At the 2010 World Equestrian Games IDRC president Kyra Kyrklund and former Dressage Task Force member Robert Dover (IDTC) put words to action and launched an initiative to assess the judging at the WEG by asking the riders to fill out a questionnaire.
This WEG judging review, which is a joint effort of the IDRC and IDTC, was initially discussed at a meeting of the FEI Dressage Committee and all Stakeholder groups at the Marriott Hotel in Lexington on 30 September 2010.
Dover and Kyrklund put it immediately to the test and of the 65 riders who competed at WEG, approximately 40 of them filled out the form and returned it for the IDRC and IDTC to review.
"We created a five-question survey for all the Riders as well as the National Trainers at the WEG," said Robert Dover. "Questions were asked regarding each judge officiating in Kentucky with a simple yes or no answer to circle and a place for comments at the bottom of the page. We received back approximately 40 surveys and, more importantly, an overwhelming “Thank You” from riders and Trainers for allowing their voices to be heard!"
The questions on the form were the following:
1) Did the judge officiate fairly and without Nationalism?
2) Did the judge show accuracy in judging?
3) Did the judge use full range of marks as prescribed by the handbook?
4) Did the judge show excellent knowledge of the basic principles of Dressage in their judging?
5) Do you feel that this judge should be used again for major International Championships events?
"The information will now be collated and considered by both the IDRC and the IDTC to determine if there is a strong consensus. If that is the case, the leadership of both clubs will determine the next step with the FEI Dressage Committee," Dover explained. "It will be very interesting and I also hope the beginning of a stronger communication between athletes and the FEI. In the end, we can either lead or be lead (sic)!"
Photo © Julia Rau
(One of the rides that raised much discussion about the accuracy of judging was Hans Peter Minderhoud's Grand Prix Special test. His mare Nadine made a capriole out of the blue on the final centerline. His scores ranged from 65.833% up to 75.625%)
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2010 World Equestrian Games
