The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international
governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
of
equestrian sports.
The FEI came into being following the Olympic Congress in Lausanne (SUI) in 1921 from May 28 to May 30. It's headquarters are in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, Switzerland.
The FEI is responsible for drafting and enforcing regulations within the six disciplines under its jurisdiction.
Besides regulation, overseeing all international competitions and Championships, overseeing and cooperating with all affiliated national federations, overseeing and educating officials and registering riders and horses are core tasks of the FEI. As an umbrella equestrian organisation, the FEI focuses on promoting equestrian sport, attracting and cooperating with sponsors, media and fans, and representing equestrian sport on various online and offline channels.
An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or ...
or doping. On 2 March 2022, in the wake of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the FEI banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, horses, and officials from FEI events, and subsequently an FEI Tribunal panel dismissed an appeal by Russia's Federation of Equestrian Sports challenging the ban.
Disciplines
The FEI recognizes six disciplines under global governance in both regular and
para-equestrianism competition:
*
Dressage
Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...
and
Para Dressage
Para, or PARA, may refer to:
Businesses, professions, and organizations
* Paramount Global, traded as PARA on the Nasdaq stock exchange
* Para Group, the former name of CT Corp
* Para Rubber, now Skellerup, a New Zealand manufacturer
* Para ...
*
Driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. A driver's permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met, and drivers are required to ...
and
Para Driving
*
Endurance
Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...
*
Eventing
Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...
*
Show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...
*
Vaulting
Reining
Reining is a western riding competition for horses in which the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope (a version of the horse gait more commonly known worldwide as the cant ...
was an FEI discipline from 2000 until 2021.
The following two disciplines are under regional governance:
*
Horseball ( - FIHB)
*
Tent pegging
Tent pegging (sometimes spelled tent-pegging or tentpegging) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. Used narrowly, the term refers ...
(
International Tent Pegging Federation - ITPF)
The FEI does not govern or provide rules for
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
(
International Federation of Horseracing Authorities
The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf R ...
(IFHA)) or
polo
Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...
, but in the latter case, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Federation of International Polo
The Federation of International Polo (FIP) is the international federation representing the sport of polo, Horse Polo, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The FIP was founded in 1982 by representatives of eleven nation ...
(FIP).
Values
Vision
To grow the unique and mutually beneficial bond between horse and human in sport globally.
Mission
To drive and develop equestrian sport globally in a modern, sustainable and structured manner with guaranteed integrity, athlete welfare, equal opportunity and a fair and ethical partnership with the horse.
Sub Federations
#
Asian Equestrian Federation
#
European Equestrian Federation
Regions
Normal
#Southern Europe – Group I: ALB AND AUT BEL BUL CRO CYP CZE ESP FRA GRE HUN ISR ITA LIE LUX MKD MLT MON POR ROU SLO SMR SRB SUI SVK TUR
#Northern Europe – Group II:DEN EST FIN GBR GER IRL ISL LAT LTU NED NOR POL SWE
#Eastern Europe & Central Asia – Group III:ARM AZE BLR IRI GEO KAZ KGZ MDA PAK RUS TKM UKR UZB
#North America – Group IV:ANT BAR BER CAY CAN HAI ISV JAM PUR TRI USA
#Central America – Group V:CRC CUB DOM ESA GUA HON MEX NCA PAN
#South America – Group VI:ARG BOL BRA CHI COL ECU PAR PER URU VEN
#Middle East – Group VII:ALG BRN EGY IRQ JOR KSA KUW LBA LIB MAR OMA PLE QAT SUD SYR TUN UAE YEM
#Asia and Oceania – Group VIII:AUS BRU CAM CHN HKG INA IND JPN KOR MAS MGL MYA NZL PHI SIN SRI THA TPE
#Africa – Group IX:BOT COD ETH KEN MAD MAW MRI NAM RSA SEN SWZ ZAM ZIM
World Cup
By
2024 FEI World Cup Finals (show jumping and dressage):
#
FEI Western European League
#
FEI Central European League (Northern, Southern)
#
FEI Pacific League
#
FEI North American League
#
FEI Arabian League (Middle East, Northern Africa)
#
FEI Eurasian League
#
FEI Japan League
Events
Source:
Olympic and Paralympic Games
The first Olympics held under its authority were in 1924. Jumping, Dressage and Eventing have been a part of the Olympics since 1912. Para-Equestrian Dressage has been part of the Paralympic games since 1996. Jumping has been part of the Youth Olympic Games since its creation in Singapore in 2010.
