Until 28th of March 2021, all national and international shows are being cancelled in France, the French Equestrian Federation and the French Equestrian Society announced today. The decision follows the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1 neurological form) outbreak in Valencia, Spain. Other equine gatherings are also being cancelled, the French Equestrian Federation announced in a press release. The federation also called for vigilance and respect for best practices that are needed in order to resume all activities as quickly as possible in what is an already heavily disrupted calendar.
In Belgium, the team at Sentower Park – one of the biggest organisers of national and international events in the country – announced that all their activities are being cancelled for the next fourteen days. “(…) we must act on mass to stop the spread of this aggressive virus. Belgium is at the center of the equestrian world, we have a responsibility to act and we will do so,” reads the statement from Sentower Park.