Wednesday, 17 November 2021
It is with much regret that the British Eventing Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of their Chairman, Fiona O’Hara. A recent change to her own personal and professional circumstances means that Fiona feels she is no longer able to give the continued time, commitment and dedication required to carry out the role as effectively as she would wish to.
First appointed to the British Eventing Board in 2017, Fiona became Chairman in 2019 and was re-elected this year. She has been a key part of managing the organisation through the COVID-19 pandemic and paving the way with all stakeholder groups for the sport to resume successfully. The Board and staff thank her for her commitment to the sport and will miss her commercial acumen and judgement deeply.
Chief Executive Helen West commented “This is an unfortunate day for British Eventing (BE). Fiona has given nearly five years of dedicated, loyal service and been instrumental in managing our sport safely through some very testing times. She is a skilled chairperson, and we will miss her natural ability to strike the balance between setting discussion and listening. On behalf of everyone, I’d like to thank her for everything she’s done to manage difficult situations while simultaneously driving the organisation forward. We wish her all the best in the future both professionally and personally.”
Linda Allan, Chair of the Event Horse Owners Association (EHOA) acknowledged Fiona’s departure by saying, “On behalf of owners, we thank Fiona O’Hara for her services to British Eventing during her term as Director and also Chair of the organisation.” The British Event Organisers Association (BEOA), also acknowledged Fiona by saying “The BEOA recognise the years of service by Fiona O’Hara in her role for BE. We wish her well for the future.” And Bruce Haskell, Chair for the Event Riders Association (ERA) added to this by saying “ERA would like to thank Fiona for her valued input during her tenure as Director and Chair, particularly regarding the IT project and the abandonment insurance claim in 2020 which greatly benefited the membership. We wish her well for the future.”