The FEI has amended the Dress Rule that junior riders could no longer wear tailcoats in competition as of 2021.
The FEI admits the erroneous deletion of "tailcoat" for juniors "due to an administrative error". They have now corrected the rule with the following statement:
Due to an administrative error, art. 427.2.2 has been updated to reflect the actual provision approved at the GA in 2020 which inadvertently provided for the deletion of the entire art. 427.2.2. Please note that the intention of the rule amendment was to allow any colours in the dress across all categories, but to maintain the requirement to wear the jacket for CDIP, CDICh and CDIYH (5 and 6yo). That requirement will be proposed for reinstatement as part of the rule revision process for the 2022 rules.
No More Tailcoats?
On 21 March 2021 Eurodressage posted the news of no more tailcoats for juniors after noticing the word tailcoat for juniors was removed from FEI Dress rules.
The announcement of this change caused some upset amongst junior riders, who take pride in wearing tails and look forward to the moment, as well as amongst parents who complained of already having made the expensive investment in a shadbelly.
Eurodressage verified the rule change with a notable FEI steward, who officiates at multiple CDI and European Youth Championships, for confirmation before running the article.
Although no explicit reason for the removal of the tailcoat for juniors was given by the FEI, the decision seemed to fit in the synchronisation of rules which the FEI has been carrying out over the years across disciplines. Junior level dressage is at M/Medium Advanced level and tails are mostly worn as of Prix St Georges level (i.e. Young Riders).
FEI Administrative Error
Several of them received a reply from Bettina de Rham, FEI Technical Dressage Director, stating that "due to an administrative error, there is a mistake in Art. 427.2.2. We will amend the 2021 Dressage Rules to reflect the actual provision approved at the FEI General Assembly in 2020."
De Rham continued, "the intention of the rule amendment approved at the FEI General Assembly in 2020 was only to allow any colours in the dress across all categories."
She concluded, "We can assure you that tailcoats are still allowed in Junior category."
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Link
Bye Bye Tailcoat for Junior Riders. FEI Decides on Jackets as of 2021