An innovative system to evaluate and train dressage judges will be unveiled at the Global Dressage Forum (GDF) next month (26-27 October).

Maarten van der Heijden, sport director for the Dutch federation (KNHS), will explain the “judges’ dashboard”, developed over the past year in collaboration with the esteemed British scientist Dr David Stickland.

The dashboard has been trialled at around four Dutch national shows a week, in classes just below small tour.

Using programs provided by Dr Stickland’s company Global Dressage Analytics (GDA), every point is recorded. Within three days of each show, judges can study their analysis at home. Non-explainable differences are then evaluated with a personal coach.

GDA already offers a riders’ score analysis service, taken up en bloc by the Dutch federation in 2013.

Mr Van der Heijden said: “We decided to use this same IT from a different perspective.

“To be a good judge, you need to ‘look in the mirror’. We have already made a strong assessment of where some judges need help.”

Dr Stickland is a senior research physicist with Princeton University, currently seconded to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the

institute that discovered the Higgs boson.

Dr Stickland started analysing dressage scores “for my own amusement”, later undertaking consultancy work for the FEI. He was an early advocate of half-points and seven-judge juries.

He co-founded GDA with Akiko Yamazaki, the long-term supporter of US rider Steffen Peters, in 2009.

“There is much more information in dressage scores than people make use of,” said Dr Stickland.

He believes, for instance, that the two-point deduction for an error of course has more effect on the overall percentage than most riders appreciate.

The dashboard took an enormous amount of prior organisation because of forming the habit to send in sheets. The number of judges per show then provided a challenge.

“With seven judges, when one is very different you can hypothesise that the other six were right. But what about when you only have two?” he said.

He resorted to a basic colour-coding technique to identify judging trends of individuals against those of co-judges over the course of a year before being able to assert who was “miles off” with their marks.

The dashboard can analyse such subtleties as marking too high or low, even when overall rankings are compatible. It can detect judges failing to use the full range of marks for, say, collected walk.

“There is a lesson that someone is having trouble judging that particular movement,” he said.

Wayne Channon, secretary general of the International Dressage Riders Club, warmly welcomed the initiative.

He told H&H: “So often one judge can be just 0.5 points lower than their colleagues for a whole test and the result is 5% difference in the total test.

“Similarly, judges often end up with close matching scores, but the way they get there is not the same; one judge may mark the trot lower but compensate by having a higher canter mark.

“For the rider, this is confusing, but for the judge it looks like a good result. The GDA approach will enable judges to see where they are right and where they are seeing things differently.”

Dr Stickland stressed: “It’s important this is seen as education rather than reaction. We all depend on a vast number of volunteers to be judges and must give them the best feedback possible, not make them feel they are being painted into a corner.

“Judges don’t have hours to spare to compare sheets. The dashboard does this for them, in a format they can use when and how they wish.”

Ref: H&H 24/09/2015

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Should we accept the fact that para dressage has been left out of the Aachen European Championships schedule?

It was the buzz from the Global Dressage Forum and sparked an outcry on the International Dressage Riders’ Club Facebook page and, understandably, from some of our most noted Paralympic riders.

What are the Aachen organisers’ reasons? Is it that para dressage doesn’t “sell”? Or that it’s not what TV broadcasters want to show? Or does Aachen not have room? Whatever the reason — and I would like to hear it — the fact is that Gothenburg has already said para dressage will be part of the 2017 European Championships and for Paralympic dressage to continue to grow as it has, we have to support it wholeheartedly.

There one minute, gone the next is not good enough.

Should British Dressage say “if it’s no to the paras, it’s no from us to the Europeans”? I really do think this is something for the federations to take up.

Let’s remember in equestrianism we have that almost unique situation of women and men taking part on equal terms. We’re at the forefront of equality and in my view the FEI should not miss a chance to keep promoting this fact.

Wisdom lost, ground lost

What a huge shame that we have lost three renowned members of the judging supervisory panel (JSP) after Eric Lette, Ghislain Fouarge and Dieter Schüle felt no alternative other than to resign from the panel when their proposals for more authority and clarity were rejected by the FEI.

The JSP was only introduced at London 2012; it is a work in progress.

So the fact that the FEI has not seen the potential in listening to these three experienced judges is a major problem and potentially damaging for our sport’s development.

The still-hot hat debate

So the hat and attire debate rumbles on. Dressage is not only about harmony and partnership, but also expression, which involves an inevitable element of risk.

A sport with top athletes and performers is hard to sell to people with kids — looking at which sport to pick up — if it doesn’t have top safety criteria.

Remember, children are attracted to “cool”, while parents simply want them to be safe. I still believe we’re doing the right thing by wearing helmets and if the helmets aren’t going down well, then let’s change our tailcoats.

