Wayne Channon's column on Eurodressage, "World Cup Roundup: Who Said You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks," held the attention of FEI Dressage director Trond Asmyr who wished to respond to it. Asmyr sent us the following reaction:
The FEI has read the article written by Wayne Channon, Secretary General of the International Dressage Riders Club, with great interest. It is very well written and informative and we are pleased to see that his general conclusion is that the introduction of half marks adds value to the judging. We are of the same opinion, and will of course carefully follow the development.
We would like to underline that the introduction of half marks gives the judges the opportunity to be more accurate.
Obviously, the use of half marks is at the discretion of the judges and will therefore vary from performance to performance - should judges feel a 6.5 is deserved for example, rather than a 7 judges have the opportunity to award a more accurate mark.
Mr. Channon’s article could mislead some readers who may understand from the article that the more half marks are used, the better it is for the sport and also that some judges favour half marks and others do not, by calling them “A-League” and “B-league”.
This is not the case – judges are simply awarding full and half marks according to their own professional judgement during the performance.
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
World Cup Roundup: Who said You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2011 World Cup Finals