THE FEI Eventing Forum 2025, held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on January 17th and 18th, brought 128 elite athletes, officials, safety officers, organisers, and National Federation representatives from 27 nations together to address topics of importance to the sport.

“Our sport is at an important juncture, and we must continue working together as a community to develop a strong plan for the future of Eventing,” said FEI eventing committee chair David O’Connor (USA), who led the proceedings.

“But this gathering was also an opportunity to reflect on our recent successes. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 showcased the very best of eventing, with cross-country day in Versailles delivering an unforgettable experience. Those who were there witnessed the incredible power and athleticism of our horse and athlete combinations up close — an experience few sports can match.

“At the same time, we recognise the need for improvement to ensure our sport remains sustainable and continues to engage future audiences.”

Welfare

The first day of discussions focused on shaping the future of eventing, with actionable goals prioritising horse welfare. Participants were also asked to consider the potential impact of possible format changes for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, including their effects on event management, veterinary requirements and medal ceremonies.

Irish Olympic event rider and EquiRatings founder, Sam Watson delivered an insightful presentation on risk management and course standards, highlighting the value of data-driven approaches to enhance safety, while maintaining the sport’s competitive integrity. He emphasised the importance of using measurable benchmarks to ensure the sport remains both challenging and safe for all participants.

The second day of the forum began with a session, which featured a distinguished panel of athletes and coaches, each with multiple Olympic and World Championship medals to their name, including Andrew Nicholson (NZL), Phillip Dutton (USA), Andrew Hoy (AUS) and Ros Canter (GBR).

Key discussions here focused on ways to enhance sporting performance, while prioritising horse welfare, horse care, managing fatigue and the role of senior athletes in mentoring less experienced riders.

Flag rule

Rosie Williams from British Eventing also provided participants with an overview of a study on the flag rule, which was done to better inform a potential rule change.

Posting after the event, Phillip Dutton explained the change: “Currently, you’re penalised 15 penalties if the point of your horse’s shoulder knocks the flag down and/or if the horse doesn’t jump the height of the jump,” he said.

“The proposed new rule would be an automatic four penalties for every knockdown flag. Although the current rule can cause delays in the review process it was argued quite aggressively by all riders that switching to this knockdown rule would have major changes to the cross-country riding as we know it. It was also argued that this change would create more “backward” riding. Hopefully, with modern and developing technology, determining whether the horse is inside the flag or not will be decided more decisively and timely.”

Dutton also said there was a ‘spirited’ discussion on the recommendation by the IOC to change the order of phases at the LA Olympic Games. The recommendation is for dressage first, show jumping and then cross-country. After the cross-country, the team medals would be decided. The next day would be a vet inspection and another show jumping round to decide the individual medals.

“It is hoped,” wrote Dutton, “that a strong argument can be made to keep the same format and order as the five or so previous Olympics.”

Another discussion was the new tool that FEI stewards will have to test the tightness of the cavesson section of a horse’s noseband. This is not just an eventing rule, but rather, on May 1st, it will be implemented in all disciplines at FEI competitions throughout the world.

“An update on the frangible pin technology was also given and data on horse/rider falls was provided with comparisons to previous years,” said Dutton. “It’s super impressive to see the decline in rotational falls, which create a higher percentage of bad outcomes. This is a balance for the sport: making the cross-country challenging and demanding, but having low injuries to both horse and rider.”

Summaries of the FEI Eventing Forum discussions, as well as videos and presentations can be found at inside.fei.org/fei/disc/eventing/risk-management/seminars-2025