FEI / Intl Competitor Information

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Information for International competitors can be found below.

Remember, any athlete, horse or pony wishing to compete at an International event, in Ireland or overseas, must be registered with the FEI.

FEI Registrations are done by Horse Sport Ireland, NOT by Eventing Ireland. Information regarding FEI passports and registrations can be found on the Horse Sport Ireland website HERE

For those competing at home Internationals up to and including 3*, an FEI registration number only is needed, but horses/ponies competing in a 4* or travelling abroad require an FEI recognition card (purple cover.)

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR FEI REGISTRATIONS AT LEAST ONE MONTH PRIOR TO THE EVENT FOR WHICH THEY ARE INTENDED. Last minute registration submissions put unnecesary pressure on HSI staff and cause delays to other customers!

Please use the sections below to find answers for some of the frequently asked International/FEI related questions.

International Applications and Entry Process

All Irish competitors who intend to enter an international event, whether in Ireland or Overseas, must pay an application fee to ensure eligibility before they can enter the event. Please note, an approved application does not guarantee an entry to the event. You must still make your entry prior to close of entries.

The current fees are:

International Application Fee: €15
Late Applications: €30

Applications are non-transferable.

All international applications will close at 12 noon, one day before the close of entry for that event. Please note that events may not take late entries, so please ensure you get your application and entry done in time. If the application date is extended by the Organiser after the initial close of entries, any late applications fees already paid will stand

Before You Make an Application

It is recommended you have your FEI Horse Registration and FEI Rider Licence in place before applying for an event. Please click HERE to apply for FEI registration if you haven’t already done so.
It is imperative that you check your email address is correct (via the My Details page) before you make an application or you will not receive the acknowledgement or permission to enter. If your details are incorrect, please email Head Office with the correct details.
You must have the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER’s) as per the Eventing Ireland Rule Book (Rule 30.1). See MER info below.

What if I Don’t Have my MER’s?

Riders can apply and enter an international (CI) event if you can obtain your final MER 10 days before the cross country test of the competition for which it is needed (as per Rule 30.1)

How Do I Make an International Application?

Choose the international event where you wish to compete via the Eventing Ireland website
Eventing Ireland can only publish details for international events when the Schedule has been approved by the FEI. If the event you wish to enter is not showing, it may be because the Schedule has not been approved. Please contact Head Office if in doubt.
Click on the ‘Apply/Enter’ button beside the class you wish to enter.
You will be asked to declare your nationality for this event. If you do not have an Irish passport, you will need to apply to your national federation for approval to compete.
You will then be asked for the rider name and then the horse name,
The next step is to confirm your qualifications. Please select the events you wish to use as your MERs.
Once the payment has been made you will receive an automatic email acknowledging your application. This email will also detail what you need to do next. If you have not got your FEI licence you must now get your documentation in order.
If after 48 hours of applying you have not received an acknowledgement email please email the International Administrator at International Applications
After the qualifications have been checked you will receive a second email from the International Administrator which will either give you permission to enter or will tell you that you cannot enter as your qualifications are not in order.
If you are waiting for a qualification, your application will be PENDING and will either be approved or declined following your final result.
In addition to having the correct MERs, it is recommended that your ERQI rating must be Amber or Green to enter an international event (as per Rule 30 of the Eventing Ireland Rule Book)
If you have a Red ERQI, it means that either you may have recent issues with form, which has put your ERQI rating in red, or you are an Irish rider competing overseas and your overseas national results will not be logged on the ERQI ratings system. You will need to email Alison Packman in the first instance.

IMPORTANT: ALL approved applications are now entered on the FEI Entry System as a CONFIRMED ENTRY whether you have paid the entry fee or not. If you have an approved application AND ARE NOT COMPETING at that event for whatever reason, you MUST notify HSI and Head Office as soon as possible so the information can be amended on the FEI Entry System.

When you receive your approved application for Home Internationals, please read the information in the email as this details all the information which will be used in the event programme (ie: owner, breeding, breeder etc). If any information is incorrect or missing, please email Head Office with the correct details.

When Do I Make my Entry?