I agree that helmets and tailcoats aren’t the best aesthetic mix, so, if that’s a problem, we should modernise our outfits. I am all for keeping tradition, but it does seem a bit ridiculous that after all the medals Charlotte — and the rest of Team GBR — have won wearing helmets, that anyone is still going on about it. Surely it’s about the dressage!

Whirlwind tour

Last week was the travel week from hell! Valegro went to Scandinavia, first stop Denmark, where I was able to watch the Danish young horse championships.

The popularity of dressage in Denmark — always a horse nation — is amazing, and it was fun to watch such high-quality championships. To be honest, we’d be hard pushed to find two horses of that quality in a class over here, let alone a class-full.

With a clinic in the evening wrapped up — which despite last-minute nerves went well — our Friday night was spent in Oslo at the Kingsland jumping show.

We went at the invitation of the organisers and when I asked why they wanted a dressage demo at a jumping show, it was explained that when news of Valegro’s appearance went out on social media it scored thousands of hits in the first hour. They couldn’t believe that dressage had come to the public’s attention in such a big way.

It was a fantastic atmosphere and I left Charlotte there to do her music on Valegro without the pressure of competition while I caught the last flight out to be with Richard Davison at our Dressage Convention for the weekend.

The many highlights there included an in-hand display by one of the Spanish Riding School riders and an excellent judge’s viewpoint from Stephen Clarke.

Nip Tuck was on display both days while I make the decision on whether or not he will suit the indoor World Cup season. As this column goes to press I am still undecided…

An unexpected passenger

The team picked up an interesting addition to the lorry load on the way home in the form of an illegal immigrant. It is terribly sad that some people have to take such desperate measures to escape their circumstances, but nevertheless I would prefer that they didn’t travel with our seven-time gold medallist. Valegro didn’t know about that however, as the stowaway was underneath the lorry.

This column was first published in Horse & Hound (30 October, 2014)

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About four months ago I was invited to take part in the Global Dressage Forum. I couldn’t quite believe it! It’s long been a dream to just go and watch the forum – it’s always full of the biggest names in dressage, but to ride at such a prestigious event was incredible.

It was also a big year for the forum – the first time it was held outside the Netherlands, but also the first time para dressage has been included. A big step forward for our sport.

Being held in Denmark at the Blue Hors Stud, the Danish Para team were heavily involved. Annika Lykke Risum and Stinna Tange also took part and Annika led our demo.

Our main aim was to portray our sport in a positive light, that it wasn’t so much about disability but more about ability. To educate and open eyes to what can be achieved when overcoming challenges.

Because Denmark it’s quite a distance to travel, it was decided that I would try and ride one of the horses from the Blue Hors Stud. Which was very exciting but also very nerve wracking!

Nerve pain

I had a bit of a challenge the night before as the nerves in my legs kicked off, causing a lot of nerve pain, a lot worse than I have had for a while, to the point where I couldn’t put any weight on them.

The next morning after a bad night’s sleep they were a little better but painful to drive. I went to see my sport massage therapist, Darren, and he helped get my legs softer and the nerves moving better.

I took my crutches to the airport and over to Denmark, just in case I needed them. My legs were very fragile and I knew they could set off at any time, so I had to be very careful.

Falling in love

We arrived to try the horses that the stud had selected for us, to choose which would suit me the best. The stud is an incredible place, and almost like a dream, there is everything you could possibly want and more!

Bossco was my first horse to try, a 17.1hh, chestnut gelding with 4 white stockings, by the famous Don Schufro with Michallano on the mother’s side.

I got on him and instantly felt comfortable, secure, and happy, he gave me a great ride, even though we were both trying to figure each other’s aids out. We clicked and I fell in love with him.

The two other horses I tried after Bossco were nice – a black 8-year-old and bay 6-year-old, but they didn’t live up to the feeling I got from Bossco. He also suited my disability well, good in the hand and responsive to the leg.

I rode him in the main arena the next day before the forum started. He was a little nervous of the black curtain, and there were people banging around behind it, but he really listened to my reassurance and was so genuine about it. I never felt worried despite him being a new strange horse in a potentially big environment.

We watched the forum that afternoon and evening, which was very interesting. Annika, Stinna, Angela and I had planned our section. But we were all very nervous, with the big names in dressage watching and listening. (No pressure!)

Show time

I warmed up in the arena next door as we only had a 15 minute slot, and then we went in. Bossco held his breath a little, but really listened and tried his best. He had such a lovely temperament and bundles of talent, I tried to learn the Danish for good boy, but it was very complicated, so decided he could probably learn the English easier than me learning Danish! I had a microphone on while I rode and Angela spoke as well. It was a good dynamic.

We got a lot of positive feedback from the audience and panel afterwards. The Princess of Denmark, who is the president of the Global Dressage Foundation, made a statement expressing her disappointment that para dressage isn’t included in the Europeans next year. It was great to hear her passion in support of our sport.

