FEI President Ingmar De Vos and Founding Director of the International Grooms Association™ (IGA) Lucy Katan have recognised the creation of the IGA with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the FEI Sports Forum today.

An independent not-for-profit professional association, the IGA has been established to achieve greater representation and career recognition for grooms, as well as to improve their working conditions, especially at equestrian events where long hours are the norm.

The support provided by the IGA will include guidance on employment rules, answers to commonly asked questions on recruitment, a toolkit for grooms working freelance, and a job board, to name a few. A section on well-being on the IGA website, International Grooms Minds, will ensure that grooms also have a strong emotional support system in place to assist them in their daily work.

“Today’s signing of the MOU is the culmination of many years of discussion and planning and marks the start of a new era for international grooms,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“This is a journey which began in 2017 with the first meeting of the FEI Grooms Working Group, and started to take shape at last year’s Sports Forum when the community provided its full support for the creation of the IGA. What we see today is the result of a great deal of hard work and persistence and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the FEI Grooms Working Group and Lucy Katan for her vision and leadership in creating this important organisation.

“The IGA has laid the foundations for the grooms’ community to grow, evolve and have a strong voice in the long-term development of equestrian sport and I count on grooms, as well as National Federations, athletes, organisers, officials and owners to make this a success.”

Since its inception in 2009, the annual FEI Best Groom Award has paid tribute to the hard work of grooms across the FEI’s disciplines.

The FEI has also developed educational tools and resources to assist grooms with their day-to-day work. Education has been key to creating international standards of operation that are accepted and followed by grooms at all levels.

In 2015, FEI Solidarity created an educational course for grooms, which consists of three in-person sessions and one practical assessment. Over the years, 280 grooms worldwide, have already benefited from these courses that provide practical training delivered by a technical expert. The IGA will now collaborate with FEI Campus to provide grooms with information on anti-doping, biosecurity and general stable management.

“This is the moment in time that finally gives the international grooms a voice within the FEI and at competitions,” said Lucy Katan, herself a former international groom.

“The goal is for the IGA to become the voice of international grooms, while recognising all the work goes into keeping the equine athletes of our sport happy, healthy and performing at their best.

“While we want Organising Committees to raise their commitment to improving working conditions, we hope that Grooms will provide feedback on their work experiences through a ‘Grooms Report’, so that improvements can be made to their working conditions at events. This is a real opportunity for grooms to constructively and collaboratively be heard and play a key role in their profession and this industry.”

Grooms from all over the world can now become an IGA member through the Association’s official website: https://internationalgrooms.org/.

Each FEI discipline will also have four to six representatives working within the industry to promote the status of international grooms. These representatives will be asked to mentor new grooms, creating a support hub for those new to the scene.

“The career of a groom should be seen as integral to the success of any equestrian team and to equestrian sport,” Chair of the Grooms Consultative Group, former groom, and former FEI Executive Board member Frank Kemperman said.

“An international athlete is nothing without a good horse, but a good horse is nothing without an exceptional groom. It is about being a team. Athlete, horse, and groom are key to each other’s success. We hope the national federations and their athletes will spread the word and encourage their international grooms to join the IGA.”

The Grooms Consultative Group was set up by the FEI following last year’s Sports Forum and is made up of Grooms, Owners, Athletes, representatives of Organising Committees, Officials, Stewards and National Federations. The Group’s mission is to assist with the definition of a roadmap for the development of key structures for the Grooms community, including the creation of a Charter of rights and obligations for Grooms.

The FEI has today published Part 2 of the Report into the 2021 outbreak of the neurological form of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) in mainland Europe. This section of the Report focuses on the Return To Competition protocols put in place to ensure the safe resumption of FEI Events after the six-week FEI-imposed lockdown on international sport in Continental Europe.

Part 2 of the Report also focuses on the EHV-1 By-Laws and sanctioning system, and evaluates their effectiveness, along with the elements that were subsequently incorporated into the FEI Veterinary Regulations 2022 approved at the FEI Hybrid General Assembly in November 2021.

