Olympic silver medallist Isabell Werth has finally spoken about the controversies in the dressage world and taken a stand. She initially vented her opinions at the CDI Stuttgart press conference, but the German magazine Pferdesport International had an in-depth interview
with her in which Germany's leading dressage rider condemns the attitude of some dressage personalities and urges for a more transparent judges' selection system. She also spoke at the 2008 IDRC Annual Meeting in Berlin right after the CDI Stuttgart, but the minutes of this meeting have not yet been released.
Not all riders were able to be present at the IDRC Annual Meeting so they signed a statement that Isabell Werth represented their opinion at the meeting. The statement mentions that these riders find it unacceptable the way Princess Haya has dealt with the FEI Dressage Committee. "It is clear that Princess Haya does not tolerate criticism," Werth said in the interview.
In the Pferdesport interview, Werth confirmed that she did not agree with Sjef Janssen's behaviour at the Olympic Games in Hong Kong. "The sport has survived many different people who oppose each other and it will definitely survive Sjef Janssen. But what I do not understand is that someone like Sjef Janssen is not sanctioned for his behaviour during and after the Olympic Games. It surely was a big mistake to hold that crisis-meeting in Hong Kong at the instigation of Janssen."
O-judge Gotthilf Riexinger, the organizer of the CDI Stuttgart, had commented that the Dutch have a negative opinion on many things, but don't realize the consequences of their utterances. To him, one can forget about dressage when a rider and a trainer can decide which judge judges at a championship.
Werth partly agrees with him. "We have been asked to make our sport more transparent and want the best judges for the Olympic Games. We urge that the unwritten rule that a judge can only judge at an Olympic Games one time in his life is lifted. We also want to know for what reasons judges are appointed on a judging panel at a Championship. One thing is sure: the strong dressage countries should also be represented by a judge at the Championships."
Isabell thought it was unacceptable of Sjef Janssen to threaten the CDI Lyon organization that Anky would not compete if Mariette Withages and Gotthilf Riexinger were to judge her.
"A rider or trainer cannot decide who judges at a show. The organizer of the event needs to be firm. Anky eventually did compete in Lyon without the judges' panel being changed," Werth said.
Source: Pferdesport International
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