Ghosted by the Giants: How the Premier Jumping League, FEI, and Global Champions Tour Unified in Saying Nothing

May 7
3 min read

By The Carrot Post Investigations Team, currently staring into the abyss of an empty inbox

At The Carrot Post, we had a radical idea. Dangerous, even. We thought perhaps the biggest organisations in international showjumping might enjoy an opportunity to explain themselves to the public paying attention to them.

Naive? Certainly.

Optimistic? Tragically.

Funny in hindsight? Absolutely.

In an ambitious burst of journalistic recklessness, we sent a series of carefully worded, identical questions to the three towering pillars of modern showjumping power:

The FEI
The Global Champions Tour (GCT)
The shiny new Premier Jumping League (PJL)

We asked about:

horse welfare,
governance,
transparency,
social licence,
accountability,
athlete influence,
commercial pressures,
and the future of the sport.

In return, we received something truly extraordinary.

Nothing.

Not even a polite:

“Thank you for your email.”

Not even an intern accidentally replying:

“Oops wrong thread lol.”

Nothing.

The sort of silence usually only heard in a deserted warm-up arena at midnight after someone whispers the phrase:

“mandatory independent welfare oversight.”

📋 The Official Responses

Below, dear readers, are the complete and uncensored responses from the FEI, GCT, and PJL to our 11 standardised questions:

Question	FEI	GCT	PJL
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7
Question 8
Question 9
Question 10
Question 11

A breathtaking display of unity across the sport.

Frankly, we haven’t seen this level of international cooperation since everyone collectively agreed never to mention blue tongues on livestreams.

Editorial Analysis: The Art of Saying Nothing

They say speech is silver, but silence is golden.

In international showjumping, however, silence now appears to be a fully monetised business strategy.

Because what does “no response” actually tell us?

It tells us:

Transparency is wonderful… right up until somebody asks for it.
Governance matters enormously… provided nobody examines it too closely.
Horse welfare is a superb phrase for glossy sponsor brochures, but apparently becomes much harder to discuss once journalists are involved.

The irony is almost poetic.

Modern equestrian sport spends millions telling the public:

“Trust us.”

Then reacts to perfectly reasonable questions like Dracula reacting to daylight and independent oversight.

The Great Social Licence Magic Trick

For years now, the horse world has been told that maintaining “social licence” is essential to the future of the sport.

Apparently, the strategy is now:

Avoid difficult conversations.
Ignore media questions.
Hope everyone gets distracted by a Rolex class and a champagne reception.

It is a fascinating communications model.

Particularly in an era where every spectator owns:

a smartphone,
a social media account,
and functioning eyesight.

Industry Reaction

Dr. Leila Al-Farsi (WEWO) reportedly read the empty responses table in complete silence before murmuring:

“Remarkable. They finally found a way to standardise transparency.”

Max van Dijk simply stared out of a stable window for several minutes before commenting:

“This may be the most consistent governance performance of the season.”

Meanwhile, GEF President Alejandro Ferreira issued a statement saying:

“We remain fully committed to openness, dialogue, and engagement, provided these activities occur privately, vaguely, and preferably not in writing.”

Editorial Note

As readers can see, the FEI, GCT, and PJL are in total agreement on one important issue:

None of them wish to answer questions.

And perhaps, in its own strange way, that is the answer.

Because while these organisations continue discussing innovation, growth, fan engagement, and the future of the sport, the public is increasingly left staring at a closed stable door labelled:

“Please trust us and stop asking questions.”

Should replies eventually arrive after publication, we will of course publish them immediately in our new editorial section:

“Miracles & Other Unverified Phenomena.”

Until then, we thank all involved for this profound demonstration of modern equestrian communication strategy:

He who says nothing makes no mistakes. But he also misses the jump into the future.

Disclaimer

Content in the table refers to editorial descriptions of the communicative vacuum encountered at the publication deadline (Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 1:01pm). The organisations were contacted in writing on 21 April 2026 and invited to comment. Until the editorial deadline, however, the FEI, Global Champions Tour, and the Premier Jumping League remained quieter than a steward approaching a billionaire sponsor.

We therefore interpret this collective silence as either: