The CHIO and the 10-minute LDR rule
In early summer, the FEI decided
that in the competition training arena riders were allowed to use the Low Deep
Round (LDR, formerly known as hyperflexion/“Rollkur”) position only for periods
not exceeding 10 minutes without change. After this time, the horse should be
allowed to carry his head and neck in another position. The CHIO in Aachen
was the first major competition in which this rule was to be applied. A search
for evidence.
Friday morning; at nine o’clock
already the sun is blazing onto the training arena that only participants and
member of the press can access. Now comes the moment when the attentive
reporter starts taking notes about whether some rider will breach the 10-minute
rule. Ingrid Klimke warms up her Abraxxas at an easy canter – in her case, the
stewards remain out of work.
After ten o’clock: a Spanish rider
has been in the arena for some time, his bay stallion is sweating profusely.
The horse’s neck is so flexed that he is close to biting his chest. 10 minutes
later: the horse is forced to go on cantering round after round, his head-neck
position unchanged. The curb reins are extremely tight, the tongue starts to
turn blue. Reaction of the steward: none.
Exemplary warm-up: Patrick Kittel
Patrick Kittel, who made negative
headlines last year, comes into the arena for the morning training of his young
horse. But instead of strongly hyperflexing him, he smiles to the crowd, holds
the reins rather long, works his horse at a relaxed trot, praises him and rides
him in neck extension. Meanwhile, there are more than 15 riders in the arena.
With this amount of riders, it is difficult for the outside observer to take
note minute by minute of when which riders works his horse in what head-neck
position.
No 10-minute rule in Aachen
The stewards in Aachen never came into the situation where
they would have had to apply the 10-minute rule. “The rule was suspended here”,
Aachen Chief Steward Rolf-Peter Fuss declared when interviewed on the subject
by Dressur-Studien. We published the news on the homepage of Dressur-Studien
and soon received an email from the FEI press office: of course the rule was
still in place, it had not been abolished. The Aachen Chief Steward had not
spoken for the FEI, but only for himself personally, the email stated.
Rolf-Peter Fuss, however, stands by
his first declaration: “The FEI Honorary Steward General Dressage, Jacques van
Daele, was also present in Aachen,
and he told us that the LDR rule should not be applied because it is simply
impracticable.” In contrast the Chairman of the FEI Dressage Committee and CHIO
organizer, Frank Kempermann, had us informed briefly that of course all FEI
rules were adhered to during the competition.
Investigations at the FEI
Meanwhile the FEI press office
investigates what Jacques van Daele could possibly have meant. The FEI then
declares: At the CHIO there was a meeting of
von Daele with all the stewards. The Steward General Dressage encouraged the
stewards to consult him directly if they were unsure. He also instructed them
that they should act in a way that would prevent a situation arising in which
it would be necessary to use the 10-minute rule. And in general they were
directed to issue a yellow or red card or apply the 10-minute rule in Aachen only after direct
consultation with the Steward General Dressage, Jacques van Daele. FEI Dressage
Director Trond Asmyr puts it more concretely: the aim of the stewards is always
to prevent any critical situations from arising in the first place.
Officially the 10-minute LDR rule is
thus still in place. Practically it was not applied in Aachen. The FEI and Rolf-Peter Fuss agree on
one point nevertheless: at the Aachen CHIO there was no cause for applying it
anyway. (cls)
Comment
If you watched the dressage warm-up
in Aachen this
year, you could make one positive observation: gruesome pictures were an
exception, even if you could see them here and there. Spectators have reason to
hope that things have developed in a positive way – not least because many
people watch much more closely and the riders indirectly feel a bit of pressure.
And that's a good thing. So much for the good news.
The bad news is that the FEI is so
hesitant and clueless as to how to enforce its own rules that it borders on the
embarrassing.
Of course it is impossible for a
steward to watch all riders with hawk eyes and keep track of everyone's head-and-neck
positions.
Thus the ten-minute LDR rule is a law
without bite.
It could all be so simple and
pragmatic: just ban LDR/hyperflexion/”Rollkur” completely. Let's just take a
logical view – if LDR becomes detrimental to the horse after ten minutes (and
that's what the FEI admits via this rule) but it cannot be controlled effectively, well, then
it has to disappear from the warm-up arenas altogether. It could be this simple – if it were really
wanted. FEI – your turn! (Claudia Sanders)
Translation: Ilka Flegel, Bärbel Schnell. :-)))
