One of the higlight presentations at the annual Global Dressage Forum in Hooge Mierde, The Netherlands, is the annual update from the FEI delivered by FEI Dressage Director Trond Asmyr. Though it might not be one of the most "sensational" speeches of the day, the new information that Asmyr each year brings to the fore at the forum is food for much debate.
This year's Global Dressage Forum remained quite tame, though, with only Canadian journalist Karen Robinson trying to extract some information and an official statement from Trond concerning the new 2016 Olympic selection criteria (which put countries in The Americas at a disadvantage). Unfortunately moderator Richard Davison avoided all controversy by referring the trouble makers to duel with Trond in the Question Corner outside the room.
The FEI is a very busy bee, but priding itself in confidentiality. If you want to know any of the work-in-progress of the FEI Dressage Commity you can only rely on the Minutes which contain a summarized version of the conference call discussions. You need to be a member of the IDRC to get these, or you can forget about knowing anything that the FEI DC does.
So when Trond takes the podium at the Global Dressage Forum many move to the edge of their seat to hear about all the activity in the FEI bee hive.
Action Plan 2014
Since 2009 the FEI has been speaking about an E-learning program at the Global Dressage Forum, labelling it as the "one of the key issues for the future" but so far, at least for anyone outside the FEI, this program seems to be in a foetal stage for years or it is a stillborn. When Davison asked Wayne Channon (secretary-general of the IDRC) about the e-learning program, he replied "I know nothing about the e-learning," which summarized it all.
The promotion of dressage as a global sport remains to be a key working point for the FEI. "The Olympics were an eye-opener for the media and the spectators and we have to build on that," said Asmyr. "There is a fight between those who want to keep the classical principles, but the sport can't just be for the insiders. It needs to be transparant for the spectators."
Making dressage more transparent for the spectators heavily relies on a good judging system. Asmyr stressed the important professionalization of the judges' corps is on the agenda and that the discussion about the "per diems" will continue in 2014. "Judges are the last amateurs in the sport, if you see what they get paid," he rightfully admitted.
Furthermore the FEI Freestyle test event that took place in Warendorf, Germany in September 2013, was another major step forward in improving one of the biggest flaws in dressage judging the kur to music. Katrina Wust's new system to give more value to the degree of difficulty was successfully tried. We'll touch upon this system again in a later article on Eurodressage.
New Show Formats
The FEI is currently working on improving the reach of dressage sport by implementing amateur classes, which are highly popular in the show jumping sport, as well as the children's classes, which seem to be more in vogue in countries where pony sport is non-existent. "We have an application for a 2015 European Childrens Championship and are considering the possibility to open the childrens' classes to ponies," Trond added.
For 2014 the FEI Nations' Cup in dressage will be re-tested so 2014 is considered to be another "Pilot Year." The FEI wants to include one or two CDIO events located in the U.S.A. (rumoured locations are Wellington and Devon!) in 2014.
Asmyr mentioned that in 2013 the same number of shows took place, yet most shows "are adding one star to what they had." He confirmed that there are clashes in the calendar despite rules in place not to make big shows and championships coincide. "We have come to a point where we have too many shows, thankfully, but to protect each separate show it's not so easy."
Image of the Sport / Welfare of the Horse
The FEI is currently looking into improving the safety at horse inspections and prize givings, but Trond did not go into detail. He did make a clear statement that the image of the sport relies heavily on what the riders do with their horses in the public warm up arenas.
"Since the publication of the Blue Tongue video, I'm still looking into the matter, every day," said Asmyr. "You as riders and trainers have an independent responsibility fo the image. What you do can be caught on camera and end up in discussions. The European Championships were a success. The riders have a responsibiity for the image of the sport."
2016 Olympic Qualification Rules
One of the most burning topics in Asmyr's speech was the FEI Dressage Committee's proposal for 2016 Olympic qualification which will be voted upon at the 2013 FEI General Assembly in Montreux, Switzerland, on 7 November.
One of the biggest accomplishments the FEI Dressage Committee has achieved is to pull up the number of allowed athletes from 50 to 60 (at the expensive of the eventers who are losing 10 spots). Also, teams will consist up to a maximum of 4 horse/rider combinations again and no longer 3 riders per team like at the 2012 Olympics in London. Only 10 teams instead of 11 will be able to qualify directly via major (inter)continental championships. Each direct team qualified will have the option for a reserve rider, the composite teams won't.
