In a letter to its dressage riders sent on 18 February 2015, the Luxembourg Equestrian Federation has announced altered team selection criteria for the 2015 European Dressage Championships in Aachen, Germany, in August.
The Luxembourg dressage committee with 5*-judge Christoph Umbach as head decided to lift the selection threshold from 64% to 66% in a meeting on 12 February 2015. Further big changes include that none of the scores achieved at winter, spring and summer shows in 2014 will count for team selection.
The new Luxembourg 2015 EDC team selection criteria state that Luxembourg Grand Prix riders must achieve a minimum of 66.00%, in total and from at least one O-judge at 2 different CDI 3*,4* or 5* events, which took place from 1 December 2014 and before the FEI qualification deadline. Only the results obtained in Grand Prix tests will be taken into consideration. The results from Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle tests will not count.
Luxembourg, which is a developing dressage country with only three A-team listed Grand Prix riders, has raised the bar and made its criteria more difficult than what the FEI lists as minimum requirement (64% and scores counting from 1 January 2014 until the date of nominative entry).
The Luxembourg Dressage Selection Committee includes Christof Umbach, Monique Halsdorf, Tanja Kayser, Roland Mathay, Romain Thill, and Sophie Wenger-Rossy. The head of dressage administration at the Luxembourg Equestrian Federation is Christof Umbach.
The Luxembourg Elite Dressage A-Team includes Diane Erpelding, Veronique Henschen, Sascha Schulz and Fie Skarsoe.
New Criteria Provoke Commotion
The new selection criteria have provoked quite a lot of commotion in the small coutry. At the 2014 World Equestrian Games Luxembourg was able to field a team of three for the first time ever. The country was represented by Diane Erpelding, Veronique Henschen and Sascha Schulz.
"Every federation has the right to change its own rules and regulations and riders have to accept those changes, but why isn’t it possible to treat the riders with respect and announce such changes already at the end of the season 2014 and why to change criteria during a qualification period," said WEG team rider Veronique Henschen. "Before the start of the season riders have the chance to take new qualification criteria into account and plan ahead for the upcoming competition period and decide according to this at which shows and how many competitions to compete. Now at the end of February (almost March), when the competition planning is already fixed and organized, the Luxembourg dressage riders get the information that the results from 2014 don’t count anymore."
Henschen and Erpelding had planned on making their 2015 show debut at the CDI Stadl Paura (1 - 6 April 2015) and have been training their horses to peak at this event.
"This means we will have 3.5 month to achieve two new qualification scores," Henschen explained. "If you are no professional rider, not getting free days from work, or the horse is suddenly coughing before competition, it will get hard to qualify. Is this fair? Even if they changed the note to 66%, they could have taken the qualification period of 2014 in consideration. In 2014 I had 3 times over 67% and my team mate 1x 66%. For us Luxembourg riders it is not so self-evident to get 66% at every competition."
Erpelding concurred with Henschen, regretting that the riders were not involved in the decision making process.
"I don't understand why this decision came only now, leaving us just about 3 month for this new criteria," Erpelding told Eurodressage. "In my work as a teacher it isn't always easy to get free days for international competions outside the regular school holidays."
The experienced Henschen, who has represented Luxembourg as a pony, junior, young rider and U25 rider before moving to the senior division, is very adamant and disturbed by this rule change. She believes that the federation doesn not have the riders' best interest at heart.
"Is it the right sequence/order to increase the criteria before supporting the dressage team, riders and potential newcomers with workshops from top coaches, riders and judges? The federation asks for a better performance from the riders, why can’t the riders send the same demand back to the federation," she wondered.
Schulz and Skarsoe Weigh In on New Qualification Standard
WEG team mate Sascha Schulz, who is the life partner of Christof Umbach, has started his 2015 show campaign early by competing at the
small CDI in Graz, Austria, on 19-22 February, where he scored 69.520%
on Wito Corleone and 64.640 % on Sacre Coeur.
"I agree with the federation's new criteria for international championships," Schulz told Eurodressage. "Already last year I set my personal goal at 66% in order for me to ride at the World Championships in Caen. The level at international shows has improved the last few years, so that the FEI minimum criterium of 64% is no longer up to date in my opinion."
Schulz agrees that the federation should ask for a re-confirmation of form and not rely on performances and qualification scores which were obtained more than one year ago.
"There are still five months to go until the European Championships in Aachen in which it is possible to achieve both qualification scores," Schulz continued. "All potential candidates from Luxembourg, who are part of the Elite squad, were able to achieve the required 66% more than twice in similar conditions last year."
Danish born Fie Skarsoe, who has declared for Luxembourg as of 2015, also weighed in on the debate. "I think it is OK (to lift the qualification criterium), because 64% is nowadays not enough, but I think it is sad that we lose our qualification scores from last year," she exclaimed.
Trond Asmyr, FEI Dressage Director, confirmed that the deadline for the nominative entries has not even been set yet by the FEI, so at this point it is totally unclear until when the qualification period for the EDC in Aachen will be. Luxembourg riders do not know if they will have 3.5 months or five to achieve their qualification scores.
by Astrid Appels
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