Dear Australian Readers,

I have long been outspoken about issues surrounding our sport and the management of it - but I have tried to do less editorialising and more reporting over the past 12 months since relocating to Ireland - however I do have some things which I feel the need to say.

The first is that there is discussion regarding changing the logo of The Equestrian Federation of Australia to be more in keeping with world wide trends - I find this to be a huge load of "bunkum" if you will excuse my bluntness - to change a logo is not such a simple matter because there is then huge cost involved with all the reprinting of everything to do with the sport from the competition cards through to letterheads and including things like souvenir pins and officials ties - hardly worth the expense in my humble opinion - our logo is distinctly Australian by way of the colours and the southern cross and it immediately alerts people to the fact that it is "something to do with horses"! I believe there are far more important

things to be dealt with such as "how are we going to make the sport more professional in Australia" and what changes need to be made to gain the confidence and trust of the general membership who, after all, are the reason for the existence of the Federation"!

To continue this discussion without first making comment about our current CEO, Franz Venhaus would indeed be remiss - Franz is the first CEO who has been prepared to work towards the stamping out of the previous "secrecy" regarding EFA business - he has made sure that during his term he has kept his membership informed of changes and things which were up for discussion - now I know that there are those who perhaps are not yet satisfied with many of the answers they are being given on various issues, the major one perhaps being Insurance, but credit must be given to Mr Venhaus for his efforts in keeping the lines of communication open.

Now having said all that - the latest communique from our CEO's desk had to me an almost desperate sound to it - and definitely there is an air of despair in his writing - or am I reading between the lines?! I think not!

Change is never easy, in any areas of life but change is inevitable and if done with tact and care it can be made to improve things - the fight against nationalising our Australian Federation has been a long and hard one amongst the various State officials and also among the rank and file members but I have yet to hear anyone for the negative give me sound reasoning for being against it - the best I can get it "oh the power will then all be based in Sydney and no other states will get a look in" and for the life of me I cannot see the reasoning behind this arguement - so what if the office base is in Sydney!?

I am not sure whether this is coming too late or considered irrelevant but it has long been my belief that we, in Australia, need to perhaps look at the models from the rest of the world - and that model is really quite simple and one which is now adopted by the majority of countries I have looked into and it goes like this:

It is my humble opinion that we need to have a National Equestrian Federation (complete with horsehead logo) which acts as the umbrella for the various disciplines - they would oversee all aspects of the various disciplines and would have a Director on each of the disciplines boards but they would not be the decision makers.

Then, also on a National Level I see a Showjumping Association, a Dressage Association, an Eventing Association, an NCAS Association and etc. These bodies would administer their sport from a National Level with representatives (not Board Members or expensive offices) in each State who would represent the local membership - and I would see it as one representative regardless of the numbers in each State. Each discipline could then have their own individual logo (keeping in with Franz's theme of the distinctive sport identity) but it is my firm belief that it is about time Australian Equestrian Sport lets the old mentality of "each State for themselves" die and then perhaps we can work collectively towards improving our sport - we simply do not have the numbers to warrant the extreme over-governing we currently have - perhaps we need to remember that we are no longer a fledgling colony with each state fighting for supremacy - we are now grown up and a COUNTRY and I believe it is time we begin to behave accordingly.

The ground level mumblings have always been there and I am unsure as to how much notice either the State Boards or the National Board have taken of them but they are what the membership are saying - and the overwhelming feeling has been for some years now that "all the money goes to the Eventers because they win gold medals and showjumping and dressage get the left overs because they aren't good enough" which then leads to the discussion of "well how are we going to get any better if we have no funding allocation?" - which I believe is probably fair comment - and I am not saying for one minute that the Eventers don't deserve the funding they have - because they do!

However with my model outlined above I would like to think that the National Board would have as one of their primary responsibilities the task of assisting the individual disciplines to achieve funding within their own right and not riding on the back of the success of the Eventers.

