Princess Haya insists she will stand down as FEI president at end of second term next year Before the assembly, some federations briefed media that they would call for her resignation over the horse welfare crisis in endurance riding in the Middle East, where stables owned by her husband Sheikh Mohammed have been implicated in repeated doping scandals. However, that mood changed on Thursday when the endurance strategic planning group, set up by Princess Haya in July, presented measures more hard-hitting than expected, to reduce the catalogue of doping and horse injuries. Princess Haya herself brought in the two-term limit in 2006, but earlier this year the FEI regional chairs proposed a statute change. The Princess issued a statement after the Swiss equestrian federation made public "conflict of interest" claims. She wrote: "I cannot in good conscience put aside my beliefs and the commitment I made seven years ago now that the term limit I supported applies to me." The renewed petition, started by Taipei, was signed by 100 of the FEI's 132-member national federations, though Britain, Germany, Switzerland, France and Holland were notable absentees. Keith Taylor, British Equestrian Federation president, explained its absence on the ambiguous wording of the proposal. Lord Stevens, whose intelligence company Quest provides the FEI integrity services, also delivered a broadside to those who have questioned why he is separately working for Sheikh Mohammed. Quest is investigating who was responsible for the illegal veterinary drugs seized from Sheikh Mohammed's private plane and endurance premises in Newmarket this summer. The previous day, Malcolm Macdonald, president of the Jamaican federation, was stopped midway through attacking the suitability of personnel tasked with the endurance "clean-up." Lord Stevens warned he had successfully brought previous libel cases and would not tolerate slurs on his "independence." "None of us can be complacent about the crisis around endurance," he said. I reserve the right to go anywhere at any time to ensure the rules are being monitored and enforced.