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Fédération Equestre Internationale
SportEquestrian
CategorySports
JurisdictionInternational
AbbreviationFEI
Founded1921; 102 years ago (1921)
AffiliationInternational Olympic Committee, ASOIF
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
www.fei.org

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. An FEI code of conduct[1] protects the welfare of the horses from physical abuse or doping. 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.[2]

Disciplines

The FEI recognizes eight disciplines under global governance in both regular and para-equestrianism competition:

The following two disciplines are under regional governance:

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

Values

Vision

To grow the unique and mutually beneficial bond between horse and human in sport globally.[11]

Mission

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.[11]

Events

Olympic and Paralympic Games

Main article: Equestrian at the Summer Olympics

Jumping, Dressage and Eventing have been a part of the Olympics since 1912.[12] Para-Equestrian Dressage has been part of the Paralympic games since 1996.[13] Jumping has been part of the Youth Olympic Games since its creation in Singapore in 2010.[14]

FEI World Equestrian Games

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.[15]

World Cup

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:

World, continental and regional championships

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

European

Asian

Ratings

Main articles: Concours de Saut International, Concours Complet International, and Concours de Dressage International

History

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.[16] Today, there are 136 National Equestrian Federations affiliated with the FEI.[17]

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.[2]

Presidents

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

References

  1. ^ "The FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b "FEI Tribunal dismisses Russian appeal against equestrian ban". www.insidethegames.biz. 30 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Disciplines – Dressage – About Dressage". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Disciplines – Driving – About Driving". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Disciplines – Endurance – About Endurance". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Disciplines – Eventing – About Eventing". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. 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 – Reining". Fei.org. 2 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Disciplines – Jumping – About Jumping". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Disciplines – Vaulting – About Vaulting". Fei.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  11. ^ a b "FEI Values | FEI".
  12. ^ "Does Olympic horse-riding have a gender problem?". The Economist. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Americans Hart, Shoemaker & Trunnell Win 4 Para-Equestrian World Medals – For A Program That Had None". Team USA. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Equestrian". 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  15. ^ "FEI Championships". FEI. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "FEI National Federation Members". fei.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.

External links

International sports federations
National members of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports
Authority control
Categories