Asmyr stressed that this new proposal puts "less focus on the ranking list and in group F & G one team will be able to qualify at a special qualification event."
Click here for the exact proposed qualification system for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
In reply to Robinson's question why The Americas are given the short stick in this new Olympic qualification system, Asmyr replied that "the changes are for these Olympics. We look at each separate Olympics to find a fair system. We have to find a balance between universality and top sport. The Americas still have two team slots (editor note: for two continents!!). If Brazil doesn't come up with a team, there will be two slots available at the 2015 Pan American Games."
The 2015 Pan American Games, of which the final format is being approved by the FEI Dressage Committee and later on by the Pan American organization, will run over two levels with a mix of small tour and big tour, so that for the 2019 Pan Ams they can be fully held at Grand Prix level.
Rule Changes for 2014
Asmyr quickly listed a few of the more important rule changes, joking that no less than 128 pages have been revised in total. They will be voted upon at the 2013 FEI General Assembly as well.
In order to protect show organizers, riders who do not ride the Kur will lose their points from the Grand Prix in order to prevent too many scratches. The set up of the training ring and the competition ring should be "as identical as possible", though this still remains quite vague. Is one extra flower pot or one spooky banner extra to the show ring "as identical as possible"? The stewards have to be present at all times during training.
Caving in to the wishes of the show organizers, the FEI has decided to scratch the rule of the judges' rotation system. "We got a ot of pressure from organizers to remove the rule that there should be a rotation of judges," Asmyr explained. The rotation system, which stipulates that judges can only judge the same event three years in a row and then have to rotate, was installed because too many shows invite their "buddy judges" year after year, setting the tone for what type of dressage is judged at their event. It also, unfortunately, creates better opportunities for some riders to achieve a championship or Olympic qualification score when a buddy-panel is assessing their ride.
To allow the hoarding of one-track mind judges is exactly something that has to be prevented and it was shocking to see that nobody asked Trond for additional explanation about this important rule change. When Eurodressage questioned Wayne Channon about this disturbing rule change, he replied, "apparently, they are removing the current rule as the organisers found it too difficult to get good judges and will be bringing in another rule next year which will give AIDEO time to sort out the practical issues." Let's hope this gets fixed soon !
Asmyr brushed over the fact that the notorious Blood Rule has been slighty amended again. The new blood rule proposal (in italics) reads as following:
- Bleeding: If the Judge at C suspects fresh blood anywhere on the Horse during the test, he will stop the Horse to check for blood. If the Horse shows fresh blood, it will be eliminated. The elimination is final. If the Judge through examination clarifies that the Horse has no fresh blood, the Horse may resume and finish its test.
If the FEI Steward discovers fresh blood in the Horse’s mouth or in the area of the spurs during the equipment check at the end of the test (Art. 430.10), he informs the Judge at C, who will eliminate the Horse and the Athlete. If there is blood elsewhere on the Horse, an FEI Veterinarian is to be called to decide if the Horse is fit to continue.
If the Horse is eliminated pursuant to the above, or if the Horse is injured during the test and starts bleeding after finishing the test, it should be examined by an FEI Veterinarian prior to the next Competition to determine if it is fit to continue in the Event the following day(s). The decision of the FEI Veterinarian is not subject to appeal.
Freestyle Development
The further improvement and development of the judging system for the freestyle is one of the biggest steps forward this year. "The freestyle has become the one selling factor of dressage," Asmyr stated. "You can be sure the interest (for the kur) is there." Asmyr continued that "the future of judging the freestyle is the most difficult to do; to make it as objective as possible without it being more complicated and time consuming."
In September Wust's "Degree of Difficulty" system was tested. It objectively rewards riders who successfully take technical risks in their kur; something which is now totally undervalued. While the test event was a success, Asmyr said that "we are still evaluating, there are no conclusions. We still need next year and testmore. To do the degree of difficulty more objectively; we are stil undecided but it's a very interesting way (to approach it with Wust's program)."
More about this on Eurodressage later
Channon concluded that "the progress this year is better than ever before. We brought about a fundamental view change in how we approach judging. If we continue in this vein it will only get better.
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
Related Links
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2013 Global Dressage Forum
Proposed qualification system for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
