EEF Webinar regarding the Longines EEF Series

Dear Friends,

Season 2021 was the inaugural season for the Longines EEF Series (LES).
In spite of the challenges of COVID-19, we all together managed to conclude a reduced, but nevertheless successful, LES with 7 events (5 Regional Qualifiers, 1 Semi-Final and the Final).

Season 2022 was the first full season for the LES with all 11 events (8 RQs, 2 SFs and the Final pending) taking place as scheduled. This first complete season has been successful so far and has reconfirmed that the LES is a fresh, inspiring and attractive new series that has caught the interest of everyone in the Jumping sport. That said, we in the EEF have to admit that there was a number of shortcomings in the delivery of the first full season of the LES.

Some of these shortcomings were inevitable and attributable to the general uncertainty during the preparatory stage in late 2021-early 2022 (i.e. COVID-19, Ukraine war, FEI calendar etc) and the delay and adjustments that this uncertainty resulted into. But some of the shortcomings were also attributable to the EEF’s lack of experience, knowhow and resources, as well as a lack of communication and co-ordination with and from the NFs and the OCs.

We in the EEF felt that we need to discuss all these issues openly with our partners and participants before Season 2023. We felt we needed to start by explaining to and educating everyone anew about the philosophy of the LES, as designed and approved by the EEF General Assembly in 2019.

We also felt that we needed to explain from scratch all the Rules to the NFs, Chefs, riders and Organizers (OCs), along with the reasoning behind these Rules and, if necessary, to revisit details of them, however, without altering the overall philosophy of the LES. Finally we needed to speak openly with the OCs and explain to them what is it exactly that they are getting themselves into, what is offered to them and what is expected from them.

The purpose of this discussion is for everyone to be on the same page and to work together for the future of the LES and the future of the Jumping sport in Europe through the Nations Cup competitions.

We do understand that our sport in Europe is diverse, like everything else in our continent. However, the LES has already proven its value, flexibility and adaptability in this diverse environment by partnering with major events like Mannheim, by revitalizing existing events like Athens, Budapest, Uggerhalne and Drammen, by reviving historical events like Deauville and Lisbon and by creating new exciting events like Warsaw, Bratislava, Madrid and Gorla. It has brought our sport and our sponsor to important capitals and venues and it has offered great sport and amazing opportunities to teams from all over Europe, to new riders and horses, to upcoming course designers and to new OCs. It has worked for some teams to pursue qualification for Div 1 (Austria, Spain, Poland, Norway, Portugal), for some teams to develop (like younger teams from Germany, Belgium, UK, Netherlands, Italy and others), for some teams to grow out of their comfort zone (Hungary, Czech Republic, Greece and others) and for other teams to participate for the first time after a very long time in a NC competition (Slovenia, Lithuania). There is no doubt, the LES has worked!

What we need to do now is sit together and agree to continue to work for the future. The LES is too young to think about big changes already. Its philosophy needs to be tried on the field for a few years before we challenge it. We must learn from the experience of other series in our sport and show patience and resolve to support the LES, because this is actually supporting our sport and our teams.

In the EEF, we had planned an in-person meeting about the LES to take place during the days of the LES Final 2022 and the EEF GA 2022 in Warsaw. Unfortunately, the heavy schedule of these two events in combination with the questionable in person availability of all intended participants in this LES meeting due to their own busy schedules, has ruled out a proper in-person meeting in Warsaw.

In order not to lose the time and the opportunity, we in the EEF have decided to hold this meeting as a Webinar/Forum on Aug 30, 2022. This Webinar will be open to everyone interested in the LES, namely the NFs, their Chefs, their riders, the current OCs, the OCs that may be interested to join in the future, the course designers, the officials, the press and, of course, the FEI and Longines.

In preparation of your participation in this Webinar/Forum, we have prepared a presentation attached about the “LES Philosophy”.

After perusing this Presentation, the EEF will welcome questions, comments and proposals ahead of the meeting to eefseries@alcorconsulting.ch , that will help make this Webinar more useful and productive.

Looking forward to seeing you in the Webinar, Sincerely
 

George Dimaras
EEF 1st Vice-President &
Chair EEF Working Group Jumping