Now we must look forward

Blame is in the air, but somehow equestrianism must show a united face in order to retain crucial funding

IT is no wonder that tensions have run high between the British Equestrian Federation

(BEF) and its member bodies (news, p4). The current demands on the organisation are intense — coping with a hefty drop in funding, while attempting to put in place changes required by UK Sport in order to keep future public investment in equestrianism.

Making changes quickly is never easy and rarely popular. While outgoing chief executive Clare Salmon has called for an independent investigation, citing “unhealthy” behaviour from some member bodies, the bodies have lashed back with “serious concerns about leadership”.

What now? The BEF must restructure to meet the new governance requirements by the end of October, just three short months away. This is not optional and nor is the withdrawal of funding an empty threat; Table Tennis England has rejected the standards and had its £9m funding frozen.

Somehow, the BEF and its member bodies must stop the infighting, look forward and pull

together to meet the code, because losing public funding would be disastrous. It’s easy for us to say; no doubt much harder to do.

In the meantime, there is “business as usual” to attend to — our senior European Championships are less than a month away for the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines and success there would be a muchneeded boost to morale.