'Spotters' and fitness of horse and rider key points in eventing

Experts have been discussing different aspects of human and equine fitness, at the 2025 FEI eventing forum

- LUCY ELDER

USING “spotters” on cross-country, to feed back live to the ground jury, and horse and rider fitness, were key topics at the 2025 FEI eventing forum (17-19 January).

The use of spotters – experienced officials who can give fast accounts to help the ground jury make quick decisions if there are concerns about a competitor - came up at the end of a panel discussion on fitness.

FEI eventing committee chair and Olympic gold medallist David O'Connor said the ground jury's ability to have spotters, “has been in the rules for a long time [...] but is not a system that probably gets used often enough”.

“I think at high levels we're really trying to push everybody always to have that system, because it has been very effective,” he said.