from Equestrian New Zealand (dated 29Oct10)
ESNZ TAKES ACTION AFTER ENDURANCE COMPLAINT
Changes to the way Equestrian Sports New Zealand operates are the outcome of a formal complaint arising from the selection of the Endurance team to compete at the World Equestrian Games (WEG).
Speaking after an ESNZ Board meeting at which a report on the complaint was considered, ESNZ President, Jennifer Millar CNZM, said the findings and recommendations of the sub-committee set up to consider the matter had broadly been accepted. There was widespread disappointment that two Endurance riders selected for WEG chose not to participate and the organisation accepts its share of the responsibility for what happened.
The report found that the primary cause of the riders withdrawal was the announcement of the team grooms. As part of its High Performance Programme introduced in the 2 years leading to WEG, ESNZ implemented a number of innovations to lift the competitiveness of New Zealands elite equestrian teams. One of these was that the selectors would choose not only riders, but also all team officials including grooms, the latter because groom performance is considered critical to the success of the riders.
However given that this approach was such a break with tradition in endurance the report found that better change management processes would have prevented the reactions to the selectors decisions. We are convinced that the new approach remains the best way forward said Millar, but ESNZ accepts that it could have done more to ensure that the riders, the grooms and the wider Endurance community understood why we introduced the change and what its implications might be.
Other recommendations accepted by the Board of ESNZ include:
· Introducing more rigorous processes for recruitment to key positions (paid or voluntary).
· The introduction of a formal complaints process (aligned to, but separate from, the current complaints process outlined in ESNZs General Regulations).
· Tighter processes for all ESNZ voluntary officials to ensure the same standards of professionalism the organisation expects of its paid staff, elected officers and High Performance athletes.
ESNZ Chief Executive, Jim Ellis, said work on implementing the recommendations had already begun. |