Dear members,

It is not only equestrian sport that is currently changing, especially the discipline of dressage, which is facing new challenges in terms of public perception, but also our profession. More and more representatives of the digital media are coming together in all press rooms. Social media activities, which have already long been an integral part of journalistic work, have become an integral part of everyday life.

Nevertheless, it is very important to us as the IAEJ to repeatedly point out the relevance of quality-filled journalism in equestrian sport. A crowd of social media teams, however, lets organizers face new challenges. To name but one: When it comes to bandwidth required when uploading videos to Instagram and other platforms, our colleagues, whether photographers or writing journalists, sometimes come up against technical limits. Technical limits that even an event organizer cannot always compensate for.

In my view, it is incredibly important that we draw a clear distinction between commercial social media activities and those that flank journalistic reporting in various media with social media activities. In other words, A rider’s or a brand’s social media team should not be mistaken for a media representative doing their work using the appropriate channels. This topic is not entirely new, but it is gaining in importance day by day. Perhaps we can have an open discussion about it.

Another topic that you, as members, need to think about is next year’s General Assembly; again, we are planning for a meeting in Aachen. Every fourth year, board members are elected. We will present the current situation at our meeting in Aachen this year.

This year’s annual General Meeting, which we will be hosting during the CHIO Aachen, offers the opportunity for discussion.

The press team of the CHIO Aachen was kind enough to make the press conference room available to us. We can also use the digital infrastructure in Aachen, offering access to the GA through Zoom. I hope that as many of you as possible will be able to join us live in Aachen. For everyone else, there is the opportunity to take part in the meeting via a Zoom call. The GA will be recorded and made available to members afterwards.

The IAEJ has been in intensive discussions with the FEI in 2024 and 2025 to promote the interests of journalists. This was particularly necessary for the accreditation for this year’s World Cup Final in Basel, where a few IAEJ members were finally granted accreditation after all. In addition, discussions have already taken place with some of the organizers of this year’s European Championships in the disciplines of show jumping, dressage, and eventing.

For all those who already know that they will not be able to come to Aachen, it is possible to send questions in advance by email. Comments of any kind are also welcome.

We know that for everyone on the other side of the big pond, 10:00 a.m. in Germany is sleeping time. But unfortunately, another time does not fit into the tightly packed schedule of the Aachen event. I would like to say thank you to Aachen and wish the whole team around Head of Press Operations Tobias Königs all the best, and look forward to a lively discussion, either digitally or live in Aachen.

Best regards,

Jan Tönjes, President

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Invitation

Invitation IAEJ General Assembly 2025

Wednesday, July, 2, 10 a.m. UTC + 2.00 (German Time)

CHIO Aachen press conference room

Zoom link for participation: distributed closer to the event

Dear members,

On behalf of the board, it is a pleasure to invite you to the IAEJ General Assembly 2025. With the world gathering in Aachen at the epic showgrounds, we will come together to discuss and exchange our ideas and experiences, as well as thoughts on the future. I am very much looking forward to welcoming you.

AGENDA

• · Welcome
• · Report on the financial situation
• · past year activities – this year’s activities
• · A look at the 2026 World Championships by Tobias Königs
• · General Assembly and elections 2026
• ·  miscellaneous

For those who won‘t be able to attend in person, drop an email or reply, and we will send out the link to you in advance. Please let us know if you plan to participate in Aachen, so we know approximately how many we will be. Looking forward to seeing as many as possible IRL.

If there is anything we should add to the agenda or which you would like to comment on, please feel free to let me know.

The best way to reach me is jan@pferdundwort.de

Best regards,

Jan Tönjes, President