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Jenny Merity: FEI rule expert
In addition, in January any Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) updates that affect our National Rules are incorporated into the National Sport Rules. And if they relate to the safety and welfare of the horse, updates can also be made to the rules at any time of the year. There have been some key changes to National Sport Rules for 2022, so let’s take a look discipline by discipline:
Dressage and Para-Dressage
An experienced FEI Eventing, Jumping, and National Dressage Steward, JENNY MERITY brings us up to date with the latest rule changes.
N
o matter what your discipline,
For all National Sport Rules, there are
if you are a competitor you
two main updates annually: January
need to be across the latest
when key updates are made; and July when updates are made for any
rule changes. Ignorance of the law has
emergency repair, or for clarification
never worked as an excuse!
and/or refinement of existing rules.
The pathway to becoming an F-Level judge has been streamlined meaning more judges will be available to facilitate competition. Dressage rules have been aligned with the Equestrian Australia (EA) Safe Stallion Policy, ensuring the safety of horses and athletes in warm-up areas, and easy identification of stallions. The two year restriction for downgrading horses and ponies has been removed to allow new combinations to compete at their appropriate level. W W W. E Q U E S T R I A N H U B . C O M . AU | 23