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Press Conference with the FEI President and Vice Presidents

August 15, 2025

A press conference with the FEI President, FEI First and Second Vice Presidents, FEI Secretary General, the Chairman of the FEI Eventing Committee Wayne Roycroft and Olympic Technical Delegate for Eventing Giuseppe della Chiesa was held today at the Olympic core equestrian venue in Hong Kong. The main topics were the shortened distance for the Cross Country course – 4560m instead of 5700 as expected – and the slight modification to a fence on the Cross Country course brought on shortly before the beginning of the competition upon the request of the President on the basis of concerns over safety expressed by several team members. These topics had raised considerable interest and were subjects of discussion among the teams, officials and media.

Comprehensive reports by the FEI Second Vice President on these two issues are available at http://www.fei.org/olympics/References/RefDoc/Pages/Documents.aspx.

“This is the transparent FEI I have been elected to deliver,” the FEI President HRH Princess Haya said at the closure of the press conference, “and you [the media] should get used to such information coming from us. Safety cannot be mixed with politics,” she continued, “and I now beg you to concentrate on what really matters in these Games, the athletes and their wonderful performances.”

HRH Princess Haya furthermore paid tribute to BOCOG, the Equestrian Company and the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the exceptional facilities provided for the Olympic equestrian competitions. She also acknowledged the remarkable effort, made by the FEI and all its partners, which has allowed building extensive knowledge in numerous areas and which will be of great use for the future. “And let these Games, which are a true showcase for horsesport, end in the same way as they have begun,” Princess Haya concluded.

Written by FEI · Filed Under Olympics 2008, Press Releases 
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