BD statement: BEF Independent Review

In response to today’s publication of the independent review commissioned by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF), British Dressage would like to acknowledge the findings and conclusions of the panel. While we do not necessarily recognise or agree with some of the published statements contained within the report, we fully support and endorse the recommendations made by the panel. We are looking forward to working with the BEF and member bodies on their implementation in full.

A number of the issues raised in the report have already been addressed by the new governance model developed by the member bodies, in collaboration with the BEF, between July and September 2017. This was adopted with the unanimous support of the BEF Council ahead of the 31 October 2017 deadline set by UK Sport and Sport England in order to fully comply with the requirements under A Code for Sports Governance. Clear progress has already been made on a united way forward and there is a strong desire to work collaboratively and collectively across the Federation to achieve our mutual objectives.

There are a number of unsubstantiated allegations specifically about British Dressage contained within the report, which were outside the terms of reference for this review and therefore have not been investigated by the panel. BD has already publicly addressed these points at an open members’ meeting in November 2017, during the period of the investigation, and via comprehensive notes published at this time on the official BD website.

Chief Executive Jason Brautigam stated; “We would like to thank the panel and Sport Resolutions for their report and recommendations. While it has been a challenging few months on a number of fronts, I am confident that we are now in a strong position to move forward positively. The Board of Directors, staff and stakeholders of British Dressage are all looking forward to a constructive and productive working relationship with the new BEF Chief Executive Nick Fellows, the new BEF Chairman and the BEF Board for the future benefit and development of equestrianism as a whole.”