15 January 2024

Successful FEI course in Kisbér-Ászár

With a total of 43 FEI participants and many observers, an FEI Course was held in Kisbér-Ászár (HUN) from 6 to 13 January 2024 for Driving Officials coming for maintenance or transfer-up. This was the only transfer-up course in Driving in 2024.

In addition to the Hungarian participants, Officials from Austria, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia and the USA came to the course organized by the Driving Committee of the Hungarian Equestrian Federation. There were some great discussions and very active participation during all courses.

The “week” was started by the British Philip Bateman, who is one of the world’s most well-known Driving Official and he was responsible for the Technical Delegates’s course in Kisbér. He has been to Hungary countless times, as well as all over the world as a TD. The group of TD’s consisted of five people, both for transfer-up and maintenance. The group discussed and solved interesting secarios and cases, there were very good discussions about the rules which answered many questions, as well as the basic and most important tasks of TD’s were talked through.

On Monday, the course continued with the Judges. The course was held by Joaqín Medina (ESP), who is not only one of the most respected Judges but also the newly elected Chairman of the FEI Driving Committee. Medina presented an impressive series of presentations, where he put the emphasis on the theoretical part. He answered several key and interesting questions about the judges’ point of view and about the rules. The Dressage judging and the training scale were the main topics, as well as the cones and the marathon judging was discussed thoroughly. The Judges’ group solved several cases in the classroom, which were cases that had happened in the past or from made up situations. In the practical part, the group judged a young horse, a single horse, a horse pair and a horse four-in-hand in the dressage arena. Despite the cold weather, the group was very enthusiastic and they got to see excellent turnouts. Also in the practical part, they inspected a cones course where several mistakes were “hidden”. These were discussed from the perspective of the judges and what would happen if they encountered such mistakes at a competition.

The next course was for the Stewards, which had the highest number of all groups. The maximum of 25 people applied for the FEI Steward course. Finally, 22 participants came to Kisbér, who learned from one the most experienced Stewards Martin Röske (GER). During the course of the Stewards, the welfare of the horses, the correct use and adjustment of harness, carriages and other equipment were discussed. Röske used countless examples that had happened over the years to illustrate some incidents. In the practical part, he “hid” several mistakes on a horse pair such as settings that are not allowed during competition because of welfare issues. These were found and discussed one by one with the participants, and Röske also explained how to deal with a Driver in such questionable cases in a competition situation, regardless of whether it is a world champion or a beginner driver.

The “week” of the courses was closed by the Course Designers, which was also held by a great specialist, the Dutch Johan Jacobs, whose knowledge and experience as a CD is very impressive. He has been a Course Designer for World Championships, European Championships, World Cups, CAIO and large international competitions. He not only trained the participants in theory, but also in practice. They built cones course elements, and a marathon obstacle were designed and lettered. What was discussed in the theoretical part was also implemented in practice.

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