As soon as you have received your approval notification, you can go ahead and make your entry.
Please make sure you enter BEFORE THE CLOSE OF ENTRY as events may NOT take late entries. It is your responsibility to get your entry done on time.
All Irish International entries are taken via the Eventing Ireland website. Go to the entries page again, and start the process as before when applying for permission. Do not worry that the cart is showing the €15 application fee. Once you have put in the athletes name and clicked Next you will see the athlete and horse as a combination – click on this and carry on with the process.
All overseas international entries must be completed directly via the event, as per the details given in the Schedule. You cannot make an overseas entry via the Eventing Ireland website!!
If the event is accepting late entries, you may be charged a late entry fee. Late entries and late entry fees are at the discretion of the Event Organiser – not Eventing Ireland.

If you are unable to Compete after receiving an Approved Application or Entry

If you have an approved application and/or entry and have to withdraw for whatever reason, refunds can only be made if Head Office is notified before the close of entries for that event. Refunds after close of entries will be as per the event Schedule. For refunds to overseas entries, you must contact the organiser direct.

If you have to withdraw your confirmed entry for whatever reason, you MUST notify Aileen Cartwright in HSI and Pat at Head Office as soon as possible so this information can be amended on the FEI Entry System.

Athlete Categories

As from 1 January 2023, the FEI Athlete category will be updated at the end of each month taking into account the rolling four and a half years (4.5) in order to take into consideration the cancellation of events due to the 2020 Covid pandemic.

Please click Athlete Categories to see your FEI Athlete Category. Click the NF, and select Ireland. You can then download this information as a pdf.

Please note, the athlete category at the closing date of definite entries prevails.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs)

MERs (Minimum Eligibility Requirements) are earned from classes (except Training classes) at National Events, or from International classes at FEI Events.

MER Criteria for any completion is:

Not more than 45 Penalty Points (55% dressage Good Marks)
Not more than 16 SJ penalties
Clear XC jumping penalties
Not more than 75 seconds exceeding the optimum time cross country (ie:30 time penalties)

Every International level has different MER requirements, depending on your athlete category. To check your MER requirements:

Check your FEI Athlete Category (information provided in the section above)
Find your level in the MER information table, pages 96-99 in the EI Rulebook (PDF online HERE)

Registering a Horse with the FEI

Registering a horse with the FEI

All FEI horse registration forms need to be accompanied with either a copy of the horses breeding passport or the original breeding passport. This will be compulsory for all newly registered horses.

It will be necessary for HSI to upload scans of a horse’s approved identification document to the FEI Database.

The passport pages needed for an FEI horse registration are:

FEI REGISTRATION NUMBER ONLY

Page(s) from the approved national passport containing the name of the horse

Description and Diagram page(s) of approved national passport

Page(s) from the approved national passport containing basic information about the horse

(e.g. Colour, Gender, Date of birth etc.)

Pedigree page from the approved national passport (optional)

Ownership page from the approved national passport (optional)

Those pages have to be send to HSI as very clear scans by email or very clear scans by post since the FEI won’t accept any copies that aren’t readable. If you aren’t in a position to send clear copies please send the original breeding passport and we will copy the relevant pages here and post the passport back to you.

PLEASE NOTE: No applications (name changes, recognition cards, registrations, ownership change sand revalidations) will be done without the relevant forms filled out and signed. All forms can be found on the Horse Sport Ireland website here.) If you have any questions please click HERE or contact:

Susann Tschoerner

Horse Sport Ireland

Phone: 045-854507

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.horsesportireland.ie

FEI Pony Measurement Rules for Internationals

A new set of FEI regulations were introduced in 2020 in relation to the measuring of Eventing ponies, you can read more about this here: https://www.horsesportireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FEI-General-Assembly-Report-Pony-Measuring-2020.pdf

To compete at international pony classes your Pony must be FEI registered, and newly FEI registered ponies must be 148cm (149cm with shoes).