We quite literally had a bump back to reality when we arrived back in England, with it being quite stormy on Tuesday, but also the next day I spent seven hours riding outside in the rain, instead of the luxury of the stud.

It was a truly amazing experience and a massive honour to be a part of the Global Dressage Forum. I was upset to have to leave Bossco at the Blue Hors Stud, but if I win the lottery I will definitely be bringing him home.

I must also say a big ‘thank you’ to Champion and Toggi for the great kit they sent me before leaving for Denmark.

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Much of day one of the Global Dressage Forum in Denmark (20-21 October) was spent discussing ways in which dressage can be moved forwards, expanded, made more popular and grab more air time.

Jo Public don’t want to sit through two long, solid days of grand prix tests at championships and broadcasters won’t dedicate two days to it.

So what can be done to make dressage more appealing to sponsors, spectators and the wider media? One idea in development, as Finnish dressage legend Kyra Kyrklund outlined, is a contracted grand prix lasting just four minutes.

But should all the current elements be crammed into that test, or just a selection of them? Both versions have been developed and will be tested in Germany in the coming months.

Commercial opportunities

Discussion also focussed around how to make the sport more commercially attractive to bring in money and raise profile.

Could judges’ huts be sponsored, in the way that London buses are “taken over” by Adidas’ advertising?

What about the arena boards? And if not, why not? Such overt displays of sponsorship aren’t currently allowed, but many delegates agreed that dressage will have to think outside the box in order to grow and develop.

There’s a huge discrepancy in prize-money between international jumping and dressage. Jumps can be sponsored, jumping riders can wear whatever colour jackets they want (I think – it certainly seems so), bearing a wider array of more obvious sponsorship.

Audience participation

Perhaps it’s the lack of audience participation that makes dressage less attractive commercially than jumping? After all, the moment a horse lands over the final fence in a clear round, the music is jacked up and the big screen explodes in excitement and the crowd is swept up in a din of cheers and whoops.

Can some of that energy be borrowed for dressage? It’s so boring for spectators to have to sit quietly for fear of spooking horses.

I watched the reining at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Normandy. They do a dressage test of sorts and the appreciative crowd signal a well-performed movement with vocal gusto. So horses CAN get used to noise while performing. And those that can’t? Well perhaps we allow them to wear ear plugs? After all, if this really is about both mass appeal and horse welfare, why not allow ear plugs if it makes nervous horses happier about doing their job in an environment more attractive to major commercial sponsors?

Crash hats and colours

On day two of the convention the Danish author, journalist and judge Jytte Lemkow gave a (self-confessed unscientific) presentation about harmony in the sport. Aside from talking about the paces and how they adhere to or deviate from the FEI directives, she talked about headgear.

She abhors the modern fashion to wear crash hats, said they do not go with tail coats and have no place in the sport, which should stick to its traditional roots. I disagree with her in the strongest possible terms, and I expect that riders like Courtney King-Dye and Fiona Bigwood would too.

Jytte also lambasted brightly coloured tailcoats, using pictures of Hans Peter Minderhoud’s Dutch orange points on his tails and a Swiss rider with a flag logo on his saddlepad.

She used a picture of Carl in his shiny Union Flag crash hat – among others – to illustrate how “unharmonious” these safety helmets are.

But what sort of an example would we be setting if youngsters and novice riders started refusing to wear “proper” hats because the top riders shunned them?

What made me even more cross was the smattering of applause when she said crash hats had no place. Weren’t people listening to the previous day’s discussion?

The art of compromise

We really must modernise dressage to make it more appealing to a wider audience, and that’s likely to involve some compromise.

The FEI’s Hans-Christian Matthiesen conceded that it will be “hard but essential” for dressage to remain on the Olympic roster, and to do that the sport will “perhaps have to sacrifice a few things. We must add appeal and broaden the number of nations taking part”.

I’m not saying top hats should be banned; I’m all for choice, but I’m pleased our British dressage team are sensible and forward-thinking; all four of them used helmets at WEG (pictured top).

Dressage often gets stick for being perceived as an elitist sport. Dismissing modern, comfortable and safe equipment on the basis of old school tradition is barmy, and only serves to reinforce the elitist perception to outsiders. Dressage is a sport and sports have to evolve. You want to see things exactly as they used to be? Go to a museum.

Don’t miss the report from the Global Dressage Forum in Horse & Hound magazine, out Thursday 30 October

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Dressage star Charlotte Dujardin reveals how she got through a tough 2014 in a frank interview at The Global Dressage Forum

Most people would count a 76% grand prix as a huge success. Not Charlotte Dujardin.

Her test with Valegro at Aachen in July this year was “a complete disaster from start to finish”, as she explained in a frank interview with host Richard Davison at the Global Dressage Forum (Denmark, 20-21 October).

