The Federation Equestre Internationale should be required to update its rules on equestrian cross country jumping to create a safer and more humane competition that will decrease death or injury of horses and riders.

The two changes that should be made are the following :

1. Riders should have a level determined sufficient enough to qualify to compete in any competition to mitigate risks of injuring a horse. Stricter enforcement should be put into place so that riders who do not have the skill level to ride do not compete.

2. Frangible technology should be mandatory on all solid obstacles in a cross country competition so that they can completely collapse. This technology has proven to create safer outcomes for the rider and the horse.

The fatality of the swiss horse during the cross country competition during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is the latest tragedy that could have been avoided. The website horsetalk.co.nz has tracked fatalities of both riders and horses over the last two decades and has found that between 2004-2018 38 riders have died from accidents in either international or national competitions. It also recorded the death of 91 horses in cross country from 2005-2018, which were related to falls, or other injuries such as cardiovascular or pulmonary problems. By enforcing the two changes above, deaths and injuries of riders and horses should decrease dramatically in this competition that is well overdue for a modernization.