The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) today confirms that Gordon Burton, Performance Director to the BEF’s World Class Programme, will be leaving the organisation at the end of May.

Chief Executive of the BEF, Nick Fellows comments; “I am very sad that the BEF will be losing Gordon. He has helped strengthen and shape the Programme during his tenure and will be greatly missed; I wish him well for the future.

“We are very fortunate to have fantastic staff involved with the Programme and I will be working closely with the whole team in the coming months, to ensure that our staff, athletes and their teams continue to receive the best support as we build towards the World Equestrian Games in Tryon later this year.”

Gordon adds; “It has been a very difficult decision to make as I have developed a new strategic approach to the Programme and appointed a strong team. UK Sport have shown confidence in the Programme through their endorsement of the strategy and increased investment. However, sadly there are areas that have not been possible to progress as I wished.

“The equestrian World Class Programme has an immensely talented and strong team in place supporting Great Britain’s athletes, and I am confident of a positive future for the Federation under the leadership of Nick and Mohamed (Elsarky, BEF Chair).”

The BEF will shortly begin the process of recruiting a new Performance Director, to lead the British teams, as their preparations continue towards this year’s World Championships and Tokyo 2020.