The 30-page Report (Part 2), together with over 200 pages of Annexes, has been produced by FEI Veterinary Director Dr Göran Åkerström and Grania Willis, former FEI Communications Director and now Executive Consultant to the FEI.

“It was important to take a really forensic look at the 2021 EHV-1 outbreak itself, and this was the basis of Part 1 of the Report, but it was equally important to review the Return To Competition measures post-lockdown”, Dr Åkerström said. “This is what we have done in Part 2, along with the related By-Laws and the resulting amendments to the FEI Regulations.

“Knowing how busy the members of our community are in their daily lives, we have simplified things to make the Report a more user-friendly experience by adding a dynamic Table of Contents, so that readers can go directly to the elements/sections they wish to read, as we did with Part 1 of the Report.”

Part 2 of the Report is published here, on a dedicated page within the Biosecurity Hub of the FEI website home to all the content related to the investigation into the 2021 outbreak in mainland Europe.

It sits alongside Part 1 of the Report published on 28 February 2021, which provides a comprehensive and factual picture of the outbreak, including the series of events, causes, roles and responsibilities, and analysis.

Part 3 of the Report, elements of which will be presented at the FEI Sports Forum 2022 (25-26 April), will incorporate further risk mitigation of EHV-1, including conclusions from the scientific EHV-1 vaccination review commissioned by the FEI, and the suggested way forward. This concluding section of the Report, with the Sports Forum presentations incorporated as Annexes, will then be published as Part 3 in May 2022.

The FEI Tribunal has issued Consent Awards in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

In this case, the horse Basc Trio (FEI ID 106QW17/UAE), tested positive for the Banned Substance 5α-estrone-3β, 17α-diol (metabolite of Nandrolone), following samples taken at the CEI1*100 Dubai (UAE), 7-14 November 2021.

The athlete, Abdul Aziz Salah Abdulla Ameen (FEI ID 10063337/UAE) and the trainer, Amr Mohd Atris El Sayed (FEI ID 10054579/UAE), admitted the rule violation and accepted the consequences. In its final decisions, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete combination from the event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period on the athlete and on the trainer; the provisional suspension each has already served shall be credited against the imposed ineligibility period. The athlete and trainer were also each fined CHF 5,000.

The Consent Awards are available here.

 

Separately, the FEI has announced a new adverse analytical finding (AAF) involving an equine prohibited substance. The case involves *Banned Substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

In the following Endurance case, the athlete and the trainer have been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decisions. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.

Case 2022/BS04:

Horse: Dactyle D’Aqui (106XH16/UAE)

Person Responsible: Muhammad Ali Fazal Amin (10103705/PAK (UAE)

Trainer: Ahmed Ali Salman Hassan Al Sabri (10041041/UAE)

Event: CEI2*120 – Bou Thib (UAE), 24-25.12.2021

Prohibited Substance(s): Testosterone

Date of notification: 8 March 2022

Details on these case can be found here.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Clean Sport - human athletes

The FEI is part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of this movement is to protect fair competition as well as athlete health and welfare.

WADA’s Prohibited List identifies the substances and methods prohibited in- and out-of-competition, and in particular sports. The substances and methods on the List are classified by different categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping).

As a WADA Code Signatory, the FEI runs a testing programme for human athletes based on WADA’s List of Prohibited List of Substances and Methods and on the Code-compliant FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).

For further information, please consult the Clean Sport section of the FEI website here.

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are medications that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.

 

 

The FEI Tribunal has issued Consent Awards in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

In this case, the horse Basc Trio (FEI ID 106QW17/UAE), tested positive for the Banned Substance 5α-estrone-3β, 17α-diol (metabolite of Nandrolone), following samples taken at the CEI1*100 Dubai (UAE), 7-14 November 2021.

The athlete, Abdul Aziz Salah Abdulla Ameen (FEI ID 10063337/UAE) and the trainer, Amr Mohd Atris El Sayed (FEI ID 10054579/UAE), admitted the rule violation and accepted the consequences. In its final decisions, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete combination from the event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period on the athlete and on the trainer; the provisional suspension each has already served shall be credited against the imposed ineligibility period. The athlete and trainer were also each fined CHF 5,000.

