British Eventing’s rule changes for 2023 include extensions of its equine welfare regulations to cover anyone present at an affiliated horse trials.
Horse welfare rules are not new to the governing body. But British Eventing (BE) has updated the scope of its wording beyond competitors. It now says “anyone involved in the handling of a horse”, including non-members such as grooms, involved in abuse of a horse “will result in sanctions being imposed on the competitor”.
BE chief executive Helen West told H&H equine welfare is “paramount and at the forefront of our minds at all times, hence the update on our rule”.
“We will operate zero tolerance on equine abuse, and any such behaviour will result in an automatic sanction,” she said.
“The panel will look at further changes to the use of the whip ahead of 2024, as well as wider issues to ensure we are doing the best by our equine team-mates and maintain society’s acceptance of partnering them in our sport,” added Ms West.
World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers told H&H: “We welcome BE’s updated rules on the use of the whip which we believe are a real step forward. Ensuring the correct use of the whip is an equestrian-wide issue and for sure more scientific research into the effects of whip use on safety, and on horses’ motivation and emotional state, is needed. Putting it bluntly, so much of the whip is used today is inappropriate and a wider understanding of how horses learn will lead to more considered use of the whip by riders in every sphere.
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“We also know that using a whip can be off-putting to the public, so riders and commentators have an important role to explain why a whip is being used and to justify it in terms of the horse’s safety and welfare.”
British Eventing’s other rule changes for 2023
The 2023 season also brings further changes to entries, minimum eligibility requirements (MERs) and refunds, new dressage tests and horse boot rules, to name a few.
New for this year is the requirement for competitors to be given refunds on entries, if they provide a veterinary or doctor’s certificate by 7pm the Monday before the competition, or a minimum of three working days prior if the event runs mid-week. This will be less the £12 admin fee, plus VAT where applicable.
“The rationale behind this is to give members greater confidence to make their entries earlier, safe in the knowledge that if they or their horse suffer a genuine injury, they will not lose all the entry fee,” said Ms West.
“We will monitor the financial impact this has on organisers as we are very conscious of the challenges they face in terms of balancing their books to make an event viable for themselves as well as our members. We trust that the benefit of getting entries in sooner will be of a greater benefit to organisers in this instance.”
Changes to minimum eligibility requirements
In terms of MERs, the dressage score for a qualifying result is being tightened from 50 to 45, in line with the FEI. BE is also scrapping its MERs for anyone wishing to compete at BE100, with the exception of riders in the year of their 12th or 13th birthday. Previously, competitors needed two MER results at BE90 in order to step up.
Ms West said BE had “considerable feedback” that riders competing successfully at Pony Club and riding club 100 level found the MERs an “unnecessary barrier” to competing affiliated at that level.
“We took this on board and looked closely at the statistics gathered over the past six years which clearly showed that the introduction of this MER requirement in 2017 had made no significant difference to the safety statistics at our own grassroots levels,” she said.
How entries will work in 2023
Entries are changing this season. The removal of the ballot system has been delayed; organisers now have the choice to use it, or to go with a more first come, first served approach. New sliding scales also replace BE-set entry fees, giving organisers more flexibility in how much they charge.
Ms West said BE is moving away from the organisation being “a giant administration centre” to focus on its “core role as a national governing body”.
“There is not a quick way to get from where we are to where we need to be,” she said.
“The work that Miranda Collett at Eventing Scores has done over the winter months in building a British Eventing validation engine now means that we will be able to accredit two or three third-party entries systems.”
This means those systems will be able to build APIs (software that talks to BE’s IT) to check combinations’ MERs and membership status when making entries.
Oasby (1) (9-12 March) is the first event to ditch the ballot system. As H&H went to press, entries were set to open to full members at midday on Wednesday (8 February). It will accept entries in the order they arrive, with classes closing when they reach 90% capacity and the remaining 10% taken from the waitlist. If space remains, entries for pay-as-you-go members will open on 15 February. Horse substitution fees are also being waived.
Organiser Stuart Buntine said he hopes this new system will mean “everybody will have an equal chance of competing at our events”.
“As with any new system there will be some lessons to learn, however we hope that this will enable riders to confidently enter early to ensure they get a run,” he said.
“For organisers, receiving the entries as early as possible will greatly assist with our financial planning and should reduce the risks of events cancelling, due to lack of financial viability, at the last minute.”
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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.
