The FEI has commenced proceedings to exclude the IDRC as an Associate Member and has requested that the IDRC board to present a response to its allegations at a hearing in Lausanne in June 2012.
The IDRC has prepared and submitted a legal response
to the FEI’s pre-hearing submission in preparation for that hearing.
IDRC President Kyra Kyrklund wrote the following:
The irony of the situation has not escaped the IDRC. The FEI seeks to suspend (and possibly exclude) the IDRC from Associate Membership on the basis that it has ‘ignored the fundamental principles of good governance and violated its [the IDRC’s] own rules’, by excluding two members on a vote of the General Assembly in October last year. The General Assembly’s power to exclude members has been a part of the IDRC Statutes for 25 years and was approved by the FEI as part of the process for acceptance as an Associate Member. By contrast, there is no power to suspend or exclude an Associate Member expressed in either the FEI Statutes or the FEI regulatory framework.
Accordingly our response demonstrates that the IDRC has acted democratically and in good faith in complete compliance with its Statutes, approved by the FEI, in this matter. Whereas the IDRC challenges the power of the FEI to bring such proceedings, and also alleges that the FEI is itself in breach of its own Statutes and regulatory framework for failing to appoint a Rider’s Representative to the Dressage Committee.
More importantly, the Members of the IDRC believe that the FEI’s attempt at punitive action takes the focus off the real issue of the athletes’ right to elect their own Riders Representative to the Dressage Committee.
We continue to strive for an expedient resolution to this particular matter of Associate Membership so that we can turn the discussion back to the task at hand: Rider Representation on the FEI DC.
IDRC CONCERN: THE FEI DRESSAGE COMMITTEE
We, the Members of the IDRC, believe that the lack of a Riders Representative on the FEI Dressage Committee, particularly in an Olympic Year, has serious implications for our sport. We raise the following questions:
- 1. Does the empty chair of the Riders Representative on the FEI DC invalidate all decisions made by that committee?
The FEI Statutes very clearly state that a Riders Representative must be on the committee. The IOC and all national Olympic Committees stress that athlete representation is crucial at every level of the sport. - 2. How can the FEI DC expect to put forth proposals to the FEI before and during the upcoming Olympic Games without official input from the Riders?
The riders must be represented in a recognized capacity at the Olympic Games. The implications of a failure to provide this representation by the FEI could be far reaching in a legal sense, but more importantly, for the welfare of our sport.
As President of the IDRC, I would like to thank the riders, bloggers and journalists who have courageously supported the right of dressage riders around the world to elect their own representative.
I see no reason why this issue cannot now be resolved at the earliest opportunity, so we can all move on to help support and develop our sport.
Related Links
Successful IDRC Extraordinary General Assembly Held at Snowhil Farm
Extraordinary IDRC General Assembly to Approve New Statutes