Having not qualified either in Dressage nor Showjumping it is obvious that we need to take a long hard look at how we are doing things and the organisation of the Federation must be paramount - congratulations Franz Venhaus for keeping us informed and opening the lines of communication to the membership - but please sir, leave the logo alone - a needless expense at this time in the life of the EFA!

Whatever happens the rank and file members of the Equestrian Federation of Australia need to take an active interest in their sport and its management - otherwise when things continue to "go nowhere" in terms of the various disciplines improving - know that you have only yourselves and your apathy to blame - it is time to stop making excuses like "all our top horses get sold" and get on with the business of improving by stepping out of your comfort zones!

Following is, in part the latest email from our CEO, Mr Franz Venhaus, which has prompted this editorial and I hope that I am not contravening anything by publishing it, in part, here.

Regards,

Jan Heine
Editor-in-Chief
jumpingaround.com

I titled my last newsletter "Crucial decisions". Well, it's now time to decide, and that's why I need to dedicate a major portion of this e-mail to corporate governance and the composition of the National Board in particular.

EFA Corporate Governance Review - Another Lost Opportunity?
Although a vote has not as yet been taken - that is due at the EFA's AGM on Monday, 24 November 2003 - the outlook for reform is again looking bleak. For a moment, when the Victorian Branch voted to support the proposed changes, I thought we could all look forward to a revitalised Federation with a National outlook and a skills-based and independent Board that could provide leadership and vision to the sport as a whole. Then I was told that the Tasmanian Branch had voted to support amendments proposed by the WA Branch that would ensure a continuation of a "representative" board consisting of one Director from each Branch. This is basically what we have had ever since the Federation was formed more than 50 years ago.

To change the constitution, a 75% majority is required, which means 6 of the 7 "shareholders" (Branches) need to vote in favour. Right now, the 5 Branches supporting the change represent 86 percent of all EFA members (including Junior and Associate members) and 91 percent of "Senior" members who are entitled to vote. Draw your own conclusions!

Some of you might say: "Is this not Board business? How come the CEO is entering the debate?"

Well, I reckon if I can't express my concerns about the organisational future of the Federation, there must be something wrong. Yes, the Board appoints me; yes, I report to the Board; yes, the Board can dismiss me. But also, yes, the Board holds me responsible to implement a vision, a strategic plan, national policies and procedures, etc. etc.

I have seen this Board operating. I was a Director and could observe the functioning of the Board for quite a few years. Now, as CEO, I am also part of Board meetings. In fact, I have more dealings with directors now than I have ever had. I have studied corporate governance systems and am convinced that what has been happening has been far from ideal. The implementation of the Governance Review would give the EFA opportunities to "go forward", to use a tired expression. The amendments proposed by WA and supported by Tasmania would actually make the system "worse" in the sense that they would remove a number of independent directors from the current Board.

The plain fact is that Directors who represent Branches quite often put on their "National hat" while they are meeting but continue to evaluate issues from their State Branch perspective. What else can they do? They are there for their Branch, are they not? The level of interest in National policies, National plans, a National vision goes only as far as it does not interfere with what happens at the Branch level.

The Federation has been through a number of reviews, going back into the late 1980s. We have had public meetings, open forums, reports, questionnaires, proposals, more meetings, subcomittees, consultants, Australian Sports Commission (ASC) involvement and encouragement. Nothing of substance has changed.

Now with funding and more encouragement from the ASC, expert study and analysis by a corporate governance consultant involving a cross-section of EFA members, another report, a tour of Branches to explain the plans and a final proposal unanimously supported by the National Board (including all the Chairs of all the Branches), it looks as though we will still not have any substantial change.

I am worried about the future functioning of the EFA, about future funding by the ASC, about our ability to attract and retain members willing to offer their services as directors and senior staff at the National level, give the Federatrion a vision and make it work. So far, we have not been able to take full advantage of our Olympic success. And we are still operating like EIGHT separate sporting organisations, not one National Federation.

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