The blundering officials of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) have created a stunning addition to the growing army of their critics. The officials find themselves trapped in a web of their own making.
Less than two months after he signed up as National Coach of the Eventing team for the ensuing Asian Games in Hangzhou, Rodolphe Scherer has decided to put in his papers but only after exposing EFI officials as being unprofessional, not heeding his advice and not caring for the horses or riders.
“The most upsetting thing for me is that the requests from EFI do not take into account my training programme, the well-being of the horses and their safety. This increases the risk of injury to the horses, therefore compromising the result at the Asian Games, and does not respect the ethics of eventing sport,” he wrote.
In an e-mail to the Federation officials, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and several members of the Equestrian community in India, Rodolphe Scherer said India is self-destructing before even participating in the final deadline. “I do not want to take responsibility for an accident for a horse or a rider, or even for a sporting failure, when I could not do my job properly,” he wrote.
In a shocking revelation, the Coach said he learnt from the riders that the horses positive for Piroplasmase could not go to the Asian Games and that EFI officials sent him the veterinary handbook only on May 24. “We lost several first-choice horses following the blood tests carried out hastily and returned positive,” he said.
He reveals that the plan was to obtain an FEI qualifying result for the new combinations, the deadline being July 15, 2023. It contrasts sharply with the pressure EFI mounted on Dressage rider Gaurav Pundir to get an EFI MER in his first competition in Europe. Its counsel argued in the Delhi High Court that Gaurav was out of the race since he did not get an MER in his first event.
Aware that Gaurav and his lawyer Rohini Musa would raise this as an issue in case the EFI cleared the eventing rider-horse combinations without EFI MERs, the officials wrote to the Coach on July 11, insisting that the combinations must imperatively obtain MERs in CCI2*-L ‘for legal reasons’. All along, Rodolphe Scherer had been pleading for the combinations to get the easier FEI MERs.
He made it clear that EFI officials have incensed him by insisting that he would bear responsibility for the riders’ non-participation in the Asian Games if they did not compete in a CCI2*-L event in Schwainganger, Germany, from July 20 to 23. He maintains it is not fair to expect the riders and horses to travel 1400km from their base at short notice.
“On July 13, EFI orders me to take the four riders to compete in Germany. I was with Mr. Ashish Limaye in Jardy where he finished fourth in a CCI1*-Intro event on Dinard Peguignon. There has been no time to improve the combinations since the Maarsbergen event and the work of the horses was not planned for entry in this competition,” he wrote.
“As am experienced coach, I know the probability of failure. To get a score of under 43 is important, but on the other hand, don’t question the chance of doing well in the Asian Games in September because I have set up a training and competition plan for the next two months, step by step. This request to participate in this competition (at short notice is, in my opinion, with the objective of making the riders fail. This does not respect my training plan at all,” he wrote.
Besides, he pointed out that the travel and competition puts the safety of the riders and horses at stake. “Being the owner of part of the horses, I am responsible for their animal health and welfare and I do not accept to put the combinations at risk by sending them to the CCI2*-L event with a pressure of superior results,” he wrote.
The coach said he declared the rider-horse combinations before even being able to buy horses, let alone get the riders on their horses. The EFI officials signed a contract with him on May 22, a week after the riders reached Europe. It is a mystery how he picked rider-horse combinations for the long list before even taking over as coach.
“Without having time to participate in a 1* competition, which was my initial wish, we had to go to Maarsbergen in Holland from June 28 to July 2… Then EFI informs me that it wants the Maarsbergen competition to be not only a support for the FEI qualification but also a selection test in order to define the four best combinations to declare the final team,” he wrote.
“I expressed my disagreement saying that this is their first competition the priority was to qualify as many riders as possible as this would secure India’s participation in the Asian Games. Facing each other was a risk-taking for the combinations which had just been formed, and contrary to the well-being and safety of riders and horses,” he wrote.
Much to EFI officials chagrin, Rodolphe Scherer praised the support he received from Jitu Virwani ahead of the 2018 Asian Games. “There had already been major problems during the preparation for the Asian Games in Jakarta (trial, politics, etc.) and already an inconsistent qualification method which had put us in a difficult situation to ensure the physical integrity of the horses.
“The number of Indian MER results requested were too high, the return of the riders to India for 15 days, but the preparation period having been six months and the financial support of Mr Jitu Virwani having never failed, I was able to maintain a preparation program coherent with respect to the horses,” he wrote.
Of course, EFI officials will have some explaining to do on the process of naming Rodolphe Scherer as National Coach in the first place. As with several decisions of theirs, this is covered by a mysterious shroud. There is no elected Selection Committee in place nor is there an Executive Committee which has the requisite quorum of seven.
A buggers muddle all I can say !