T

he equestrian association has shown how a conflict within a sports association can be quickly settled.

Like the country’s soccer association, the equestrian federation is also marred with an internal conflict that has been going on even longer than the current conflict within the soccer association.

However, the four-year long conflict ended on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Horse Society (Pordasi) has officially agreed to let go of its equestrian division, which is known as the Equestrian Federation of Indonesia (EFI), to that it can become an independent sport federation.

“We’ve decided to accommodate our equestrian friends’ request,” Pordasi chief M. Chaidir Saddak told the press at the signing of memorandum of understanding between Pordasi and the EFI at the Indonesian Sports Council (KONI) in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.

“We just don’t want to keep this ongoing problem within us, because it slows down the association’s performance. Moreover, it is athletes who suffer the most from this disagreement,” he added.

In the memorandum, both parties have agreed that Pordasi must hold an extraordinary congress within the next two months to make the final separation.

If Pordasi fails to conduct the expected congress in the due time, both parties have also agreed that the sport will automatically be placed under the EFI.

KONI’s official for organization affairs, Sudirman, said that the settlement of the dispute only took two hours to reach.

“This is history in the making. I really hope that today’s settlement can be a positive example for other sport federations that are also in dispute,” said Sudirman.

EFI secretary-general Rafiq Hakim Radinal said that he was glad that the problem had finally been resolved. “It means that Pordasi will soon have no authority to develop and hold equestrian events.”

The dualism in handling equestrian events between Pordasi and EFI started in 2008 when most equestrians felt that the association placed minimum attention on developing the sport.

Besides equestrian events, Pordasi is also in charge of horse racing and polo as well as of producing horses under a breeding division.

Chaidir, who got elected as Pordasi chair in October last year, admitted that source of the dispute was the association’s lack of attention to the sport.

“We made mistakes and we admit it. Hopefully, with today’s decision, the development of the sport in Indonesia will be much better,” he added.

Chaidir said that it was his program to settle the four-year dispute. “The quicker, the better. Now, we’re preparing for the upcoming extraordinary meeting, which will be in Jakarta.”

At the recent SEA Games in Jakarta, the equestrian contributed three gold medals to the country.