Text © World of Showjumping

For FEI Jumping Director Todd Hinde, 2025 has been a busy year. This year, the FEI Jumping Rules have gone through a full revision, and the 38-year-old Australian took on the ambitious challenge of restructuring the entire rule book.

“2025 has been a very big year for jumping,” Todd shares with World of Showjumping. “The main topic has been the full rules revision and having a complete restructure of the rule book to make it a more simplified document to read and understand, which I believe we've achieved. Certainly, we've had some hot topics of rules that have changed, but  in my view they've changed for the better.”

“On the competition front, we've seen some outstanding sport,” Todd points out. “When we look back at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Basel, I think that was a phenomenal event and the sport we saw there was incredible. Throughout the year, at all different championships, we've seen top sport. Both the youth Europeans and the North American youth championships were a success, and A Coruña for the senior Europeans was an amazing venue with great sport. The number of clear rounds we saw there showed the strength of our sport and our horse-and-rider combinations. I think that is a positive view for our sport, to see the quality of combinations jumping those classes so well – and the championship had a nail-biting end. Finishing the year off, we've seen the World Cup season start again very strong.”

“There's been a couple of highlights,” Todd continues. “For me, one of the biggest highlights was the restructuring of our rule book. Making it into a simplified document that is now easier to understand has been a great achievement for this year. I'm grateful for the FEI Jumping Committee and the members of my team in Lausanne. The work that everyone has put into it has been incredible.”

On the FEI circuit, Todd has enjoyed witnessing the up-and-coming talents. “Our sport is growing each year, and at all levels, from our youth through to our seniors, we are seeing incredible sport. I think we've seen quite a lot of changes in our rankings this year. We've seen newcomers break into the top 30, and I think that is super exciting to witness.”

“There are constant challenges,” Todd points out as he looks towards 2026. “Our social licence to operate is still at the forefront of everyone's minds. We need to be aware that everything we do is for our horses and our sport. One big challenge is ensuring that everyone is on the same page – and that includes all stakeholders from grooms, athletes and owners to organisers and officials.”

In 2026, Todd hopes to further engage the whole community. “Next year, I want to see us continue to grow together with our stakeholders. I believe our stakeholders are coming together and working together now, but there is always room for improvement. Next year is an important year with the FEI World Championships in Aachen and the start of the qualification cycle for the Olympics, for LA28. Everyone needs to be working together to ensure our World Championships next year are at the highest standard that we can produce.”

29.12.2025 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.