“Aachen was the toughest point of my career,” said the 29-year-old dressage rider.

“We knew it was going to be tough as we didn’t have Valegro at full fitness because we wanted him to peak in Normandy for the World Games. And we didn’t prepare for 30 degree heat either; it was a big shock.

“We changed my spurs in the warm-up – I didn’t want to, but Carl said I had to. We had a row about it, but I did as I was told. We went into the arena and it was the biggest disaster.

“’Blueberry’ was freaked out and it was almost like he wasn’t there, like he was frightened and I couldn’t help him.

“In all the years I’d ridden him, that horse had never let me down – in Aachen we changed things and we shouldn’t have, but you don’t know unless you try.”

She went on to detail how facing the press has always been the toughest aspect of her job.

“In the early days I could literally feel sweat running down my arms in the press conferences. And at Aachen the hardest thing to deal with was the press – everyone was so quick on social media, saying ‘Oh my god, what’s happened to Valegro?’

“Then I had to do the special, and I’d never been so scared in my life than for that test. If I could have run and hid I would have. I was shaking, and that’s not like me. I thought, ‘Why am I doing this? I can’t do it.’ It literally broke me down.

“Afterwards I felt defeated – I was so used to winning that after being beaten, I didn’t know how to go forwards and I needed a sports psychologist.

“She taught me how to deal with it and turn the negative into a positive. By the time I went to WEG, I felt on top of the world. I went there and held my head high. I went in there and I had fun. I enjoyed every moment of it because I knew how to deal with it if it all went wrong.

“Getting that help definitely made me a stronger person.”

Don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine’s full report from the Global Dressage Forum, on sale Thursday 30 October 2014

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International riders have called for sweeping changes to the way dressage is scored, including deducting marks for a movement from an initial 10 rather than amassing them.

Wayne Channon, secretary general of the International Dressage Riders’ Club (IDRC), led discussions last week at the Global Dressage Forum in the Netherlands (25-26 October), calling for a five-year plan to change the judging system.

He said: “Judges are doing the best job a human can, but we need a system that can cope with natural biases and a code of points to make it easier.”

Dutch sports psychologist Inga Wolframm, whom the IDRC had asked to scrutinise the judging system, backed up his claims of unintentional bias.

“It’s human nature to form an opinion based on previous experience,” she said.

“There’s so much information for a judge to assess in a test, no wonder they develop ‘short cuts’ [such as relying on previous knowledge] to award points.”

And judge Jennie Loriston-Clarke admitted: “Judges all want to be fair, but you are under tremendous pressure from what you already know.”

Other concerns, identified by Ms Wolframm, are a tendency for judges not to give as many marks to earlier combinations.

And she said the current system encourages judges to look to each other in marking.

In response, Kyra Kyrklund, president of the IDRC, called for riders to be drawn in random order and for judges’ marks to be anonymous.

She said: “We want judges’ honest opinions.”

But Frank Kempermann, chairman of the FEI dressage committee, argued against riders being drawn randomly, saying competing in reverse order is a more attractive format for TV.

Ms Wolframm argued that scoring from zero to 10 lends itself to bias. She and Mr Channon argued for starting at 10 and deducting marks.

FEI director of dressage Trond Asmyr said he would take the suggestions to the FEI.

He said: “The changes we have already made — such as seven judges rather than five — are just one step towards improving our system.”

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (4 November, ’10)

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The highlight of this year’s Global Dressage Forum was going to be homegrown talent Edward Gal riding wonder horse Totilas. But then, of course, owner Cees Visser went and sold the 10-year-old stallion to German breeder and former show jumper Paul Schockemöhle.

Instead of a showcase and celebration of this incredible athlete, the demonstration billed as “the secret to Edward’s success” was unavoidably downcast since the “secret” was settling into his new pad across the continent. In Germany, of all places, the Germans being longtime dressage arch rivals to the Netherlands. You couldn’t make this stuff up. It’s pure tragedy.

Call me a cynic (I’ve been doing this job a while), but I’ll admit I just assumed that Edward would be getting a fair cut of the (10 to 15 million Euro) deal to see him right through this ordeal. I’ve seen enough riders in agreement with owners parting with horses in return for financial security – and who can blame them? But seeing Edward at the forum today I fear not, since he appears truly heartbroken that “Toto” has been taken away.

“It’s better if I don’t talk about it,” he said. “They came yesterday and took the horse. It’s shit. We had a lot of fun in Kentucky, and then we had a week together back home. Now he’s gone and that’s that.”

Schockemöhle broke his silence on the subject today, saying he intends to use Totilas for breeding purposes and perhaps secure a German rider for him at some point, but not yet.

As for who would ride him if he does come back to competition, Edward said: “I don’t know, and I don’t even want to think about it. All I know is they picked him up yesterday and that that was really really hard.”

