The German Equestrian Federation has had a change of heart and will not be voting in favour of the Blood Rule at the 2011 FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro mid November 2011. FN secretary-general Sönke Lauterbach explained that "we wrongly assessed the reactions of our athletes, judges, veterinarians and members about the so-called Blood Rule."
Germany, one of the biggest equestrian nations in the world, initially was in favour of the Blood Rule in order not to restrict the country's possibilities to win medals at the upcoming Olympic Games. A gigantic group of disgruntled people reacted to Lauterbach's Pro-Blood statements and signed the petition, launched by Fair zum Pferd. Several members even cancelled their FN membership because of disappointment in the federation's stand against animal welfare.
The proposed Blood Rule, which was drafted by the International Dressage Trainers Club and supported by the FEI Dressage Committee members, allowed exceptions when blood appears on a horse. If it happens at an Olympic Games or major Championship, Grand Prix riders would get to opportunity to re-start their test after a medical examination of the FEI Veterinarian. The IDRC, IDOC and AIDEO were all against the proposed rule but the FEI Dressage Committee did not take their opinion into consideration.
Exactly the partial treatment of the elite Grand Prix riders caused a stir. "Of course no-one wants to see an injured horse in competition. The allegation was that the federation considers animal welfare less important at championships compared to national or international shows. We regret that this impression arose."
The many reactions and statements from judges, veterinarians, trainers, athletes and personal members of the FN against the Blood Rule forced the federation to rethink its position.
"We take the criticism from our own very seriously and we'll try to wipe the proposed resolution off the table leading up to the FEI General Assembly," Lauterbach concluded.
Sjef Janssen Calls Commotion "Unjustified"
While the German Federation made the right decision and clearly spoke out about their change of heart, Dutch national team trainer and IDTC board member Sjef Janssen considers the heavy criticism on his proposed blood rule "unjustified". "I don't understand all the commotion about the instatement of the rule," he said in his column on Horses.nl.
Sjef's misuse of statistics is blatant when he claims that "only" 5,000 people signed the petition. "Five thousand seems a big number, but compare that to all the people who are involved in our sport or registrered with national federations or the FEI. Then 5,000 is a joke."
According to Janssen the petition, which now has 12,000 signatures, is "started by people who are far from reality, far from modern times and from what matters." Major dressage figures such as Kyra Kyrklund, Steffen Peters, Anabel and Klaus Balkenhol, Wilfried Bechtolsheimer, as well as World Dressage Masters sponsor Antonia Ax:son Johnsson signed the petition.
Even though Janssen says "I don't approve of blood, let that be clear," he believes that a judge is not qualified to eliminate a horse from competition when it bleeds. "Blood is a signal that there is something wrong. In my opinion a specialist needs to step up and check what's wrong, like in the proposed rule. (...) To me it's irresponsible and not good that one judge takes this decision. Firstly he's a judge and not a vet and secondly it has to happen by someone impartial and knowledgeable."
Janssen's column makes clear that to him medal potential and hard money are more important than animal welfare. "Factors like national interest, sportive interest and the interest of the big investors which make or break the sport are also involved. It can't be possible that all these factors are jeopardized by a futility," Janssen stated.
The blood rule not only talks about bleeding from the mouth, but other bloody situations as well. According to Janssen bleeding can be totally harmless. "A popped vein in the nose or a horse that knocked itself and has blood on his leg and so on," he enumerated. "Elimination would be totally unjustified in such cases," he believes. "If it was up to me the rule would even be extended so that one should also look at sudden lameness, which arises spontaneously and disappears after a short while. These horses also should be able to make a come back in the ring."
Janssen is aware that the proposed blood rule is unfair to the majority of athletes competing at shows, who would not get the chance to re-start. "It's not feasible to make this rule happen at all shows, but for shows where large interests are at stake, I think the installment of the rule is very justified."
Sign the Petition
If you are against the Blood rule which allows bleeding horses to re-enter the competition, you can sign the petition at www.no-fei.com
Photos © Ridehesten.com - Astrid Appels
Related Links
Xenophon Society Appeals to the German Equestrian Federation on Blood Rule
Germany In Favour of Blood Rule, Austrian Demands More Fairness
Dressage to Become a Blood Sport