July 2023 in review

I hope this message finds you all well. July was a busy month for Equestrian in Australia, both at home and overseas. Our Australian Equestrian Team has had great success, with Boyd Exell taking out the Driving Challenge at the famous CHIO Aachen in Germany. The Australian Jumping Team won the Olympic Qualifier event at Valkenswaard, the Netherlands and therefore secured Australia’s place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. We now have all three able-bodied disciplines qualified for the Olympics and are confident that later in the year, the Para Dressage Team will secure their spot in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

With just under one year to go until the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, some very welcome news came from Minister for Sport and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) last week, announcing additional funding through the ‘Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Preparation Fund’.  This is to assist national sporting organisations, including Equestrian Australia, deliver key high performance initiatives that will significantly enhance medal potential and improve the performance of Australian athletes in Paris. We are very appreciative of this funding for our sport and thank the Minister and the ASC for this financial boost.

The EA Board met last week to consider all inputs into the next phase of our structural reform. We expect direct communications around this from the Board over the coming weeks.

Irrespective of the future structure, the duplication of services across the sport should be addressed and a process is underway, in consultation with our stakeholders, to achieve this. Improvements to our IT Interfaces are important to ensure that service delivery to our Members is excellent. A first step in this was a much needed upgrade to our National Office telephone system, which was activated earlier this week. The new phone system will make it easier to connect with appropriate EA staff and will significantly improve our ability to provide a quality service to our Members.

In demonstrating the importance of coaching in our sport, the Board also agreed to re-establish the next phase of the National Coaching Committee, which will be in line with our high level of commitment to coaches and have the key objective of enhancing the quality and accessibility of equestrian education and equestrian pathways. To ensure that this group is a representative body, reflecting a diversity of thoughts and lived experiences, there will be a structured consultation process prior to calling for Expressions of Interest.

I look forward to the month ahead as we take further steps together to drive EA forward and continue to implement positive change for the organisation and wish you all the best as you enjoy your equestrian endeavours.