Edward fought back the tears. He couldn’t bring himself to watch the video of his ride in the grand prix special in Kentucky, either, leaving trainer Nicole Werner to talk through the test on the big screen for the forum audience.

Nicole, who is as upset as anyone by the news, was stoic in handling the inevitable questions. She explained: “We had agreements with the owners until Kentucky [that the horse wouldn’t be sold earlier]. After that we heard he was sold, but of course nobody came to try him out so we didn’t know when he would go. That said, it’s harder when people start coming and trying a horse, I guess I’d rather it this way.”

In the past 10 years, Edward has lost the ride on (WEG bronze medallist) Ravel to America’s Steffen Peters; World Cup star Lingh, again to America; and now he’s lost the best horse we’ve ever seen. I don’t think any of us could feel sorrier for him. That truly, truly sucks.

Edward and Nicole went on to demonstrate their training methods, which you can read all about in next week’s Horse & Hound alongside the bombshell news that riders want to see the judging system changed completely in the next five years – talk about a revolution.

At the end of their demo, Edward and Nicole received a standing ovation. The support for them here was overwhelming. Nicole finished: “We are really determined to go on and we will stay on this level with other horses.”

Good luck to them. And is there any chance of the sort of contract that stops a fourth mega star being taken out of their stables?

Meanwhile, call me a bunny hugger (I’ve not been doing this job for That long), but I’m sort of feeling for Totilas. He’s done our sport the greatest service, catapulting dressage into a new league, but in doing so he’s made himself the biggest commodity the sport has ever known. It just doesn’t feel right that a living legend has become a pawn, a weapon available to the highest bidder wanting to crush their dressage adversaries at the next championships.

Good luck to his next jockey, I truly hope he has one. But right now it all tastes quite bitter, frankly, I feel.

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The Global Dressage Forum (a Star Trek convention for dressage folk) got under way today in this its 10th year. I’ve only been to the past three, but I’d like to think that these were the best, the ones that did what a forum is supposed to do – create discussion that prompts change.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but in the past two years things have actually Happened in dressageville. Things that were discussed here at the forum first, I mean. So kudos to organiser Joep Bartels. The sport that nobody thought could ever embrace revolution has done just that. (Don’t go getting complacent, mind, there’s still a long way to go.)

For example, Frank Kempermann, organiser of still the greatest equestrian event in the world, CHIO Aachen, was here three years ago waxing lyrical about the need for a media-friendly sport and shorter tests to appeal to television. And here he stands now, chairman of the new FEI dressage committee, explaining how that is actually going to happen. He’s got the Olympic format he wanted, and he’s snuck it past the riders (such as Kyra Kyrklund, who was here objecting), who don’t want shorter tests, whether it helps sell the sport or not.

The forum’s had a bit of a redesign and is looking posher than ever. How they stick a marquee on the side of an indoor school and create a space that feels like a trendy continental drinking hole combined with quite a smart wedding, really, I’ve no idea. But they do. “It’s cold,” says the journo to my right. Well, as indoor schools go, I’d say it’s pretty toasty, but of course we don’t feel like we’re in an indoor school, Joep et al have fooled us into thinking we’re in a real theatre.

We’re getting quite slick at this Forum malarkey, too, most of us feel like regulars, we know the drill. Moderator Richard Davison makes the same (bad) jokes he always has, and we still chuckle like we always do. (Hello, Richard).

If you ever feel sorry for the judges getting a bashing for the discrepancies in their marks, spare a thought for the new villains of the piece, the stewards, who were under discussion here. Stewards truly can’t win. They’ve been given guidelines to work with to stop images that we do not want to see in the warm-up at dressage internationals. Truth is, unless they get the riders off the horses altogether, they will never please the uber-anti-rollkur folk out there. You know, the ones that post videos on you-tube that feature Bono crooning “One life, we get to, carry each other, carry each otherrr”, over images of “cruelty” where ponies on the beach are tucking their noses in to their chests on completely loose reins.

The stewards have these guys in their right ear, and the riders in their left, saying, “well, if you keep going down that road riders will be too scared to even pick up their reins”. There’s got to be a middle ground, right?

The discussion following steward Jacques van Daele’s presentation was pretty juicy for this early on in the forum (ordinarily, we start out being terribly polite and things don’t kick off untill the second day). And somehow, in that discussion, the media ended up being held responsible for everything from the rollkur crisis to horses’ nosebands being cranked up too tight. What noise do goats make? But more of that and all the forum news and views in next week’s H&H.

Meanwhile, we’re waiting for Jean Francois Pignon to come on to explain how he gets horses to follow him around Paris without headcollars. Someone’s given Spanish team trainer Jean Bemelmans a microphone after his glass of champagne and he’s spilling the beans on World Games sensation Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz…he’s talking about thin walls in hotels… But more of that tomorrow, too.

