WISLaw held its first event of 2018 on 26 January 2018 with an informal lunch hosted by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) in Lausanne. The FEI is the international governing body for 7 equestrian disciplines, including the three Olympic disciplines of Jumping, Eventing and Dressage, and two para-equestrian disciplines.

The FEI Secretary General, the first female secretary general in the over 100 year history of the FEI, Sabrina Ibáñez, was present to welcome the participants. She expressed her enthusiastic support for the WISLaw organisation and went on to explain how the FEI is actively promoting gender equality in relation to participation in sporting and administrative activities such as, by example, recently signing a pledge to become a member of the International Gender Champions Network.

FEI lawyers, Áine Power and Anna Thorstenson, both WISLaw members, started the meeting by giving some background on the FEI before speaking about some legal issues that are unique to equestrian sport. The topics of ladies only equestrian events (and the related legal considerations) and the FEI’s various interactions with the Court of Arbitration for Sport down through the years were addressed. We had the chance to learn about the specificities of the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping Rules, whereby the human athlete is deemed to be the “Person Responsible” in equine doping cases, and the FEI’s approach to dealing with minor athletes in doping cases. A lively and engaging discussion then followed.