British Equestrian Federation could lose £21m funding after bullying is revealed

TheGuardian.com - Full Article

• Commission finds climate of elitism, bullying and self-interest
• Federation faces losing £21m of funding

Press Association
Thu 15 Mar 2018 07.40 EDT

The British Equestrian Federation has been told it risks losing public funding of more than £21m after a damning report found evidence of bullying, elitism and self-interest within the sport.

The independent report was commissioned by the national governing body in October following the abrupt resignation of its chief executive, Clare Salmon, in July. She had been appointed in February 2016 to modernise the BEF but, as the report details, her approach ruffled feathers within equestrianism and she was forced out.

Salmon thanked the three-strong review panel, which was chaired by John Mehrzad, the lawyer who prepared a similar report for British Cycling last year.

“From day one I was set up to fail by people who were deliberately frustrating the change required,” Salmon said. “I was bullied out by people driven by self-interest and elitism. This is unacceptable for an organisation receiving more than £20m of public money...”

Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/mar/15/bullying-elitism-self-interest-british-equestrian-federation