The FEI Dressage Committee has appointed the retired German 5*-judge and former JSP member Uwe Mechlem back on the Judging Supervisory Panel. Mechlem will begin a new unlimited term on 1 January 2015.
The 79-year old Uwe Mechlem became an O-judge in 1988. He retired from judging internationally in the late nillies. He was a member and chair of the German Dressage Selection Committee for more than 20 years and from 1994 till 1998 he was a member of the FEI Dressage Committee. Mechlem is still very active on the international dressage scene, as a clinician and official on appeal committees. He was one of the first JSP members when the Panel was created in 2010.
After the sudden resignation of three of six JSP members (Ghislain Fouarge, Dieter Schüle, Eric Lette) due to disagreements with the FEI about the function and responsibility of the JSP, there was a shortage of JSP members which the FEI Dressage Committee urgently had to fill.
In December 2014 the FEI Dressage Committee (DC) held a conference call meeting to which FEI Judge General Stephen Clarke was invited alongside the still active JSP members, David Hunt, Mary Seefried and Henk van Bergen.
"All three JSP members had a common unanimous proposal. The Dressage Committee had proposed a list of possible candidates for the JSP at their meeting of 27 October 2014. The Judge General and the JSP were invited to come with their proposals. Both parties had the same two names they supported, Uwe Mechlem (GER) and Linda Zang (USA). The Chair contacted them following the meeting and both accepted the invitation to become member of the JSP," the Dressage Committee disclosed in its conference call minutes.
The FEI Dressage Committee stated that it will now have regular conference calls with the JSP. "The JSP was also to discuss issues and proposals to be submitted to the FEI 5* Judges Seminar in April 2015. If there were no proposals, the JSP were to continue working along the lines of the current job description," the DC added.
Photo © Astrid Appels
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