THE introduction of an Under 25 eventing championship, flag penalties and a review system for Field of Play (FoP) decisions were among the hot topics discussed during the eventing rules revision session at last week’s FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The proposed introduction of a U25 Eventing Championship focused on the need for such an event to bridge the gap between young riders (under 21) and senior teams, providing a clearer pathway for young athletes at the international level.

There was strong support for the concept, with many advocating for a short-format competition, with some suggesting a 4* short format to ensure accessibility for a wider range of nations.

British Equestrian’s Dickie Waygood said he would be very supportive of an Under 25 championship. “With my GB hat on, we would prefer the CCI4*-S option so that it doesn’t affect other MERs [minimum eligibility requirements], 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,” he said.

“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.”

Philine Ganders-Meyer of the German Equestrian Federation agreed with Waygood’s suggestion and commented: “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 they could do both – this CCI4*-S on the way to the senior championship, if they are ready.”

One concern raised was whether organisers had been consulted about hosting an U25 Championship. It was noted that bidders for the 2027 Europeans saw it as an opportunity to combine the U25 Championship with the FEI Europeans Eventing Championships for Juniors and Young Riders. A proposal to run two separate competitions, a 3* and a 4*, was also put forward.

Flag penalties

The long-running debate over penalties for flag rules and frangible devices was also discussed.

Waygood felt the 11 (frangible device) and 15 (flag) penalties should be reduced. “For a frangible device it is 11 but when you knock a pole down in the show jumping it’s different. I think there can be a more simplistic approach so I would be for reducing the 11. I think it’s bit of a fallacy that people say that riders ride faster at frangible devices. I can certainly tell you, I didn’t,” Waygood explained.

“The 15 for the flag, that’s quite a hard hit. We know the rule has taken a long time to evolve to where it is and we are looking at using technology now, but to get a 15 for a flag when sometimes it can be just on the edge and there’s only a small percentage of the horse out, that I think is too extreme. So, my feeling is that we should be reducing both of those.”

FEI vice-president and eventing committee chairman, David O’Connor, mentioned that Hawk-Eye, the technology used to check points scored by the GAA in hurling, as well as VAR in football, has come with proposals about flags.