High-level eventing fixtures are being encouraged to use “spotters’’ on cross-country, to quickly feed back live information to the ground jury.
The idea is that having experienced officials in place, who can give fast, eye-witness accounts, can help the ground jury make quick decisions if there are concerns about a competitor. For example, the ground jury can step in to pull up a tiring horse.
How to speed up communications and decision-making, and ultimately intervene to pull up a competitor, is an ongoing topic in eventing and showjumping. When horses are galloping across country at speed, time is crucial – so too is clear and fair decision-making. It is a fine balance.
The topic came up at the end of a panel discussion on horse and rider fitness, at the 2025 FEI eventing forum (17 to 19 January).
FEI eventing committee chairman and Olympic gold medallist David O’Connor told the forum that the ground jury’s ability to have helpers, or “spotters”, “has actually been in the rules for a long time […] but is not a system that probably gets used often enough”.
“I think at the high levels we’re really trying to push everybody always to have that system, because it has been very effective,” he said.
“The [spotter] out there, they can’t make the decision – all they can do is radio it back to say, ‘this is our opinion’.
“So it’s still the ground jury’s decision, but it’s a way of transferring information about something that’s happening in real time.”
The forum heard that Mars Badminton Horse Trials 2024 and the 2023 FEI European Eventing Championships at Haras du Pin both used the system.
The Badminton ground jury enlisted the help of experienced vet John Killingbeck and five-star course-designer and former top rider Mark Phillips as their spotters.
Ground jury president at last year’s Gloucestershire five-star Sandy Phillips told the forum it “worked very well”.
“We didn’t have to stop anyone. But I think it made the riders think,” she said, adding that she would “definitely use the system again”.
“We all need checks and balances, and we have very good officials. I think it’s a positive thing for the future and sends a message out – like where we started this conversation, which is that we have to get our horses properly fit. Horses and the riders must be fit for the level that they’re competing at. It sends a positive message out.”
Mathias Otto-Erley, technical delegate at the Europeans, added that one learning from the 2023 championships was to inform competitors beforehand that the system was in place – such as at the riders’ briefing.
Badminton did opt to tell competitors at the riders’ briefing.
Mathias said: “We have a good system, and riders all should know that it could happen, but if you let them know beforehand – at the riders’ meeting – I think that’s a good point to add.”
Top course-designer Pierre le Goupil said that Badminton and the Europeans show it is possible, but as such experts are not always available, there is a need for training in this area.
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