A new FEI Accessibility Guide has been launched which is designed to assist Event Organisers with improving accessibility for athletes, staff, and spectators with disabilities, ensuring that everyone can enjoy equestrian events regardless of their disability and mobility levels.
This Guide, which is the result of consultation and collaboration with accessibility experts, individuals with disabilities, and professionals in the equestrian industry, covers venue layout, accommodation, and transportation among other areas of Event planning and delivery.
The aim is to provide Event Organisers with a set of guidelines and recommendations which eliminate barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully participating or working in sports.
Equestrian sport has the power to create inclusive structures that allow access to all individuals, regardless of their physical abilities,”
FEI Secretary General and President of the Association for Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) Sabrina Ibáñez said.
Changing perspectives towards disability is a key step in the accessibility journey. It is our belief that making even small changes to our working methods and organisational practices will help to move the needle on the conversation around disability inclusion, equality, and equity.
While this is primarily a Guide for Event Organisers, we, the staff at the International Federation Headquarters in Lausanne (SUI), have also had to take a good look at our internal practices and procedures to see where we can eliminate barriers to entry for people with disabilities and how we can provide a more inclusive physical and organisational environment.
We hope that by working with Organisers to embed accessibility into all strands of Event planning and delivery, this type of thinking will start to permeate our organisational structures and become a seamless part of what we all do in this sport on a daily basis.”
The FEI was one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The Para-Equestrian Committee was created in 2006 when the governance of Para-Equestrian passed from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to the FEI.
Over the years, there has been more integration of Para Equestrian sport into the FEI Governance and World Championship structures, which has raised the profile of Para Sport alongside the FEI’s other disciplines.
The FEI Accessibility Guide for Event Organisers is available for download here.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.