A record number of National Federations took part in the 2004 FEI General
Assembly hosted by the French Equestrian Federation. The six days of
meetings (16 through 21 April) were held in a cooperative and friendly
atmosphere.

In connection with the General Assembly, both the Bureau and the Executive
Board met twice. A total of 26 different meetings took place throughout the
week, which represents the highest number of meetings ever organised in the
framework of an FEI General Assembly.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2004

In her welcome address, the FEI President emphasised the efforts in the
field of development. Furthermore, she expressed her satisfaction at the
improved dialogue between the NFs delegates, the Bureau and the FEI
secretariat.

More than 200 delegates representing 95 NFs (86 present, 9 by proxy)
attended the General Assembly.

AFFILIATIONS

Three new National Federations were warmly welcomed to the FEI – the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) – Group I, the Cayman Islands (CAY) –
Group IV, and Sri Lanka (SRI) – Group VIII, thus bringing the number of FEI
member federations to 133.

STATUTES AND GENERAL REGULATIONS

STATUTES
A number of modifications to the Statutes were approved in order to
modernise the FEI as an International Sports Federation. Among these were
the following:

– A new procedure to prepare the technical rules and regulations
and the Veterinary regulations, involving the National Federations at a much
earlier stage and giving them a greater influence in the working phase.
– Certain strengthening of the FEI Secretariat’s role in running
the sport
– New legal procedure to deal with positive medication cases (see
also Judicial)
–

GENERAL REGULATIONS

– The introduction of much simpler and effective rules to manage
the FEI International calendar of events.
– The introduction of the World Anti Doping Code
–

Paralympic Equestrian

The General Assembly accepted Paralympic Equestrian as an FEI special
discipline. The rules and regulations will be discussed during 2004 to be
implemented in 2005. The Equestrian element of the 2004 Paralympic Games
will be organised as in the past by the International Paralympic Committee
and the International Paralympic Equestrian Committee.

FINANCE

The Treasurer reported on the 2003 results, which were much better than
anticipated. The surplus of CHF 1.28 million was allocated to Operating
Funds.
The operating budgets for 2004 and 2005 were approved.

The proposed progressive increase in financial charges (unchanged since
2003), the passport fees and minimum organising dues, which had been agreed
to by the International Equestrian Organisers Alliance (IEOA), was accepted.

The Medication Control minimum fee in Group I and II will be increased in
2005 in order to expand the programme and ensure a clean sport.

ELECTIONS

The Treasurer Guilherme Sarmento (BRA) was re-elected for a second term of
four years

Dr Alexandr Machkevitch (KAZ) was elected Chairman of Group III succeeding
outgoing Bureau Member Elena Petushkova (RUS) for a three-year term of
office*

Chairman of Group VII Shael Bin Khalifa Al Kuwari (QAT) was re-elected for a
second term (2004-2007)*

Kate Jackson (USA) was elected Chairman of Group IV, succeeding outgoing
Bureau Member Jane Forbes Clark (USA)

Dr Douk-Kee Ahn (KOR) was re-elected as Chairman of Group VIII

Ernst Holtz (RSA) was re-elected as Chairman of Group IX

Richard C.V. Nicoll (USA) was elected Chairman of the Driving Committee
succeeding outgoing Bureau Member Jack Pemberton (CAN) for a three-year term
of office*

Hallvard Sommerseth (NOR) was re-elected Chairman of the Endurance Committee
for a second term of three years *

Ken Lalo (ISR) was re-elected Chairman of the Judicial Committee for a
second term of three years *

Yolanda Matallana (COL) was elected Chairman of the Children’s Committee,
replacing outgoing Chairman Noel Vanososte (VEN) for a three-year term of
office*

The following Committee members were elected:
– Finance: Jonas Carl-Gustav Borup* (FIN) and Marc Damiens (FRA)
– Judicial Committee: Eric Elstad (NOR), Philip O’Connor (IRL) and Jean
Zlatiev (FRA) were re-elected

*Note: Further to the cancellation of 2003 General Assembly, the terms of
several Bureau Members and members of the Finance and Judicial Committee was
extended by one year. Consequently, the incoming members will serve a
shortened term of three years.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

In the Bureau Meeting following the General Assemby, the Chairman of Group
II, Frank Schreve, was appointed to the Executive Board, replacing outgoing
Chairman of Group IV Jane Forbes Clark (USA).

