A delegation of four international grooms representing the three Olympic disciplines met at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) headquarters, in Lausanne, Switzerland, with FEI President Ingmar De Vos this week to participate in the inaugural Grooms Working Group meeting.

The first meeting of its kind, the working group was created following a recent survey among national federations to determine the best way to improve communications and interaction with grooms and what the FEI can do to help them.

As part of a day of very positive discussion, the working group agreed that on a need to establish a more formal relationship, with grooms being officially welcomed into the FEI family through being registered with the FEI. Registration would facilitate further development of education systems, creating a more structured framework for cooperation between the FEI and grooms.

In addition, the FEI is taking steps towards producing applications and other tools which will best serve the grooms, allowing them to streamline preparation for upcoming events