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Déjà vu… I’m in a lecture theatre on Aldwych, sitting first year module SR103 — that’s statistical research for us scientifically-challenged arts students. There’s a statistician standing at the front trying to make me grasp standard deviation.

Oh, no I’m not, I’m at the Global Dressage Forum listening to David Stickland’s talk “Evaluating the judging”. He definitely just mentioned standard deviation though…

David is a nuclear physicist, so you’d trust him with this task of getting to the route of the issues in our present judging system. And, even if we don’t completely understand where he’s coming from, where he gets to with his conclusions is making a lot of sense — the education of judges has got to be the answer to improving accuracy in competition.

Dressage has a reputation for being just a tad resistant to change. So, although people might get the feeling judging could be more accurate on occasions and seems a little nationalistic on others, to improve the situation we need hard facts and numbers. David is our definitive hard facts and numbers man.

British dressage rider Wayne Channon, also fairly stacked in terms of grey matter, has been talking about introducing half points in judging to anyone that would listen, and some who would rather not, since I first met him four years ago. Now, following David’s research, the FEI dressage task force is recommending to the bureau that half points be brought in.

So it might have been worth Wayne’s while. Will he rest though? Will he heck. Now he wants a code of points…

I’ll never get a job with L’Oreal, not least because I’ve just totally skiped the science part — but I will attempt to make that stats teacher proud within the pages of H&H’s 5 November issue (which will include all the other news and views from the forum). I just need to read the presentation once more on the plane. Peter Storr’s just checked in, reckon I’ll ask him to explain it…

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The rollkur debate, so passé right? So 2006. No, so back. This bone of contention has a spooky habit of giving the dressage fraternity jip prior to the annual Global Dressage Forum in Hooge Miedre, the Netherlands.

In 2007, images of the Dutch team pony Power And Paint being lunged in very short side reins got people’s attention. Back then, Coby van Baalen was invited to the forum to explain the situation with the pony under her tutelage.

This time, the subject under fire is Sweden’s European team rider Patrik Kittel. Patrik is currently starring on youtube in a 4min26sec clip that shows him schooling his horse in hyperflexion — rollkur, basically. At one point, (in slow motion) the horse’s tongue is lolling out the side of its mouth.

Patrik isn’t here at the forum to explain the situation, but David Holmes, Executive Sports Director of the FEI, did open the day’s seminars with his organisation’s statement on the issue, reiterating that the FEI’s main concern is the welfare of the horse. He insisted they are taking the issues raised in the video and in the comments made by other youtube viewers very seriously and have opened an investigation — the conclusions of which will be made public in due course. He said it was difficult to answer any further questions on the topic at this time and could only refer people to this statement.

But because this is a place of “open discussion”, Global Dressage Forum moderator and H&H columnist Richard Davison then invited questions on this topic….which, oddly enough, David referred to his previous statement. He was also able to refer journalists to the FEI’s 2006 statement following their investigations into hyperflexion, which, in a nutshell, says they don’t have a problem with hyperflexion in moderation.

“[That the FEI is investigating] is not a negative thing against Patrik,” Daivid added. “We are looking at all the facts and will arrive at our conclusion as quickly as possible.”

So that was the first five minutes of the forum — there’s so much more to tell but you’ll have to pick up H&H 5 November issue for the full story because as I write Steffen Peters is gearing up for his presentation which appears to include two big old arm chairs and a collection of candles… I’m expecting him to come in smoking a pipe… if he does, I’ll let you know.

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Day two in the Global Dressage Forum house and we kicked off hearing from a former gymnast and commentator on Olympic gymnastics and ice-skating. Why? To see what we, dressage, could learn from these sports’ respective judging systems.

In men’s gymnastics there are a total of 63 judges, which makes our five seem rather pathetic. There are several judges marking different aspects of each performance — one judging movements, one execution, and so on.

What’s more, the top and bottom marks are always deducted, to stop any impartial judges getting away with it. And if a judge is too generous to their home nation three times, they are removed… All very interesting.

Sadly, the dressage judges seemed too feel these ideas wouldn’t work in our sport. *Sigh* They’re open to new ideas, just not these ones in particular.

Rider psychology

Sports psychologist Rico Schuijers then had us all studying a Cheerio for two minutes. I found this hard — apparently I have concentration issues.

We then had to try and identify our Cheerio amongst a pile of them. Of course everyone else found this easier than me — should have studied the damn breakfast nugget harder. The Cheerio I came back with was definitely porkier than the one I put in.

This is one of the mental skills Rico teachers the Dutch team, you have to learn as a rider to focus on one thing, looking beyond the obvious, “beyond the boredom”, at the details and really getting the most out of the exercise. “We have unlearned this ability to focus really well in our society”, says Rico. No kidding.

