 112–115. ISBN 9780323242165.
  21. ^ "FEI National Federation Members". fei.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
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