Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) General Assembly opened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Friday, November 11, 2011, with a meeting of the FEI Bureau, the first in four days of meetings culminating in the General Assembly on Monday,  November 14, 2011.

At its meeting Friday, the Bureau unanimously agreed to a proposal from the Dressage Committee to withdraw the proposed addition to Article 430.7.6: evidence of blood in the arena, in order to allow the Veterinary Committee to study the issue from a horse welfare perspective.

The Veterinary Committee has been asked to propose a general rule, in consultation with the various disciplines, that is valid and applicable for all FEI disciplines. This will be discussed at the FEI Sports Forum in April 2012 as part of the Veterinary Regulations revision, for adoption by the General Assembly in 2012 and implementation on 1 January 2013.

Consequently, a proposed change to Article 8430 of the Rules for Para-Equestrian Dressage regarding evidence of blood on the horse has also been withdrawn. This will allow Para-Equestrian Dressage to be covered by the new rule that will be applied across the disciplines in 2013. In the interim, Article 430.7.6 of the Dressage Rules and the FEI Code of Conduct Article in the Para-Equestrian Dressage Rules, which both cover horse welfare, will continue to allow for the elimination of horses that show evidence of blood anywhere on their body.

The Bureau today also agreed unanimously to postpone a decision on the appointment of the athlete representative to the Dressage Committee member. There are a number of legal issues that require clarification, including the validity of the expulsion of two members of the International Dressage Riders Club (IDRC) - Luis Lucio (ESP) and Maria Ines Garcia Cuellar (COL) - at its General Assembly in Hooge Mierde (NED) on 30 October.

“We we are keen to maintain a healthy working relationship with the IDRC as both the FEI and the Club have a mutual goal, which is to have democratic athlete representation on the Dressage Committee,” said FEI Secretary General Ingmar de Vos.

“The term of the outgoing athlete representative on the Dressage Committee has come to an end, so we need to move forward on this rapidly. We would like to thank Margit Otto-Crepin for all her dedication and hard work in the past.”