Mind and body

Having sorted out the rider’s heads, we moved on to their bodies and British team physio Andrew Thomas talked about the work he did with Emma Hindle — best of the British in 7th at the 2008 Olympics — in the build up to the Games.

Andrew looks at rider weaknesses and suggests exercises to strength those areas (for an insight into Andy’s techniques don’t miss week three, 27 November, of H&H’s autumn training series). With Emma, he had to fast track 18 months-worth of work in to 6 weeks. The day after the final British selection trial, Emma rang team captain Richard Davison to say doctors had found a large cyst that needed to be removed immediately and she would not be able to ride again within the time frame.

Knowing Emma’s temperament, toughness and determination, Richard said she would still go to Hong Kong. And so Andrew taught Emma to use muscles she didn’t know existed in order to ride without pain, and she credits both him and Richard for her success in Hong Kong.

“They’re just really good people”, she gushed. Seriously, a Brit, showing emotion in front of at least 350 people — was a wonderful thing.

Don’t miss H&H full report on all the demonstrations and debate from this year’s Global Dressage Forum in next week’s magazine (6 November, ’08)

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If you’ve not experienced the Global Dressage Forum at Hooge Mierde in the Netherlands, imagine the love child of an Addington Manor lecture demo and a five-star hotel wedding reception — that’s it, you’ve got it.

Chandeliers adorn the indoor school and plush, silver chairs line the auditorium, while meals are served in a red, velvet big top marquee with a carousel theme. This year, a day of lectures and panel discussions is to be followed by dinner — which is gourmet, no generators or egg and bacon rolls here. This will be followed by a display by the Cadre Noir de Saumur — a glance back at history, to remember, “where dressage came from”. Or, to look at it another way, men in uniform with French accents. Marvellous.

My point? This is far from your average lecture demo — no Thermatex needed over your knees for a start. It’s not even reminiscent of your average national convention, where you’d have just one top trainer, one respected name; here there are a hundred and Olympians Laurens van Lieren (NED) and Emma Hindle (GB) are drawn in just to illustrate a point.

The Dutch system

The dressage cognoscenti have gathered at the Bartels’ family home for the past eight years and, this year, the forum kicked off hearing about the Dutch system that has made this nation a formidable rival to the once invincible Germans.

It was a well-earned opportunity for the Dutch to bask in their self-made glory and a chance for the rest of us, well, us Brits in particular, to go green with envy. It’s not that we’re bitter; it’s just that, listening to the simplicity of their winning formula it’s so clear why they’ve been successful, and so painful that the British haven’t followed a similar path.

This was where Laurens and Emma came in. Laurens, part of the Dutch gold medal winning team in Turin 2007, is a shining example of the Dutch talent spotting system, while Emma’s Hong Kong ride Lancet is a shining example of Dutch breeding and training — Imke Schellekens competed the stallion at Athens. The system is slick, undeniably impressive and you can read all about it in next week’s H&H.

Britain could learn a thing or two from their experience, particularly our breeding industry, but I won’t start. Maybe one day, with one umbrella breed society and one goal, we stand a chance of catching up. I know, you’ve heard it all before, I’ll change the record.

Olympic judging

We moved on to an interrogation of the judging at the Olympics, only, it wasn’t so much of an interrogation as technical delegate at Hong Kong Mariette Withage, an Olympic judge herself, was there to defend each point before it had the opportunity to become a discussion.

It’s difficult what the forum is trying to achieve here — open debate that doesn’t offend or upset anyone — or prompt legal action. It’s all about exchanging ideas, while maintaining RESPECT. It’s a tough balance.

I’m not asking for handbags at dawn, the last thing I want to witness tomorrow is passionate debate that only dogs and bats can hear. But if nobody questions the status quo, if nobody discusses things that might prompt discussion and change, then everything will always stay the same, and then what’s the point in having this glorious forum?

Meanwhile, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to listen to some men in uniform. Au Revoir…

Read H&H’s full report from the Global Dressage Forum in H&H (6 November, ’08)

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“Riders need freedom to ride in a way they feel is right and don’t have to feel guilty about,” said President of the International Dressage Rider’s Club Margit Otto Crepin during the Global Dressage Forum, Holland, 29-30 October.

The former Olympian felt that debate comparing the use of different neck frames in schooling (including low, deep and round, hyperflexion or rollkur) was preventing riders from training as they thought best.

“We need to concentrate on the body of the horse and the best way to train that individual,” she said.

This comment came after Spanish national coach Jean Bemelmans refrained from demonstrating hyperflexion (or rollkur) in his lecture, preferring to stretch the horses’ necks with their noses out.

Afterwards he admitted: “I don’t have a problem with hyperflexion, I use it at home sometimes for short moments. I’ll use draw reins, too, just not everyday. It’s when people exacerbate these methods that it’s wrong.”

