How was CEi created?
Several years ago, at one of the first competitions, I attended. I saw an assistance crew injecting their horse in the hold area. I alerted an official, but they didn't do anything. So I took to social media to speak out about it. My posts were a bit aggressive back then, but I became involved with a clean endurance group. In those days it was a bit of a secret society. The people involved were afraid to reveal their identities or speak out in public. I wasn't. I couldn't understand how change could happen if there wasn't more public awareness.
I began speaking out publicly about the issues in our sport. I found people with similar ideas to mine, we grew Clean Endurance together, but over time I began to see that a more balanced approach would be more effective. Rather than shocking, shouting and scandalising, I wanted to unify the endurance community to improve the welfare for the horses and for the sustainability of the sport. I felt we should be educating and encouraging better practices. So, in April 2019, I broke away from the original group and formed my own. This has now been registered in France, as an association loi 1901 and CEi was born.
About the core team.
Our core team is made from a variety of people with Endurance and Voluntary Sector backgrounds including 3* endurance riders, 4* officials, ride organisers and experienced crew members. The variety within the core team is important to enable us to have a rounded view of the sport.
Whilst we take our work seriously, we don't take ourselves too seriously, we don't think we are above everyone else or that our way is the only way to be. So you will see balance and humour on our page along with informative and educational posts. Our Facebook team is transparent, so everyone knows who they are speaking to.
What do we do?
Our main goal is Education by informing the Endurance community about issues in a balanced and constructive way.
Occasionally we will feature a rider or a ride that shares our values.
We also work hard fighting against abuse, cheating and doping along with giving solid advice about what to do when this is seen at rides.
We can, and do, take issues to the FEI on behalf of the Endurance community who are often too afraid to speak directly to the FEI themselves.
We communicate regularly with the FEI Endurance and Veterinary departments.
We check rest period violations and horse qualifications. We communicate with the National Federations and FEI about them.
If you see us at a competition, come and say hello. It is always great to meet up face to face and share our love for the sport.
How can we help you?
Communicate with us – tell us what is happening in your country with Endurance, we already have members in over 40 countries all around the world who already form part of our communication network.
Ask us how we can help if you see abuse or doping at the competitions you attend.
Join our Facebook community to meet others who want to help the sport progress in a positive way.
Share your ideas for improving the sport with us.
Let's work together towards a responsible, clean & unified sport for our horses.
Welcome to our community
Marianne Ironside - Founder of Clean Endurance International
and the CEi team.