Chairman of FEI dressage committee Mariette Withages resigns

Mariette Withages, chairman of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) dressage committee, has resigned.

The federation released a statement this morning (21 November) thanking the chair for “the good work she has been doing for almost eight years” and “the contribution she has made to the development of dressage sport during this time”.

Princess Haya and the FEI executive board called for the entire dressage committee’s resignation on 31 October. But on 4 November, Ms Withages announced she would not resign.

On Tuesday, at the general assembly in Buenos Aires, the FEI bureau voted to discuss Ms Withages’s removal at the assembly today.

However Ms Withages seems to have reconsidered her decision and pre-empted that discussion.

In today’s statement the FEI said: “Considering the present situation, the chairman of the FEI dressage committee decided to present her resignation, which has been accepted by the FEI.”

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