Dutch Olympian Coby van Baalen has come under fire from the press and welfare groups after pictures were published of her lunging Power And Paint in short side-reins at the European pony championships.

In her demonstration at the Global Dressage Forum, she said: “It was a mistake that the reins were so short and it was corrected after a short time, that is the truth.”

The photographer who took the images claimed the pony was in short side reins for at least 10mins. The Dutch Federation have launched an investigation into the incident.

To find out how riders felt about the idea of a 70 second grand prix test, plus debate on more topics from the Global Dressage forum, don’t miss Horse&Hound 8 November issue.

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“The sport of dressage is unmarketable in its current state,” announced Frank Kemperman at the Global Dressage Forum, Holland, 29-30 October.

Kemperman, the show director of CHIO Aachen, joined Joep Bartels, innovator of the grand prix kür, in demanding a shake up of the sport to increase public and national press interest.

“A show jumping round lasts 70 seconds, where a dressage test lasts 360 seconds, you try selling 10 dressage test to mainstream television at 360 seconds per test, it’s not possible,” said Kemperman. “We need heroes, too, both horses and riders. At the moment we only have two and you don’t know how lucky we are that they are from different countries [Isabell Werth (GER) and Anky Van Grunsven (NED)].”

Bartels and Kemperman also argued for fewer events that guarantee the top riders in the world will turn up and compete against each other. With the World Cup filling the winter months, they want a nations cup series to run over the summer, culminating in a major championship or Europeans.

“We have CDIOs CDI***, CDI*****, it’s so confusing for people, they want to know which are the best shows and that the top riders will be there,” explained Kemperman.

Bartels recalled riders fighting against the introduction of the grand prix kür, but pointed out how the music has created bigger audiences. He and Kemperman expect the same opposition for these ideas.

To find out how riders felt about the idea of a 70 second grand prix test, plus debate on more topics from the Global Dressage forum, don’t miss Horse&Hound 8 November issue.

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International Dressage Trainers’ Club chairman David Hunt opened the 2006 Global Dressage Forum at Academy, Holland by declaring that the health of competition dressage had never been better. Almost 50,000 spectators watched the grand prix special and 60,000 the kür at the summer’s World Equestrian Games (WEG).

“We saw unknown combinations [including Mexico’s Bernadette Pujals and Vincent] jump in to the top bracket. Three different horses won a class and they were not all trained on the same system. The judges are to be thanked for rewarding the best performances on the day,” he said. “But there is one key thing — the welfare of the horse — we must never move away from that.”

As well as debates on various training methods for horse and rider, including the use of the controversial “deep and round” technique, the forum hosted a lively session analysing the judging at WEG, where the delegates were invited to score the grand prix specials of Andreas Helgstrand (Blue Hors Matine); Bernadette Pujals (Vincent) and Isabell Werth (Satchmo) with the aid of DVD playback.

The audience pointed out that Vincent’s changes were the best of the three horses. The scoring sheets showed that in both the two-times Vincent achieved the same score as the other two horses (four eights and a seven) and in the one-tempis Vincent scored four eights and one nine, compared to Satchmo and Matine who each gained three sevens and two eights.

There was some discussion of Matine’s piaffe and passage — which has been widely praised as incredibly expressive. German journalist Birgit Popp said Matine’s scores for piaffe and passage surprised her, as the horse’s elasticity was not good enough.

“She showed wonderful potential, but it is not exactly what we want to see,” said Birgit.

Mariette Withages, judge and dressage committee chair, countered: “When I say spectacular, that doesn’t mean ideal or free of tension. If the horse gets a stronger back that will improve elasticity. Andreas even said in the press conference that once back at home he would be concentrating on the basics. You have to bear in mind that she is still very young and was a last-minute substitute for his top ride, Blue Hors Don Schufro.”

Stephen Clarke added: “We have to be a bit careful not to talk just about the technical aspects of a performance. We judges appreciated the mental side, too. Matine was the most willing horse and always smiling. It has to be worth something that she so much wants to do the work and was never working against the rider.”

Belgian journalist Astrid Appels asked why Debbie MacDonald’s ride Brentina scored more than 70% in the grand prix when the mare was “obviously lame”.

Stephen Clarke replied: “It’s really unfair to say that. The mare had some slight irregularities in the extended trot. To say she was lame is unfair. Her weaknesses were scored lower and there were elements of the test that were very high-scoring. But we admit, sometimes we make mistakes.”

Astrid went on to ask that if Brentina were only slightly irregular why was she pulled out of the competition after the grand prix.

“The rider felt the mare was uncomfortable in extended trot, so she decided not to take the risk any more,” added Stephen.

Read Horse & Hound’s full report from the Global Dressage Forum, including the use of “deep and round” as a training tool and the dressage world’s reaction to Monty Roberts, in tomorrow’s magazine (9 November, ’06)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now