The World Equestrian Federation FEI has changed the much-criticized maternity protection rule. In the future, female riders should be able to compete again after just three months.
The World Equestrian Federation FEI has responded to the criticism of the regulation for the period of maternity leave and published a new interpretation. As the association announced on Thursday (December 8th, 2022), female riders should now have the opportunity to adapt the duration of their maternity leave to their individual situation.
FEI overturns six-month minimum maternity leave period
In the future, they should only wait at least three months after the birth of their child to return to competition. The previous minimum length of sick leave and maternity leave was six months. The maximum duration for a baby break of twelve months remains. The athlete must register with the FEI four weeks in advance for dressage and ten weeks in advance for show jumping.
“This was done to give athletes who have had babies the opportunity not to lose all their ranking points while not competing on the course,” said FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez.
Adjusted rules for ranking points
The previous regulations said: Anyone who applies for maternity leave can keep half of the world ranking points for six months, but was only allowed to ride again after half a year.
According to the previous FEI design, those who wanted to start earlier lost the points retrospectively during the entire pregnancy break. The regulation for the ranking list points has now been adapted to the new interpretation.
Von Bredow-Werndl: “professional ban”
Among the critics of the old regulation was the double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. The dressage rider criticized the guidelines of the association after she had to postpone her planned comeback last September due to the FEI guidelines.
After the birth of her daughter in August, the FEI refused the 36-year-old permission to start at the Ludwigsburg Horse Festival. Von Bredow-Werndl criticized the interpretation of the “Maternity Leave Rule” as “simply unfair” and spoke of a professional ban. Of course, “the FEI must grant maternity leave for at least six months,” said von Bredow-Werndl. However, it is not regulated “that an athlete then has to take a break for six months”. The show jumper Janne Friederike Meyer-zimmermann had repeatedly complained about the interpretation.