ANNIKA PHIL (SWE)

My name is Annika Pihl. I am a showjumping judge level 3 and I am from Sweden. I have been a international judge since 2004. I used to compete in showjumping myself and really love the sport.

Q1: Congratulations on your election as the new board member of the IJOC.Can you remind our members again your current profession and your FEI functions as official ?I work with horses and people every day. For the moment (since January 2023) I work as operations manager at a big riding club/school in Malmö. I have 25 employees and 50 horses at the riding club. I also work for the Swedish Equestrian Federation as a teacher for new showjumping judges in Sweden and also as a supervisor for annual refreshment courses for showjumping judges. I also work with the Swedish rules and regulations.

Q2: What are your personal goals to contribute to the IJOC in near future ?

I would like to contribute to the IJOC as much as I can. I would like to work with the webinars, education, rules and to make more officials interested to join our club.

Q3: The first board meeting of the IJOC is already conducted. What were your impressions?

A lot of experienced people, all willing to put a lot of effort for the club and for the members of IJOC. The meeting was very well organized.

Q4: You have attended the IJOC General Assembly in Rome and the accompanying Officials Forum and FEI Courses.What were your impressions ?

The meeting in Rome was well organized. I think it is always good to meet and talk with other officials. The programme was good. I think however, that it would benefit everybody to know the correct answers to the questions on the test (like on the on line test). For me, who has worked for several years as a teacher, it’s good for the students to know what they did right and what they did wrong even if they passed the test. The General Assembly was nice.

Q5: What do you think about the IJOC Webinars ?

I really love the webinars. I think it is a good source for knowledge. The webinars is really something good that the “covid-pandemic-time” brought to us. Very interesting and good. Easy for people to join and to listen. I am also a board member of a Swedish association, and we have also started with webinars. It is indeed a great success.

The recent publication of the updated version of the Non-Rights holders’ Guidelines for Publishing on Social Media at FEI-Named Events has generated considerable conversation in the media, misinformation and questions from Stakeholders around what can and cannot be filmed and posted.

In order to provide more information around the Guidelines, and also their application, we have created some explanatory notes and a detailed FAQ which are both available alongside the Guidelines on a newly created page:

NRH Guidelines for Posting Videos from FEI-Named Events

We understand you have received a lot of queries as well from your members so we hope these explanatory notes and FAQS will settle many of those questions.

We would also like to highlight/remind National Federations they can post footage of their Athletes’ round(s) on the NF’s social media platforms up to the maximum duration of each of the rounds, as long as that footage is provided exclusively via FEI Socialie. And the same applies for Athletes on their Social Media Platrforms.

This is clearly explained in the updated Guidelines, but also in the FAQS, but please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any doubts or questions.

QR-code-FEI-Socialie-Platform

Registration Codes:

For athletes: “Athletes-Media”

For NF members: “NF-Media”

The rounds for the Longines League of Nations™ are available on the platform. The other FEI-Named Events are in the process of being implemented. In addition to the competition footage, additional content can be accessed through the FEI Socialie Platform which can be used for sharing on your social media platforms.

ANGELE SVORONOU (GRE)


Q1:  Congratulations on your election as the new board member of the IJOC.Can you remind our members again your current profession and your FEI functions as official ?

By profession I am an Architect Engineer, now re-tired. I first became an FEI official (Candidate Judge Jumping) in 1993 and today I am an L3 Judge for Jumping, and a Steward L3 Jumping, L3 Dressage and L2 Endurance.

Q2:  What are your personal goals to contribute to the IJOC in near future ?

To help maintain, diversify and develop our annual meetings as well as the webinar series. To help with the “history” of IJOC on our site as in the past there are lessons that help us shape the future.

Q3:  The first board meeting of the IJOC is already conducted. What were your impressions?

I found myself within a dedicated group of people who show that they have the will & ability to lead and to solve problems, working all together in a friendly atmosphere.