FEI World Equestrian Games
The FEI has organized the
FEI World Equestrian Games every four years since 1990. The idea of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) came into being in the mid-1980s and was strongly supported by
HRH Prince Philip, who was then FEI President.
The WEG encompasses the World Championship titles in all the FEI global disciplines.
World Cup
The FEI World Cup is an indoor series and takes place throughout the world with qualifying leagues leading to a final in each of the disciplines. The FEI World Cup series began with show jumping in 1978 and has since been extended to the disciplines of dressage, driving, and vaulting. Main events include:
* FEI
Show Jumping World Cup
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports, FEI Show Jumping World Cup is an annual international competition among the world’s best show jumping horses and riders. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 14 leagues on all contine ...
since 1978
* FEI
Dressage World Cup
The FEI World Cup Dressage Final is an annual international dressage series involving the world's best dressage horses and riders. It has been held since 1985. The World Cup is run in the form of a CDI.
History
The history of the World Cup ...
since 1985
* FEI
Driving World Cup since 2001
* FEI
Eventing World Cup 2003–2012
* FEI
Vaulting World Cup since 2010
* FEI
Endurance World Cup since
FEI Jumping Main Events
Source:
#
Global Champions Tour
The Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) is an annual pre-eminent individual show jumping series that comprises up to 15 rounds of competition hosted around the world. It brings together the top 30 riders in the FEI Jumping World Rankings.
It was ...
# Longines League of Nations™
# FEI Jumping World Cup Series
# Longines FEI Jumping World Cup
# FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth - Since 2018
# FEI Jumping Children's Classics - Since 2008
# FEI Jumping Ponies' Trophy - Since 2017
# FEI Jumping World Challenge (FEI World Challenges exist in Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Vaulting, Driving and Para Dressage) - Since 2016
# Continental & Regional Games
World, continental and regional championships
FEI World, Continental and Regional Championships are held in all the FEI disciplines and age categories. Events include:
*
World Dressage Championships
*
World Eventing Championships
*
World Show Jumping Championships
* FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses
* FEI
World Driving Championships for Singles, Pairs, Pony and Four-in-Hand
* FEI World Endurance Championships for Seniors since 2012
* FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses since 2012
*
* FEI World Para-Equestrian Driving Championships
European
*
European Dressage Championships
*
European Show Jumping Championships
*
European Eventing Championships
The European Eventing Championships, like most other European Championships, is held every two years. Today it is a Concours Complet International, four star eventing competition. A four star event is one step down from the grand slam which consist ...
*
Equestrian at the Friendship Games
*
Ljubičevo Equestrian Games
*
2019 FEI European Championships
*
2017 FEI European Championships
*
2009 FEI European Championships
*
2013 European Para-Dressage Championship
American
*
Equestrian at the Pan American Games
Asian
* Equestrian sports first time at the 9th Asian Games in 1982.
*
Equestrian at the Asian Games
* First
Asian Equestrian Championships in Pattaya (THA) 30 Nov to 8 Dec 2019
Ratings
History
The FEI was formed in 1921 with the joining of the national organizations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the
United States of America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
.
Today, there are 136 National Equestrian Federations affiliated with the FEI.
On March 2, 2022, in the wake of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the FEI banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, horses, and officials from FEI events, and subsequently an FEI Tribunal panel dismissed an appeal by Russia's Federation of Equestrian Sports challenging the ban.
Presidents

There have been 13 different presidents of the organization. Major Jhkr Karl F. Quarles van Ufford is the only individual to have served twice. Nowadays, a President can serve for a maximum of three terms. Since 2014, the President of the FEI is
Ingmar De Vos
Ingmar De Vos (born 5 August 1963) is a Belgian professional sports manager serving as the thirteenth and current President of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (''Fédération Equestre Internationale'') (FEI). He is also a membe ...
from
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.
See also
*
French Equestrian Federation
*
French National Olympic and Sports Committee
The French National Olympic and Sports Committee (, CNOSF) is the National Olympic Committee of France. It is responsible for France's participation in the Olympic Games, as well as for all of France's overseas departments and territories.
Histo ...
References
External links
*
FEI TV: Official Equestrian Sport streaming websiteFEI InsideFEI Database
{{Authority control
Equestrian sports governing bodies
equestrian
Organizations established in 1921