Henk Rottinghuis Brought his FEI Campaign to WEG, Faults Current Leadership
13 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Henk Rottinghuis Brought his FEI Campaign to WEG, Faults Current Leadership
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, Oct. 10–Henk Rottinghuis, the Dutch candidate for the International Equestrian Association presidency, brought his campaign to the World Equestrian Games with promises to unite the sport that he accused the current leadership of failing to achieve over the past four years.
The next president of which there are three candidates–Princess Haya campaigning for re-election to a second four-year term, Sweden’s Sven Holmberg the current 1st vice president and Rottinghuis–will be elected by the 134 national federations at the General Assembly in Taipei next month.
Rottinghuis’ campaign theme is “Creating Space For Our Sport – With A Fresh Approach.”
“The FEI must deliver on its promises to put the sport, the national federations and their athletes first.” he said. “Only when united can we achieve everyone’s ambitions. We need to recognize that the bigger federations are nowhere without the smaller ones.
“In my view, we need to listen and respect each other’s views, celebrate our similarities but respect our differences.
“I have been immersed in the business of getting things done both inside and outside the horse world for 30 years and I am disappointed that the current President and Vice President have not succeeded, over the last four years, in establishing the unity that the FEI so desperately needs
“My agenda, which is based on what people have told me they want, sets out the fresh approach that the FEI needs and a break from current approach and style adopted by the incumbent leadership of the FEI.
“With the support of the volunteers, the staff and the FEI community around the world, we will deliver real solutions that meet the needs of the national federations and all our stakeholders.”
His top priorities are:
– Giving stakeholders the professional support they need;
– Globalising the sport with a development policy that is all-inclusive and urges established national federations to share responsibility;
– Uniting the sport by getting people to respect each other’s differences;
– Re-establishing the FEI’s image and authority, and placing greater emphasis on the positive achievements of international horse sport, and
– Fundamentally changing the way the FEI works in the 21st Century, with a fresh approach based on limited priorities and clear time lines.
Earlier this year, Rottinghuis conducted a 100-day Listening Program to canvass views of the FEI from national federations and associate members and others in the field.
