Our Executive Director Lucy Katan attended the Jumping Rules session at the 2025 FEI Sports Forum.
The IGA and FEI Grooms Consultative Group have together put forward two proposals for discussion.
The rule change proposals are:
- Jumping - Classes in horse shows should not begin before 8.00 am and should be concluded (prize giving included) by 11.00 pm at the latest.
- Jumping, Driving and Arena Eventing - For prize giving held after 10.00 pm only the top three placed riders/drivers are required to attend mounted.
These changes would be a big step forward for groom and horse - welfare.
If the proposals are taken forward, they will be included in the draft Rules Revision for NFs and stakeholders to give feedback over the summer and then voted on at the FEI General Assembly in November.
Approved rule changes would come into play on 1 January 2026.
IGA and FEI GCG Statement
On behalf of the IGA and FEI GCG, Lucy delivered a short statement in support of these proposals:
"The prevalence of late night classes needs addressing and solutions to be found.
The Approved Schedules state that all competitions should be finished by 11.00 p.m., yet this is not happening repeatedly, even at FEI flagship shows. For some shows, there appears to be a culture of ‘it’s okay to ignore this requirement.’
It is for this reason that the FEI Grooms Consultative Group has put forward the rule change proposals that classes should be concluded (prizegiving included) by 11 pm latest and that only three horses should be taken into the prizegiving if it is taking place after 10 pm.
We ask for the matter to be considered seriously.
Lack of sleep is scientifically proven to be bad for horses and humans. The consequences of the repetitive late-night classes are detrimental to a grooms’ physical and mental health.
The IGA was formed at the request of the FEI President as the voice of our international grooms and is encouraged to speak up on subjects that matter. This one matters a lot.
If it only happened at one or two shows, it wouldn’t be such a problem, but we are told by the European grooms that it is most weeks during the indoor season that the horses are still jumping beyond 11 pm.
IGA members – some of the most experienced and competitive grooms on the circuit – describe needing days to recover after shows, feeling burnt out, demotivated and dangerously exhausted.
They are also concerned about their ability to do their jobs on very little sleep.
Ifat Givre, groom to Katrin Eckermann, said, “Feeding time in the morning cannot change, and short nights of sleep affect the body and the brain. We need to be on top of details, and without proper slee,p we might miss things or make serious errors.”
Once the class has finished, the grooms have up to 2 hours of horse care before they can depart the venue. This means the existing Veterinary Regulations regarding stable closure for 6 hours is impossible to implement at many shows.
Saturday night late classes are a particular issue, as then the grooms are often driving on Sunday into the early hours of Monday morning – in many cases the stables are being dismantled as soon as the show ends.
Mel Jobst, groom to Marcus Ehning, describes Sundays as ‘feeling like they last 48 hours not 24’.
The riders are in agreement too – there is no compelling reason for horses to be jumping beyond 11.00 pm.
We need to work together to find forward thinking ways to maximise audience enjoyment whilst ensuring the wellbeing of all who contribute to the spectacle of top sport.
Limiting mounted prize givings of the last class to the top 3 would be a significant step forward as it would nightly save 5 grooms from an even later finish. Maybe those top 3 grooms could all be rewarded with a cash prize as a thank you.
The grooms who have spoken up do their best to manage their schedules and energy. But it is impossible as they rarely have one horse to care for.
They are regularly at work for 18 hours or more. This is not sustainable and is a key reason as to why so many grooms are leaving the profession.
There is always immediate feedback to this issue about riders using a driver or employing an additional show groom. But in the majority of stables, this is not happening. Just a few conscientious riders are making these sensible decisions.
I hope that in the future, this does become the norm. But for now, we all have a responsibility to safeguard our brilliant grooms from working so late at night.
By making it a rule that all competition and prizegiving is finished by 11 pm, the FEI – as the guardians of horse sport – can take a clear step forward in protecting the well-being of the grooms and the horses that they adore.
On behalf of the international groom community, we thank you for considering our suggested rule changes."
The IGA has a Memorandum of Understanding with the FEI and are uniquely placed to represent our members' voices in discussions such as these.
Joining the IGA costs 15 euros (16 US$)