APPOINTMENTS

Ms Minako Furuoka (JPN) replaced Mr Ernst Holtz (RSA) as member of the
Dressage Committee;

Lt-Col Gerry Mullins (IRL) was re-elected as member of the Jumping
Committee;

Mr Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) replaced Mr Emile Hendrix (NED) as the riders’
representative on the Jumping Committee;

Mr David O’Connor (USA) replaced Dr Giuseppe Della Chiesa (ITA) as member of
the Eventing Committee. Dr Della Chiesa was confirmed as a co-opted member
for 2004-2003 in order to continue his consultancy work for the 2004 Athens
Olympic Games, the Eventing Safety Programme and the Eventing World Cup;

Mr Carl Bouckaert (BEL) will replace Mr Eddy Stibbe (AHO) as the riders’
representative on the Eventing Committee;

Baron Wolf von Buchholtz (ARG) will replace Mr Richard Nicoll (USA) on the
Driving Committee;

Messrs Allan Renner (AUS) and Pierre Cazes (FRA) joined the Endurance
Committee in replacement of outgoing members Horst Mueller (GER) and Faisal
Seddiq M. Samea Al Mutawa (UAE) respectively;

Ms Emma Drinker (USA) replaced outgoing member Ms Ana Maria Fernanda Shaw
(ARG) on the Vaulting Committee.

ALLOCATION OF CHAMPIONSHIPS

The following Championships were allocated:
– 2005 European Young Rider and Junior Jumping Championship to Schaffhausen
(SUI) – change of location
– 2005 Pan American Endurance Championship to Argentina, at a place and date
to be confirmed

OLYMPIC GAMES

Konstantinos Meimaridis, Equestrian Venue Manager, and Nikolas Karidis,
Equestrian Competition Manager, presented the last report by the Athens
Organising Committee (ATHOC) before the opening of the Games in August 2004.

WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES

The Organising Committee of the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen (GER)
reported for the first time before the FEI General Assembly.

DEVELOPMENT

The 1st Vice President Freddy Serpieri presented the Development Activity
report for 2002 and 2003. Both years were very satisfactory given that the
FEI World Challenge Series improved noticeably. In 2003, 655 riders took
part in Dressage and 891 in Jumping.

The Development working group created in 2003 and led by Lt-Col Gerry
Mullins presented the pillars of the new FEI strategy in the field of
Development during a very well attended workshop:
– Creation of a basic structure for developing NFs;
– Creation of a universal structure for coaching by using competition
oriented interactive adult education communications techniques.

Yassine Yousfi from Olympic Solidarity made an extensive presentation of the
organisation’s activities during the development workshop that took place
prior to the Assembly.

STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE

The proposed outline of the FEI Strategic Plan 2010 was described.

All the parties involved in the sport will be consulted in the preparation
of the Final draft to be presented to the 2005 General Assembly.

COMMERCIAL DIVISION

The recently appointed FEI Commercial Director Christophe Troendle (SUI)
presented his first report to the General Assembly. The first priorities of
the Commercial Division are the following:
– Development of a clear brand strategy
– Activation of existing network
– Centralisation of marketing and TV rights

The project of a monthly TV magazine “FEI Equestrian World” was also
presented.

JUMPING

The General Assembly approved the Invitation system for CSI events, which
was developed by the Jumping Committee in cooperation with the Strategic
Planning Committee, in consultation with the International Equestrian
Organisers Alliance (IEOA). It will affect 3-4 stars events and come into
effect on 1 January 2005.

The proposal by the Jumping Committee for a new format for the Jumping
Competition at Olympic Games was endorsed by the Assembly. The aim of the
format is to make the Jumping Olympic competition more attractive for both
the public and TV viewers.

Pamela Carruthers, the famous course designer, received an FEI Special
Recognition for Outstanding Services at the FEI Prize Giving Ceremony.

The General Assembly also approved the rules relating to the registration of
sponsored teams.

DRESSAGE

The objectives for the discipline, as defined by the Dressage Committee are:
Transparency, Globalisation and Fairness. In this frame, the following
actions are being undertaken:
– New judge education programme
– Study new ways of judging based on other Olympic disciplines
– Redistribution of wild cards for the World Cup Final to ensure
universality
– A Judges handbook is being developed
– Fashion designers were contacted in view of initiating a reflection on the
Dressage uniform
– A Forum on Freestyle will be organised at the end of the year

Joep Bartels, who is retiring this year, received an FEI recognition for his
untiring efforts as World Cup Director. The FEI World Cup Dressage will now
be managed from the Dressage Department of the FEI Secretariat.

EVENTING

It was confirmed that Eventing would consist of two categories of
competitions: the Three Day Events (CCIs) and One Day Events (CICs) as per
current rules.
1. Three Day Events (CCIs) can be run with or without steeplechase. 2. One
day Events (CIC) are preparatory events for the CCIs.
3. World Cup events will continue to run under special regulations.

