Ideas for how an under-25 international eventing championship could work to bridge the gap between young riders and seniors have taken a significant step forward.
The concept has been mooted in recent years, and suggestions for how it could work started to take shape in a debate at the 2025 FEI Sports Forum (31 March–1 April). The idea had strong support from leading figures in Britain and the US, among others.
Organiser and course-designer Alec Lochore, deputy chairman of the FEI eventing committee, opened the debate.
“As we have such longevity in our sport, there’s a bit of a gap between under-21 and the senior team, both in terms of competition and in age,” he said.
He asked the forum to consider whether an under-25 championship is needed and, if so, what level it should be at, whether it should be a hybrid level – as happens at Olympic Games – and whether it should be long- or short-format.
“There are 22 countries that have under-25 combinations competing at four-star, 10 countries that would be able currently to field a team of three or four, of which seven [countries] are in the EU,” he said.
Dickie Waygood, British Equestrian’s technical director and eventing performance manager, said he is “very supportive” of an under-25 championships and that it would “fill the gap”.
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“I personally think that it should be kept in short format so that it doesn’t affect other MERs [minimum eligibility requirements],” he said.
“So if you have a spring goal and an autumn goal of a long-format, to keep your MERs up, you’re able to do that – but at the same time, the championships could form part of your aspirations for that season without affecting those.
“With my GB hat on, we would prefer the CCI4*-S option, but I fully respect that we have 10 other nations that could field teams, and it’s whether we could make that viable across the globe.”
Philine Ganders-Meyer, of the German federation and chairman of the European Equestrian Federation’s eventing working group, said she “fully agrees” with Dickie.
“From a German point of view, we could also field a team at four-star level, and would like the short format as well. That’s especially because there are often horses who have done juniors, young riders – they have done a lot of long-format competitions in their life,” she said.
“So the four-star short would be a really good goal in the classical format, with the jumping last. I would like the under-25 championship not to be in competition with the senior championship, because for the smaller nations, it would be really good if [combinations] could do both – this CCI4*-S on the way to the senior championship, if they are ready.”
Suggestions also included having individual places, as well as teams, which could increase the number of nations able to field competitors. The possibility of regional championships at a lower level, and then a world championship at a higher level, was also aired.
Other eventing topics discussed at the forum included the long-running debate over penalisations under flag rules and for activating a frangible device, and whether these are at the right level or should be reduced. FEI vice-president and eventing committee chairman, Olympic gold medallist David O’Connor, mentioned in passing that Hawk-Eye, the technology company behind electronic line-calling in tennis and VAR in football, has “come with a proposal” about flags.
Reducing the red tape that can cause headaches for less experienced riders taking on schoolmasters – and for experienced combinations wishing to drop down levels for any number of reasons – also came up.
“I think this is an opportunity for horse wellbeing on the practical side,” said Will Connell, formerly of British Equestrian and US Equestrian, who is now working with Saudi Arabia, adding that it gives chances for athletes coming into eventing and also paves the way for experienced horses to continue in the sport.
“The better rider will always win. When you look at it from the point of view of a developing nation, which is where I sit now, any opportunity to utilise the experience of existing horses to support the safety and development of new riders should be encouraged, and is good for the horses too.”
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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.
