The International Dressage Officials Club (IDOC) held its General Assembly in Seville, Spain, on 7 - 10 October 2010. With close to 70 officials representing 23 countries, the meeting, which marked the 20th anniversary of the club, was a great success.
A judges’ seminar was organized in conjunction with the general assembly. The IDOC Seminar, which was recognized as an FEI Refresher Course, was conducted by Dr Dieter Schüle and Stephen Clarke. Both the theoretical lectures and the commentated practical sessions were of the highest quality and well received.
The program the Seminar also included a session with highly respected international trainers Jan Bemelmans and Wolfram Wittig, whose constructive attitude towards the judges and the judging led to a most interesting exchange of views.
For yet another session, IDOC had also invited three guest-speakers. Cees Slings made a thought provoking demonstration of the EQMusync software he developed; Dr Harald Müller, FEI Executive Director Education and Standards, gave a clear overview of the new FEI Judges Education program; and finally, David Stickland exposed the mathematical foundations on which his analysis of the judges’ consistency is based.
The IDOC seminar was also the occasion for the judges to have an open discussion about judging in general, and the judging during the Word Equestrian Games in particular. It was decided that IDOC would conduct an in-depth analysis of the judging in Lexington. The discussions took place in a positive atmosphere and confirmed the feeling of solidarity that unites the judges.
Furthering the judges’ education is one of the main objectives of IDOC, and the club will dedicate a substantial part of its resources to this project. Plans include the organization of several seminars for officials – judges and stewards alike – in Florida, Sydney, Wroclaw and Verden during 2011.
More info on the 2010 IDOC General Assembly coming soon.
Related Links
Letter to the Editor: The Trouble with Ten” has an answer: EQMusync
International Dressage Officials Club Statement on Abuse in Warm Ups