British Eventing shake-up and other things the horse world is talking about right now

1. BE’s plans to boost membership

British Eventing’s (BE) new chief executive Helen West announced at the governing body’s AGM last week her plans to reverse declining membership. These include cheaper membership for the lower end of grassroots riders and better value for all involved in eventing. Existing members competing at BE80 and BE90 will pay 26% less on their 2022 renewal, with new members paying 33% less. The day-pass system will also be scrapped in favour of a pay-as-you-go system. These plans make sense if you consider the value those who compete several horses several times a week get against a one-horse owner who contests a handful of events each season – and there being more of the latter. There are though some concerns about the idea of removing abandonment insurance in order to reduce entry fees.

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2. Mentality change in endurance

A leading vet has shared their hope – albeit cautious hope – that targeted hyposensitivity testing in endurance is having a “deterrent effect”. FEI veterinary director Göran Åkerström shared the news at the federation’s general assembly last week (14–17 November). He said the control programme that has run over the past two years was designed to protect horses from being nerve blocked before or during rides. A total of 395 horses were examined at FEI events, with 452 examinations, and of these four positive cases were found. The organisation is also seeing some riders asking for their horses to be tested.

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Sarah Jenkins

H&H editor-in-chief

Sarah has more than 20 years experience as an equestrian journalist and editor. She has reported from major championships including the Europeans and the World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on equestrianism including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. Sarah has ridden since childhood, owned horses and ponies for over 25 years, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university.