International Federation for Equestrian Sports


The International Federation for Equestrian Sports is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI came into being following the Olympic Congress in Lausanne in 1921 from May 28 to May 30. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, 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 or doping. On 2 March 2022, in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, 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.
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Disciplines

The FEI recognizes six disciplines under global governance in both regular and para-equestrianism competition:
Reining was an FEI discipline from 2000 until 2021.
The following two disciplines are under regional governance:
The FEI does not govern or provide rules for horse racing or polo, but in the latter case, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federation of International Polo.

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

  1. Asian Equestrian Federation
  2. European Equestrian Federation

Regions

Normal

  1. 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
  2. Northern Europe – Group II:DEN EST FIN GBR GER IRL ISL LAT LTU NED NOR POL SWE
  3. Eastern Europe & Central Asia – Group III:ARM AZE BLR IRI GEO KAZ KGZ MDA PAK RUS TKM UKR UZB
  4. North America – Group IV:ANT BAR BER CAY CAN HAI ISV JAM PUR TRI USA
  5. Central America – Group V:CRC CUB DOM ESA GUA HON MEX NCA PAN
  6. South America – Group VI:ARG BOL BRA CHI COL ECU PAR PER URU VEN
  7. Middle East – Group VII:ALG BRN EGY IRQ JOR KSA KUW LBA LIB MAR OMA PLE QAT SUD SYR TUN UAE YEM
  8. Asia and Oceania – Group VIII:AUS BRU CAM CHN HKG INA IND JPN KOR MAS MGL MYA NZL PHI SIN SRI THA TPE
  9. 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):
  1. FEI Western European League
  2. FEI Central European League
  3. FEI Pacific League
  4. FEI North American League
  5. FEI Arabian League
  6. FEI Eurasian League
  7. 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 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 Jumping Main Events

Source:
  1. Global Champions Tour
  2. Longines League of Nations™
  3. FEI Jumping World Cup Series
  4. Longines FEI Jumping World Cup
  5. FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth – Since 2018
  6. FEI Jumping Children's Classics – Since 2008
  7. FEI Jumping Ponies' Trophy – Since 2017
  8. FEI Jumping World Challenge – Since 2016
  9. 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:

European

American

Asian

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. Today, there are 136 National Equestrian Federations affiliated with the FEI.
YearNumber of
affiliated nations
19218
192821
193831
196048
197054
197562
198681
2014132
2015133
2016134
2018135
2020138
2021136
2022137

Russia and Belarus suspension

On March 2, 2022, in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, 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.
The suspension was extended in 2023. At the end of 2023, FEI announced the capacity and criteria for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at competitions as neutral athletes. In early November 2025, the Russian and Belarusian athletes was allowed to participate in international team competitions in a neutral status starting in 2026, and that FEI competitions in Belarus will also resume under the same conditions.

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 from Belgium.
#PresidentNationTerm
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