Q4:  You have attended the IJOC General Assembly in Rome and the accompanying Officials Forum and FEI Courses.What were your impressions ?

The successful organisation, the good keeping to the schedule’s time, the proximity of the social happening to the hotel
Things to solve: the “topic” of observers and how to marry it with the demands of FEI  re: the IPMCs

Q5:  What do you think about the IJOC Webinars ?

They are really good supplement to our knowledge and experience; in a way they are the sequel of our yearly meetings as they were before IPMCs.

Many thanks


Reviving the Spirit: Jamaican Eventing Soars with the FEI Solidarity’s FEI Eventing World Challenge Series

Eventing in Jamaica lost its momentum in the early 90’s after the Jamaican team was unable to transport their horses to the United States for competitions due to equine piroplasmosis when the Pan American games were held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1991. The FEI Eventing World Challenge has inspired Jamaica to revive the discipline along with hosting one-day events and reintroducing local FEI competition. 

To this end, Jamaica hosted their first FEI Eventing World Challenge Cat C Derby in November last year with the support of FEI Solidarity at Kingston Polo Club, Caymanas Estates, with 18 participants competing. Ultimately Denise Cole-Avril was the victor, on board her gelding Raggashanti.

Denise – who also happens to be the Jamaican National Federation Vice President – is a testament to the success of the local training opportunities offered to the athletes. Denise participated in all the national Federation’s Derby training programmes, and is an exemplary role model to young riders:

“This competition has been the first FEI competition we have had in Jamaica in quite a few years, and I think this is just what we need here to get the equestrian sport growing and back on track for the development of all levels of riders. In general, the Eventing challenge has been amazing as it allows all participants to hone their skills in Dressage, Jumping and cross-country.”

We then took some time to speak with Heidi Lalor, the president of EFJ (Equestrian Federation of Jamaica) about what this initiative means for development of the sport in Jamaica.

Can you tell us the significance of the FEI Eventing World Challenge for equestrian Eventing in Jamaica?

“By introducing the new FEI Eventing World Challenge, our riders and horses across the island are being exposed to Eventing and benefiting from the training and competing in all three disciplines.  The 2023 Challenge offered us a fresh and exciting new event to work towards, and we feel privileged to have been one of the first countries competing in the Category C Derby.”

What inspired the EFJ to organise the FEI Eventing World Challenge, and how did the idea come about?

“The FEI Solidarity team! Initially Jean-Philippe Camboulives (FEI Solidarity Director) directed us towards the challenge when it was launched at the 2022 Cape Town General Assembly. Jean-Philippe felt that this was an ideal project with reachable goals for Jamaica especially as we had access to polo fields and suitable horses.  Andreina Wipraechtiger further offered us much needed guidance throughout the process with our Eventing goals by advising the National Federation organisers from FEI clinics in 2022 to FEI competition in 2023.”  

What preparation took place to support riders wishing to compete in this event?

“Our preparations were key and we owe much of our success to our Eventing coaches – Jamaica’s two-time Olympian Samantha Albert (UK based) and Jose Ortelli (ARG).  Sam and Jose trained local horses and riders who had no exposure to Dressage or Cross-country and through a series of Training Days and fitness programmes the continuity delivered positive results.  

Their energy and commitment towards Jamaica’s development motivated us and their support gave our local coaches the opportunity to compete. In addition, Colombia offered Jamaican riders Eventing training camps and the Colombian NF accommodated Caribbean riders in their 2023 Derby competition on borrowed Colombian horses, offering them invaluable experience and exposure.”

What were some of the highlights from the inaugural FEI Eventing World Challenge?

“It was so rewarding to build a competent Eventing team around this development project, aligning with our competition goals. The team’s efforts inspired us and it was a pleasure working alongside FEI Solidarity, incredible coaches, and our dedicated national and foreign FEI officials from Mexico, Argentina and Trinidad who ensured our Eventing challenge’s success. 

