The IJOC Officials Forum in Brussels (BEL), including the CES Maintenance Courses for Judges, Stewards, Course Designers and Veterinarians has come to an end.
On behalf of the IJOC and all the members present (in total around 130 people the past 3 days have attended this event) I would like to thank you for the valuable contributions you have made to this event where knowledge and experience were shared across all officials and stakeholders involved.
Bringing together all these people from all regions around the world and different functions is and will be very important now and in the future.
A huge thank you to the FEI for all the support and specifically to all course directors for the intense knowledge sharing sessions we had. Thanks also to the BEL NF for the hospitality and (administrative and social) support.
Thanks again and I hope all you found it as warm, interesting, collaborative, and co-operative as we experienced it.
Dear Friends,
As we are in the second half of the year, the rule revision process is getting closer to another important target
date. By the end of this month, we need to revert to the FEI on the first proposal that was shared. I would like
to thank you for the valuable feedback we received which we will be reviewing with the board and bundle
towards the FEI. On top of that, I can also share with you that we have been invited to an FEI Stakeholder
Meeting in Lausanne during the month of October for which we will be discussing tack related topics.
Interesting discussions will be held and of course we will keep you also posted on these evolutions.
https://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.png00Ali Kucukhttps://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.pngAli Kucuk2025-06-24 22:29:292025-06-24 22:31:12Presidential and Secretary General Blog – The first quarter of the year is over …
Santa Anita Park, located in proximity to the Los Angeles city area, has been confirmed as the venue of the equestrian events of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28).
“Santa Anita Park will be a spectacular venue for the LA28 Olympic equestrian events,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
“The FEI has very fond memories of Santa Anita, which had hosted the equestrian events at the 1984 Olympic Games. The venue is set to offer a breathtaking stage for all the Olympic equestrian competitions and the proximity to LA City will undoubtedly attract many spectators to Santa Anita. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with LA28 to deliver spectacular equestrian events at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.”
“I would like to thank the FEI on behalf of the IOC for the active engagement in all the discussions regarding the venue,” IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said. “We have created a strong partnership with the Organising Committee and the city of Los Angeles, which enjoys the full support of the local equestrian community.”
“We have the utmost confidence in the LA2028 Organizing Committee, and we anticipate exceptional equestrian sport will take place at this special legacy venue from the 1984 Olympic Games. We are also extremely pleased that the IOC has confirmed the athlete quotas across the disciplines for 2028 and they remain unchanged from 2024,” said Bill Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of US Equestrian.
Santa Anita features an on-course veterinary clinic and has hosted some of the major Thoroughbred events in the USA including the Breeders Cup. The famous champion thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit won his last race at Santa Anita in 1940. The facility also hosts a CSI3* as well as a FEI Jumping World Cup™ Qualifier CSI5*-W, which this year will take place in November.
Santa Anita covers 130Ha (320 acres) and includes a 340m-long (1,100-foot) grandstand that seats 26,000 spectators. The track infield area, which resembles a park with picnic tables and large trees, can accommodate a crowd of 50,000. The Park has 61 barns that can house more than 2,000 horses.
The venue for the Para Equestrian events will be announced at a later date following the review and approval of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board.
Note to editors
The LA28 Olympic Games will take place from 14 to 30 July 2028 whereas the Paralympics are scheduled from 15 to 27 August 2028.
Details on the LA28 Olympic equestrian events and quota places are available here.
https://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.png00Ali Kucukhttps://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.pngAli Kucuk2025-05-20 21:04:272025-05-20 21:04:28Santa Anita Park confirmed as venue for Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 equestrian events
https://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.png00Ali Kucukhttps://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.pngAli Kucuk2024-09-24 11:41:462024-09-24 11:41:59IJOC General Assembly and the FEI in-person Maintenance Courses will take place in Amsterdam (NED) on 24-26 January.
The FEI is pleased to introduce the “Be a Guardian” initiative, which was launched on 19 July, calling upon members of the community to fully commit to their duties as ‘guardians’ of FEI horses.
The Concept of ‘Guardianship’
The term ‘guardian’ signifies the FEI’s evolving narrative of the horse-human partnership, highlighting human responsibility for horse welfare.
This shift underscores a fundamental change in the FEI’s approach to equine care.
Guardianship prioritises meeting horses’ natural needs such as adequate eating time, social interaction, and exercise. It is focused on building trust and fostering a thriving horse-human relationship so that a true partnership, based on trust and understanding is created, which in turn leads to sporting excellence.
The guardianship concept focuses on what is best for horses, recognising them as valuable beings deserving protection, trust, and respect.
This redefines the human role as ‘caretaker,’ responsible for ensuring horses lead good lives.
When we reframe a problem, we inject fresh perspectives into our thinking, opening up new avenues for exploration and creative problem-solving.
By seeing ourselves as ‘guardians,’ we commit to acknowledging horses’ needs, treating them with respect, compassion, and care, and reinforcing our duty to these magnificent animals in all aspects of our interaction.
This idea of Guardianship also guided the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission in the creation of the comprehensive document which highlighted six priority areas and offered 30 recommendations aimed at enhancing the welfare of sport horses.
This plan, designed to foster the wellbeing of FEI horses and inspire global welfare initiatives, is backed by a CHF 1 million allocation approved by the FEI Board in June 2024.
Our goal is to respect the natural needs of horses in international equestrian sports through robust rules, guidelines, educational programmes, and various initiatives.
We urge our equestrian community to embrace this call to action, actively promote this shift in perspective, and recognise the responsibility we all share in being the guardians of our beloved horses.
We would like to thank everyone, who attended the FEI Sports Forum 2024 in-person or followed online. We have appreciated the level of engagement and the interesting discussions.
As announced by FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez, we have taken on board the feedback made during the Session on the final report of the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission and the proposed action plan. We are also seeking further feedback.
Please send your ideas and suggestions by email to welfare@fei.org by 15 May 2024.
The feedback will be taken into consideration and will be discussed during the upcoming in-person FEI Board meeting on 4 and 5 June. A thorough strategy will then be continued being developed and will be presented at a dedicated session during the FEI General Assembly 2024 in November in Oman.
A summary of the Sports Forum Sessions is available here along with the presentation made during the Session in pdf format and the Final Report of the Equine Ethics & Wellbeing Commission. We encourage you to consult these documents and look forward to your feedback by 15 May.
https://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.png00Ali Kucukhttps://ijoclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ijoc-logo-300x300.pngAli Kucuk2024-05-06 08:52:022024-05-06 08:52:03FEI SEEKS FEEDBACK ON PROPOSED HORSE WELFARE PLAN FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL FEI SPORTS FORUM 2024 SESSION