Your pony must be measured at an FEI Official Measuring, there is typically one every year in Ireland, usually taking place in January or February. You can read more about this on the Pony Measurement page on the HSI website here: https://www.sji.ie/Ponies/Measuring-Venues

FEI Guidelines on Tack, Equipment and Dress

All athletes should make themselves aware of the current FEI Eventing Guidelines on Tack, Equipment and Dress which can be found below:

FEI Eventing Guidelines on Use of Tack, Equipment and Dress 06.09.2022

In April 2023, the FEI launched the brand-new dedicated FEI Tack, Equipment & Dress Database, also available as a mobile FEI TackApp.

The FEI Tack, Equipment & Dress Database, provides organised, easily understandable and searchable information regarding permitted and prohibited tack, equipment and dress at FEI Competitions.

This user-friendly tool has been specifically designed to provide all FEI stakeholders, in particular, Athletes, their Support Personnel and FEI Officials, with relevant, detailed and up to date information related to tack and equipment.

The information available is sorted by discipline, category and subcategory of tack and equipment. Each individual piece of tack and equipment is represented using photographs, illustrations and/or videos. It is furthermore accompanied by the relevant legal basis and clearly marked as allowed or prohibited. If special conditions apply, it will be marked using an exclamation mark (!).
Please kindly note that the designation “Not Applicable” or “N/A” means that the relevant tack, equipment or dress is either not relevant to the specific discipline selected, is currently not addressed or specified in the rules of that discipline, or has not yet been addressed by the FEI.

Please bear in mind that the information provided in the Database is non-exhaustive and that new tack, equipment and dress is added on a regular basis. Therefore, it is important that users consult the Database on a regular basis in order to stay up to date.

Download the FEI TackApp here:

Apple Store

Google Store

Athlete Prohibited Substances

LIST OF PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES AND METHODS FOR HUMAN ATHLETES

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has released the 2023 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (List). This List is updated regularly so athletes and their entourage should familiarise themselves with any modifications.

The List designates what substances and methods are prohibited in- and out-of-competition for human athletes in all sports. It should be noted that athletes who have a legitimate medical reason for using a prohibited substance or method that is on the List may apply to the FEI or Dr Mary Flannery for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

We remind you that:

FEI athletes can be tested anywhere, anytime
Athletes are responsible for the substances found in their body and the methods they use if these are on the List.
The athlete’s entourage may also be liable for anti-doping rule violations if determined to be complicit.
Consequently, if there is any doubt as to the status of a substance or method, it is essential that they contact the FEI or their National Anti-Doping Organisation for advice.

The Prohibited List can be downloaded to a mobile friendly device HERE.

Equine Anti-Doping Guidelines

Appendix J

Horses taking part in a competition must be healthy and compete on their inherent merits. The use of a Prohibited Substance might influence a horse’s performance or mask an underlying health problem and could falsely affect the outcome of a competition.

The equine anti-doping rules of Eventing Ireland are the National Rules of Horse Sport Ireland, in particular, without limitation, National Rules 1.2, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 (see link) HSI Anti-Doping (please scroll down page) and the Appendix, as may be amended from time to time, and these National Rules are and shall be construed as the rules of Eventing Ireland and apply to and are effective and binding on all Eventing Ireland Members and by participating in Horse Sport at the national level, all members shall be deemed to have agreed to be bound by and to comply strictly with the applicable National Rules.

The list of Prohibited substances has been compiled to include all categories of pharmacological action. Eventing Ireland complies Horse Sport Ireland Equine Anti-Doping and Equine Controlled Medical Rules and with the FEI Veterinary Rule on Prohibited Substances.

The list can be found at: http://inside.fei.org/fei/cleansport/horses

The changes to the FEI Equine Prohibited list (EPSL) that will come into force on 1 January 2019 can found here.

If your horse is on medication, please check with your vet prior to entering an event to make sure the substance is not prohibited. An Equine TUE (Theraputic Use Exemption) Form must be completed by the treating Veterinarian and submitted by fax or email to Horse Sport Ireland before 10am on the last working day prior to the start of the Competition. This will be forwarded to Eventing Ireland. It is also recommended you bring a copy of the ETUE with you to the event.

All horses who have failed anti-doping will be published on the HSI website HERE

Please note: As per Eventing Ireland Rule 22.2: Should a Passport not accompany any Horse/Pony and the Horse/Pony is selected for an Anti-Dope Test a fine imposed in this instance will be €200.00.