NEWS > General

CEO Letter to Members

26 July 2019

Dear members,

Today the Coronial Inquest concluded into the tragic deaths of Olivia Inglis and Caitlyn Fischer.

Equestrian Australia is deeply sorry for the loss of Olivia and Caitlyn. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the girls’ parents Charlotte and Arthur Inglis, Ailsa Carr and Mark Fischer, along with sisters Antoinette and Alexandra Inglis, brother Kristofer Fischer and their extended families and friends.

Equestrian Australia acknowledges the strength and courage both families have shown throughout this difficult process. Our organisation shares their determination to make Australia a world leader in equestrian safety and risk management.

While the Inquest has been a challenging time, it has been a constructive process and we await the Coroner’s findings and recommendations which we will respond to in full. It is expected the Coroner’s Final Report will be publicly released in the coming months.

Equestrian Australia will ensure that key stakeholders including the state equestrian branches, sports disciplines, organising committees, officials, participants and volunteers in our community are consulted throughout this process.

In the meantime, we will continue to introduce proactive measures to improve the safety of our sport. We are currently recruiting a full time National Safety Manager. This role will be responsible for the leadership and delivery of appropriate safety and risk management programs.

Since 2016, Equestrian Australia has introduced a number of initiatives to improve safety and risk management in equestrian, including:

Mandated frangible devices in cross country for 2 star and above;
Improved safety equipment rules, including tagging of helmets to ensure they meet required standards;
Introduction of the Equiratings system that advises the future risk of a horse fall at a particular level of competition based on past performance of the horse;
Implemented a robust national riders representative system with supporting role description, rider advisory and electronic reporting capability; and
Improved Serious Incident Management protocols.

Equestrian Australia is committed to learning from the outcomes of the Coronial Inquest to further advance our great sport.

This weekend I will be attending the Steelworks Construction International Three Day Event and Queensland State Eventing Championships in Tamborine. I’ll also attend The Festival of Showjumping which includes a round of the FEI Jumping World Cup Australia League in Caboolture. I look forward to meeting members and encourage you to approach me with any questions or comments you have.

Kind regards,