Safety programme:
The collection of statistics which was started 2 years ago is providing very
useful information for the future development of safety measures for the
sport

The proposal to encourage a new under 25 category of events to cover the gap
of progression of the Young riders from the 2 to 3 star level was supported.

Slight modifications in qualifications procedures were approved, the general
principles being maintained.

The Chairman of the Eventing Committee expressed his satisfaction at the
successful launch of the FEI Eventing World Cup in 2003.

DRIVING

The 9th edition of the Driving Rules, including a new Dressage test and to
be enforced on 1 January 2005 was approved.

ENDURANCE

The 6th edition of the Endurance Rules to be enforced on 1 January 2005 was
approved.

An Advisory Veterinary Sub Committee for Endurance was created. The new
rules further develop the standards recently introduced to continue the
raising of the levels of welfare.

VAULTING

A part of the Forum held before the General Assembly was devoted to the
Vaulting discipline. Two main aspects were put forward: first, the part the
sport plays in familiarising young children with horses; and second, the
high level competition, emphasising the essential role of the impulsion
given by the horse to the vaulters’ movements.

The 6th edition of the Vaulting Rules to be enforced on 1 January 2005 was
approved.

PONIES

The modifications to the Rules for Pony Eventing, approved by the Bureau in
December 2003, were endorsed.

CHILDREN

The first rule book for Children was created 20 years ago.
A total of 540 riders took part in the 2003 FEI Children’s International
Jumping Competition, which proves the healthy level the series has reached.

VETERINARY

The 2003 Medication Control Annual Report was reported to the Assembly. A
total of 2162 horses worldwide was tested in 2003 (an increase of 11%) with
a rate of positives of 2.5%.

The Chairman of the Veterinary Committee also reported on the progress being
made in Endurance research.

The General Assembly approved the following recommendations of the
Veterinary Committee:
– The use of Regumate for mares will be permitted in FEI competitions under
certain conditions. Regumate is a method to regulate abnormal oestrus
behaviour.
– The threshold for salicylates in urine and blood is to be reduced
following an extensive study conducted of 650 medication control samples
– Some minor modifications to the Horse Inspection protocol (article 1011 of
the Veterinary Regulations; see FEI website)
– Twice yearly booster vaccinations against equine influenza will be
required from 1 January 2005

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR THE PROTECTION OF HORSES

ILPH complimented the work of the FEI to enhance the welfare of the horse. A
presentation illustrating the vision of the ILPH “A World where horses are
used but never abused” was made before the Assembly.

JUDICIAL

The procedure for dealing with positive Medication cases was explained.
The principle for a new FEI legal procedure including a “fast track” to
handle the minor cases and the involvement of experts for more complicated
cases was approved.

A procedure for an early publication of positive cases in order to provide
clarity about the testing and legal processes will be established.

HORSEBALL

Further to a request from several countries, the General Assembly endorsed
the decision of the Executive Board to approve Horseball as a recognised
regional discipline. This very collective sport is played in a number of
countries of Europe.

WORLD BREEDING FEDERATION FOR SPORT HORSES

In his presentation, the President of the World Breeding Federation for
Sport Horses, Jan Pedersen, emphasised the need for cooperation with
National Federations to ensure the publication of breeding information on
starting list and results.

OTHER MEETINGS

The 9 FEI Geographical Groups met on the morning of 19 April. Groups I and
II held a joint session in the afternoon, as well as the members of the Pan
American Equestrian Confederation and the Asian Equestrian Federation.

The day prior the Assembly, a very successful Forum was organised with two
main themes: the revision of the FEI Statutes and General Regulations as
well as the Vaulting discipline.

Two Workshops were also organised:
. Development Workshop dedicated to Olympic Solidarity, FEI
coaching system and FEI World Challenge.
. Veterinary Workshop: dedicated to health regulations and
quarantine issues.

GUESTS

A number of organisations the FEI closely cooperates with sent their
representatives to Paris: the World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses
(WBFSH), Olympic Solidarity, the Association of the Summer Olympic Sports
Federations (ASOIF), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA); the International
Paralympic Equestrian Committee (IPEC);

The International Equestrian Organisers Alliance (IAEO) sent several
representatives to Paris. The representatives of the International Jumping
and Dressage Riders Clubs were also in attendance and announced the
constitution of the new United Equestrian Athletes Association comprising
the riders of all three Olympic disciplines.

2005 GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Bureau accepted the invitation of the British Federation to host the
2005 General Assembly in London (GBR) at a date to be confirmed.

The FEI would like to thank the French Equestrian Federation and its
President, Mrs Jacqueline Reverdy for the excellent preparation of all the
meetings and their generous hospitality.