New independent review of eventing safety in Britain: ‘That willingness to ask difficult questions is essential’
The eventing horse and rider safety commission will examine what more can be done to reduce avoidable risk to horses and riders
An independent commission will undertake a comprehensive review of safety across eventing in Britain.
Former Defra secretary of state Dame Caroline Spelman will chair the eventing horse and rider safety commission, which has the overarching aim of examining what more can be done to reduce avoidable risk to horses and riders.
The commission has been established by British Eventing (BE), in collaboration with the British Eventing Support Trust, FEI and British Equestrian (BEF). It is expected to complete its work within six months and its findings and recommendations will be published.
“Following the publication of the Hartington Report in April 2000, the sport has been unstinting in the approach to safety through research, data, rules, course design, technology, training and safety interventions,” said a statement from BE, announcing the commission today (26 October).
“With over two decades of knowledge and insight collected, and in light of several recent serious incidents, the British Eventing board believes now is the right time for a broad, independent examination of safety and risk management across eventing.”
Dame Caroline said she is “pleased to have been asked to chair this important work”.
“My starting point will be to listen – to those who know and understand eventing, to those responsible for delivering the sport and, crucially, to the evidence,” she said.
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“The purpose of an independent review is to be prepared to ask difficult questions and test existing assumptions, while also recognising the considerable work that has already been undertaken to improve safety.
“No outcome has been predetermined. We will look carefully at the data, research and experience available to us, both within eventing and beyond it, and consider where further practical and proportionate improvements may be possible. Our focus throughout will be on learning and identifying what more can be done to reduce avoidable risk to horses and riders.”
“The purpose of an independent review is to be prepared to ask difficult questions and test existing assumptions”
Dame Caroline Spelman
The commission will look at areas including safety data and trends, rules and competition structures, course design, construction and officiating, rider and horse preparation and training and accreditation. It will also look at medical, veterinary and emergency provision, safety culture, governance, technology and research.
The review will also benchmark eventing in Britain against the sport internationally, and against relevant learnings from other sports and sectors.
Riders, owners, coaches, organisers, officials, course-designers and builders, medical and veterinary professionals, researchers and other relevant stakeholders will be invited to share evidence.
BE chair Julia Mulligan said the board has instigated the review “as part of our responsibility for good governance and our duty to ensure that the sport continues to examine, challenge and improve our approach to safety”.
“It is deliberately independent of British Eventing’s operational activity, with a majority of independent members and Dame Caroline leading the work,” she said.
“This is bigger than any one organisation. Eventing is delivered by a wide community of people and organisations, and we want this review to draw on that collective knowledge while bringing in independent expertise and learning from outside the sport. The commission must be prepared to ask difficult questions, follow the evidence and identify where meaningful change can be made.”
The review will also seek input from the wider eventing and equestrian community, including the British Horse Society, British Riding Clubs, the Pony Club and providers of unaffiliated eventing.
Olympic eventing gold medallist David O’Connor, chair of the FEI eventing committee, said a “comprehensive, independent review of this kind is important for the worldwide sport”.
“By examining the evidence, drawing on expertise from other sports and listening to stakeholders at every level, the commission has the potential to generate learning that benefits horses and riders far beyond Britain,” he said.
“British Eventing deserves recognition for the courage it has shown in opening its practices to independent scrutiny and supporting a commission that is free to challenge assumptions and reach its own conclusions. That willingness to ask difficult questions is essential if we are to continue improving safety across the sport internationally.”
BEF chief executive Jim Eyre said the federation “fully supports this independent commission and the ambition to bring organisations, experts and participants together around this critical goal”.
“Making eventing safer is a shared purpose, and the strongest progress will come from stakeholders working together across the whole sport,” he said.
“Our role is to support an open and thorough review, respecting the commission’s independence and freedom to reach its own conclusions. By sharing evidence, listening to experiences from across the sport and evaluating current practice, recommendations will come that benefit horses and riders at every level for the generations to come.”
The panel comprises:
- Dame Caroline Spelman (chair)
Commission members
- Mike Etherington-Smith
- Yogi Breisner
- Andrew Heffernan
- Martyn Johnson
- Dan Carter (Motorsport UK)
- Roly Owers (World Horse Welfare)
- Heather Cameron-Whytock (academic)
- Ed Glasgow (risk and governance)
Technical support
- Adrian Ditcham
- Sam Watson
- Ian Stark
Stakeholder group chairs
- Professional riders: Harry Meade
- Organisers: Alec Lochore
- Course-designers: Stuart Buntine
- Coaches: Capt Mark Phillips
- Controllers: Richard Clapham
- Technical delegates and advisors: Philip Surl
- Stewards: Nicky Salmon
- Amateur riders and members: Lottie Bullick
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.