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If Harveywetdog did Wikipedia

In April 2020 and in the interest of legacy I wrote a Wikipedia entry recording the thoughts and notable works of Harveywetdog. I admit I was ignorant of the rules concerning self promotion on Wikipedia and consequently my entry was correctly deleted and my account expunged from the system. As a result my original words and links were sadly lost but nevertheless here is a rewrite. Perhaps when I'm gone someone will be able to enter it onto Wikipedia as a fitting epitaph for my time on the Harveywetdog Project.  

Oh no! Yet another working group to decide the future of dressage?

There is no doubt FEI are putting on a great display of taking horse welfare seriously. We are reminded that we are the Guardians of our equine partners; we know they need us to be there for them. We have an equine welfare action plan that is already beginning to deliver. So that’s all good then right, gaining social license will now be a shoe-in?

the dressage horse
©Harveywetdog

It appears not. If you remember the sport of dressage has already been put in special measures in an effort to save its Olympic status prior to Los Angeles 2028. And at the FEI General Assembly in Abu Dhabi in early November FEI Director of Dressage, Ronan Murphy, gave us an update on how that was going. Here’s an extract from the official Meeting Summary:

"Following this meeting [1 October], it was agreed to establish a Dressage Strategic Action Plan Working Group. This group will develop the draft plan in consultation with stakeholders and align with the agreed Object for the sport of Dressage.
It will focus on issues identified in the FEI Action Plan and address Dressage-specific concerns highlighted within the Equine Ethics and Welfare Commission’s framework.
The Working Group’s activities will align with the framework of the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission and the FEI rule revision schedule, beginning with a partial revision next year, followed by a complete revision the year after.
The Dressage Technical Committee will present the proposed membership of the Working Group to the FEI Board during its December teleconference, targeting strategic implementation by 2027."

 

The dressage we aspire to
FEI slide


Not included in the meeting summary, but available in the video of the General Assembly and Ronan’s presentation, are some of the shocking figures on abuse allegations made to the FEI to the IOC relating to equestrian sport both at and following the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
  • 24 allegations of horse abuse
  • 19 of which related to dressage
  • 20,000 photographs sent to the FEI for review
  • nearly 200,000 petitions to the IOC to ban equestrian sport
So, and perhaps not unexpectedly, the decision is to kick the can further down the road (certainly as far as dressage is concerned) with another working group and another round of navel gazing, obscuration and fudge, no doubt resulting in another further 30 or so recommendations for implementation at some point in the future.

Focus areas and actions
FEI slide

There are perhaps three elephants in this particular room. 
  1. has the FEI already given up on dressage as an Olympic Sport?
  2. dressage is putting itself two years behind other equestrian sport; can it ever catch up, or will it drag the others down?
  3. with all this going on, can Charlotte Dujardin ever get a fair hearing from either the FEI or the court of public opinion?

On this final point, I suspect and fear not.

Happy days - Hartpury 2018
©Harveywetdog


Ronan's presentation



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Harveywetdog/Author - David Robinson CEng FIET 
David spent approaching 50 years in Her Majesty's Electricity Supply Industry before retiring
He was part of the highly successful design team on the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station Project before spending 25 years producing safety cases to keep our aging AGR fleet generating for the good of the nation
He is responsible for the Harveywetdog YouTube Channel which he maintains as an outlet for his creative talents
David is now in remission from blood cancer but refuses to be a victim
All views are of course his own but might be influenced by the medication he's had to take


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