Other highlights throughout the journey were watching the riders and horses enjoying their introduction to Eventing over seventeen months; it brought our equestrian community together and it was a wonderful initiative by our federation.”

The FEI Eventing World Challenge is run in conjunction with the FEI’s Solidarity department. What specific benefits or assistance does Solidarity provide?

“Solidarity was clear from the beginning: they wanted to see Jamaica remaining active in Dressage and competing in local FEI competitions. The Eventing module was a pathway for us to achieve these goals.

The FEI Solidarity department provided funding for our one-day training event in July 2022 with Jose Ortelli and further financial assistance towards our FEI Technical Delegate Ricardo Perez Conde (MEX) for our local FEI Eventing World Challenge.

Without these training programmes and experienced assistance with competition execution, this venture would have not only been impossible but unsustainable.” 

In what ways do you believe the FEI Eventing World Challenge contributes to the growth and development of equestrian Eventing, in Jamaica and beyond?

“We experienced an increase in rider memberships and horse registration as local riders wanted to participate in this new Eventing opportunity. The Category C Derby also encouraged adult riders back into local competition and by covering three disciplines we are contributing to well-rounded horses and riders.

Partnerships with South and Central America, and other Caribbean islands, has also opened more doors for us which continue to build interest and opportunities in Eventing.” 

What challenges did you face organising and executing the FEI Eventing World Challenge, and how were they addressed?

“As the last one-day event was hosted decades ago we were extremely limited with volunteers and trained officials. Most of our officials reside off the island, this led to our next challenge of funding the project.

The FEI required portable jumps which came at a significant cost to our Federation, so we turned this into a community project and the equestrian clubs invested and provided the portable jumps for the competition – this is an example of teamwork which was a great help to us financially.”  

Looking ahead, what plans or initiatives does the Jamaican Equestrian Federation have to further promote and expand Eventing in the country, building on the experiences gained from the FEI Eventing World Challenge?

“We would like the FEI Eventing Challenge to remain on the federation’s calendar and be an event everyone works towards and the equestrian community celebrates! We aim to grow our participation numbers and hopefully more sponsorship opportunities will be available to assist us with funding officials. We are grateful for this Eventing Challenge and all the opportunities it has provided Jamaica and hope that more islands in our region will join us in competing!”

Cole-Avril emphasises the importance of these initiatives for growth, saying: “It has also been a fun challenge in terms of the training and preparation, and with my 7 year old daughter now interested in riding, it has given her goals and aspirations. I’m looking forward to participants, including myself, being able to improve our capabilities in order to step up our game and move on to category B in the near future… and even category A!”

The Jamaican equestrian community reviving Eventing is just one more success story of FEI Solidarity. The FEI looks forward to the reinvigoration of a discipline which has deep history in the 80’s and early 90’s when there were at least three active cross-country courses across the island, and Jamaica was represented by riders at not only the Pan Am Games, but also the Beijing and London Olympics.

The support of all National Federations enables FEI Solidarity to help countries carry on the traditions of the sport and disciplines we all love, widening our talent pool, deepening our development, and elevating our high performers. 

FEI President, Ingmar de Vos was a special guest during the round table “The Future of Officiating”, part of IJOC Officials Forum on 13th of January in Lisbon, POR.

On March 12th 2022 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch CSI5*, the “IJOC Award” was given to Willem Luiten for his outstanding contribution to the IJOC as well as the equestrian sport in jumping.

FEI Board agreed to maintain the requirement for an existing in-person Maintenance Course and to provide an “Emergency Virtual Maintenance Programme” as a second option.

The Board approved an extension of timelines for Officials to fulfil their officiating requirements through the CES. The deadline is now extended to 15 December 2021.

Following concerns raised about FEI Events in France and Syria where Olympic and Longines Ranking points were on offer, the FEI has investigated events at Villeneuve-Loubet (FRA) and Damascus (SYR).