Fédération Equestre Internationale President HRH Princess Haya has asked Andrew Finding, a board member of the European Equestrian Federation and secretary general of the British Equestrian Federation, to chair a round table session that will look into areas of concern within the sport of endurance.

The FEI has invited representatives from the Swiss and United Arab Emirates National Federations, and the European Equestrian Federation to attend the round table, which will be held at FEI Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Brian Sheahan, chairman of the FEI Endurance Committee, will attend the session along with FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos. A date for the round table will be fixed shortly.

“The objective of this round table session is to bring these parties together in order to have an open discussion about the situation, to create a better understanding of the specific problem areas within the sport and to receive eventual recommendations about potential further steps that can be undertaken,” Princess Haya said. “We are very happy that Andrew Finding, with all his years of experience in equestrian sport, has agreed to act as chair of this important session.”

The FEI has been under pressure to “clean up” the sport of endurance due to doping scandals and excessive injuries. The Swiss Equestrian Federation has led the charge, stating in a May 27 press release: “The Swiss Equestrian Federation has clearly expressed its dissatisfaction to the Fédération Equestre Internationale concerning the highly deplorable state of affairs in respect of animal welfare and unequal treatment of athletes at international endurance competitions. It is now expecting the FEI to come up with concrete proposals for resolving the problems as well as an immediate action plan.”