2011 FEI Risk Management Seminar Minutes and Reports

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

My apologies for not getting onto this earlier but I have been away in sunny Florida.

So the FEI have released the minutes, participant list, presentations and fall statistics from the meeting held in late January. We must remember that this annual meeting is primarily National Safety Officers and is called the “FEI Eventing Risk Management Seminar”.

I must say up front that I was told in no uncertain terms prior to the meeting that the meeting was not about frangible devices or moves to develop an industrial standard. Well this seems to be exactly the case. I found a total of three references, in all of the eight documents published. All of these references were passing and include NO detail at all.

Personally I see this as a glaring omission and I will explain why.

For at least the last 12 months and for longer, but perhaps more anecdotally, we have been compiling data on the types of frangible devices used, types of fences they were used in, did they deploy or did they fail to deploy.

These are important statistics, there is NO statistical information included in the FEI Statistic on falls, fences and injuries that identify frangible devices. Just so I am being clear, there is absolutely no statistical information released by the FEI on the use of frangible fences.

I believe this information is critical to our plans and future direction. Let me explain a little first. At an FEI Competition, the TDs and CD need to fill in an extremely detailed form outlining the details of every fence included in the competition. Using this information we should be able to identify if you are more likely to have a horse fall off a left or right bend, in or out of water, up or down a hill, at a portable or fixed fence and also at a frangible or non-frangible fence.

We can also identify using the report, the profile of fences that have a statistically higher chance of causing a horse fall. We should also be able to identify if a particular profile of fence has a lower chance of producing a horse fall if a frangible device is used (and perhaps even which type of frangible device has the lowest chance of a horse fall).

All of this information is important for Officials to understand when analyzing a course and for CDs when preparing a course. Failure of frangible devices to deploy is also important information, especially when the resulting fall results in serious injury or worse. I can think of four really famous examples of failure to deploy in the last 12 months.

Was the failure to deploy a case of the perfect storm of bad circumstances or simply, a less appropriate device being used?

What I do know is that this type of information need not be highly sanitised to the point the information becomes useless, but disseminated to the people who need to know, firstly the NSO’s and secondly to the Officials who are the Individuals responsible and are responsible when something goes wrong.

I really do hope that more time was spent on discussing frangible devices and that some lost report suddenly appears on the FEI website, but I do not hold out much hope. It seems we are destined for another year of sanitised, compartmentalised and fragmented information about the sport.

One other issue I see with the statistics is that they only represent the FEI competitions. I know there are issues with getting complete information from National Federations, but hey, a complete picture on the sport would be nice. For instance the report mentions that there have been seven rider fatalities in the last 7 years. Unfortunately when you add the national competitions into the mix that number goes from 7 to 27 almost four times the rate.

Statistics are important and we must continue to work on them, however we need to extract and disseminate more meaningful and practical, applicable data that a Course Designer or Technical Delegate can use in the field where it really matters.

The documents can be read and downloaded on the FEI website here.

Eventing Radio Episode 125 by Bit of Britain – Red Hills Showjumping Day

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

The final of coverage from the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida. Chris provides coverage today of the final day with many of the winners. Take a listen….

Eventing Radio Episode 125 by Bit of Britain – Show Notes and Links:

  • Show Host: Chris Stafford
  • Photo Credit: USEventing.com
  • Thank You: Thank you to the organizers of the Red Hills Horse Trials for inviting us to cover the event live and taking such good care of us.
  • News: The Eventing Radio Show and HORSES IN THE MORNING live from Rolex Kentucky 3DE – April 27 – May 1, 2011

Please visit our sponsors as they make this show possible:

_________________________________________

Listen Now
iTunes Subscribe Subscribe to Zune

Eventing Radio Episode 124 by Bit of Britain – Red Hills XC Day

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

Three days of coverage from the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida. Chris provides coverage today of the Cross Country with the top name competitors. Take a listen….

Eventing Radio Episode 124 by Bit of Britain – Show Notes and Links:

  • Show Host: Chris Stafford
  • Photo Credit: US Eventing
  • Thank You: Thank you to the organizers of the Red Hills Horse Trials for inviting us to cover the event live. Tune in live on Sunday from 5 – 6 pm Eastern.
  • News: The Eventing Radio Show and HORSES IN THE MORNING live from Rolex Kentucky 3DE – April 27 – May 1, 2011

Please visit our sponsors as they make this show possible:

_________________________________________

Listen Now
iTunes Subscribe Subscribe to Zune

Eventing Radio Episode 123 by Bit of Britain – Red Hills Day 1

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

Three days of coverage from the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida. Chris provides coverage today of the Dressage with the top name competitors. Take a listen….

Eventing Radio Episode 123 by Bit of Britain – Show Notes and Links:

  • Show Host: Chris Stafford
  • Photo Credit: USEA
  • Thank You: Thank you to the organizers of the Red Hills Horse Trials for inviting us to cover the event live. Tune in live on Saturday and Sunday from 5 – 6 pm Eastern.
  • News: The Eventing Radio Show and HORSES IN THE MORNING live from Rolex Kentucky 3DE – April 27 – May 1, 2011

Please visit our sponsors as they make this show possible:

_________________________________________

Listen Now
iTunes Subscribe Subscribe to Zune

Eventing Radio Episode 121 by Bit of Britain – Ingrid Klimke

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

German Eventing Team Member and Grand Prix Dressage Rider, Ingrid Klimke, makes her debut on the show as she explains her priorities as a competitor and mother. Max is back in the co-host chair too with an update from Florida and the early season events. Take a listen right here…

Eventing Radio Episode 121 by Bit of Britain – Show Notes and Links:

Please visit our sponsors as they make this show possible:

_________________________________________

Listen Now
iTunes Subscribe Subscribe to Zune

The FEI have released a policy and action plan

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

Hey guys, the long awaited FEI Eventing Risk Management Policy and Action Plan has been released.

At first glance I am disappointed.  To me this is a policy statement, the words Action Plan have been tacked onto the end of the title.

My understanding of an action plan is this:

  • Quantifiable goals, targets, actions and achievements
  • Identify and give deadlines for all of the above
  • Set review dates, and keep updating the plan.

An action plan without specific and measurable Key Performance Indicators is not a plan.

However, I do hold out hope.

“Communication plan

The FEI Eventing risk management needs also to take into account the risks for the FEI deriving from an unmanaged communication of any accident that will inevitably produce a bad image for the organization and the sport if not put in the right context of a proactive risk management policy.

Public perception of proactive risk management is as important as the risk management actions performed and an effective risk management communication plan is key for achieving the mission of the organization.

In order to ensure the above:

 A communication strategy for FEI Eventing risk management must be urgently developed. All risk management actions must be made public and actively explained .

 A clear procedure has been established in case of any serious accident to allow correct distribution of information.”

An urgent development of a communication strategy is a fantastic leap forward and I can’t wait to read it, even better be part of the team helping to develop it.  So yes we have taken a baby step in the right direction and for that I am thankful.

ESJ

 

 

 

Eventing Radio Episode 120 by Bit of Britain

Posted on by ESJ_Photo
Reply

German Team Coach, Chris Bartle, Belgian Team Coach, Eric Smiley join Kerry Millikin and Chris this week to discuss coaching. Take a listen right here…

Eventing Radio Episode 120 by Bit of Britain – Show Notes and Links:

Please visit our sponsors as they make this show possible:

_________________________________________
Listen Now:

Download or Subscribe:

Subscribe in Reader

iTunes Subscribe Subscribe to Zune