The FEI Board has decided to suspend the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) with effect from 1 December 2026. A note on the FEI’s nominated entries list for the FEI Endurance World Championship at Butheeb in the UAE says the decision was taken at a Board teleconference on 13 October. As a result, the note says, India’s national federation cannot make definite entries for the championship, and Indian athletes, officials and trainers will not be eligible to take part. Three Indian riders and four horses on the nominated list are marked with the note. The FEI’s General Assembly page says the championship takes place in December.

The Press Trust of India (PTI), which said it had a copy, reported that the decision was set out in an FEI letter dated 15 October to the two members of the EFI ad hoc committee, Lt Col (retd) Sandeep Dewan and advocate Vidushpat Singhania. The FEI had published no press release on the decision on its media updates page by 17 October.

What the suspension covers

According to PTI’s account of the letter, Article 8.4 of the FEI Statutes means that while suspended the EFI may not attend or be represented at any session or meeting of an FEI body, and may not organise international events. Its members, including athletes, officials and trainers, and its horses may not take part in international events organised by the FEI or by any other national federation, whether under the Indian flag or the FEI flag. The suspension starts the day before the FEI General Assembly opens in Jiangyin, China. The FEI’s programme for the assembly, which runs from 2 to 5 December, includes elections on 5 December, among them the choice of a new FEI President.

The letter, as reported, also deals with endurance horses that are registered with other national federations but trained by an EFI-registered trainer. Those horses need a change of trainer to stay eligible from 1 December. Because Article 828.3 of the FEI Endurance Rules bars a horse from competing for 14 days after a trainer change is notified, the change has to be notified by 17 November.

Why the FEI acted

PTI reported that the FEI cited the dissolution by the High Court of Delhi in February 2026 of the EFI executive committee, whose elected tenure had expired in September 2023, together with the absence of elections since, calling the result a prolonged governance and leadership irregularity that was no longer sustainable. The FEI acknowledged a written explanation submitted by the ad hoc committee on 27 September and said it appreciated the panel’s work since the Indian Olympic Association set it up on 27 March. Elections were expected by 31 January 2027, but the FEI said the suspension would be reviewed only once they have been held and evaluated by it.

The EFI is still building its electoral rolls. On 13 October its Electoral Officer, Ajay V. Nayak, I.A.S. (Retd.), published a notice listing ten applications for the roster of Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit and extended the deadline for further applications to 30 November. The notice gives no polling date, and by 17 October the EFI website carried no statement on the FEI decision.

The federation’s calendar notice of 7 October lists five FEI Jumping and Dressage World Challenge events at Surge Stables in Bangalore and APRC in New Delhi between 12 and 26 November, all before the suspension date. The notice says every date is tentative; neither the FEI note nor the letter, as reported, mentions those events.

Equanine’s reading

  • The EFI’s roll closes on 30 November, one day before the suspension starts, and the FEI will only review after a poll and its own evaluation. Indian riders, owners and sponsors should plan international programmes on the basis that the suspension will run into 2027.
  • On PTI’s account of Article 8.4, a suspended EFI could not be represented at the General Assembly in Jiangyin, which would leave India without a say in the FEI presidential election on 5 December.
  • Stables outside India with horses under an EFI-registered endurance trainer face a firm administrative date of 17 November to change trainer if they want those horses eligible from 1 December.
  • Sponsors of the November World Challenge events in Bangalore and New Delhi should seek written confirmation before committing further spend.