The Consent Awards are available here.

 

 

Separately, the FEI has announced a new adverse analytical finding (AAF) involving an equine prohibited substance. The case involves *Banned Substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

In the following Endurance case, the athlete and the trainer have been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decisions. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.

Case 2022/BS04:

Horse: Dactyle D’Aqui (106XH16/UAE)

Person Responsible: Muhammad Ali Fazal Amin (10103705/PAK (UAE)

Trainer: Ahmed Ali Salman Hassan Al Sabri (10041041/UAE)

Event: CEI2*120 – Bou Thib (UAE), 24-25.12.2021

Prohibited Substance(s): Testosterone

Date of notification: 8 March 2022

Details on these case can be found here.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Clean Sport - human athletes

The FEI is part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of this movement is to protect fair competition as well as athlete health and welfare.

WADA’s Prohibited List identifies the substances and methods prohibited in- and out-of-competition, and in particular sports. The substances and methods on the List are classified by different categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping).

As a WADA Code Signatory, the FEI runs a testing programme for human athletes based on WADA’s List of Prohibited List of Substances and Methods and on the Code-compliant FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).

For further information, please consult the Clean Sport section of the FEI website here.

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are medications that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.

 

 

By Sarah Dance

In one of the tightest finals in recent history, Bram Chardon (NED) brilliantly held his nerve and clinched his second FEI Driving World Cup™ title in an exhilarating drive off against reigning champion Boyd Exell (AUS) and Glen Geerts (BEL). After a cat and mouse game of swapping positions between the two favourites, it was the 28 year old soon-to-be father who triumphed in Leipzig.

“I was a bit disappointed about the two knock-downs and I thought I gave Boyd (Exell) too much room to win. After Friday I was so confident and to have the two faults made me worry a little bit about my final position, but this is amazing and I am so happy!”

After the first round, held late on Friday night in the Leipziger Messe arena, Bram was ahead of Boyd by just under 8 seconds, so started Sunday’s second round on zero. Each driver carried over 50% of the difference between their score and Bram’s going into the final day and as the tension mounted, Boyd, with a penalty score of 3.78, stated, “It’s less than one ball down between us!”

Former champion Koos de Ronde (NED) was the first to drive Jeroen Houterman’s (NED) twisting course, the route unchanged since Friday but the position of some of the obstacles slightly altered. Koos had paid the price for his attacking approach on Friday, clocking up a penalty of 18.99 to carry forward. Back on his usual smooth form, he only nudged one ball and in a time of 143.19 finished 5th on 166.18.  Next in was Mareike Harm (GER), the first female to compete in an indoor FEI Driving final. Her horses, who she also drives at outdoor events, were off pace in 155.51 and with one ball off, plus a penalty of 14.05, she dropped to 7th on 173.56.

Wild card driver Michael Brauchle (GER), who had set a competitive time on Friday, rolled three balls to add to his time of 144.22, plus a penalty of 10.57 to finish 6th on 166.79.  As the fourth starter, Glen Geerts (BEL), carried over 10.27 but drove a fantasic clear and finished on 148.89 to put himself into the final three. Belgian team mate Dries Degrieck, in his first FEI indoor season, dropped out of contention for the drive off with an unlucky ball on the final obstacle number 13, which cost him the valuable place as he finished behind Glen on 159.68.

As the intensity in the arena grew, Boyd pulled off one of the best rounds of the competiton to close the gap between him and Bram. Leaving all the balls on top, he clocked up a time of 132.42, which plus his penalty put him on 136.2.

Admitting that he was extremely nervous, Bram drew on all his experience and matchplay to drive an even faster time of 132.33 but knocking one ball, finished on 136.33, which flipped the order and put Boyd into first place ahead of the drive off between the best three.

The enthusiastic crowd got behind the drivers and increased the already electrifying atmosphere, clapping to the beat of the music. First in was Glen, with his big outdoor horses, who he says are 1.5m longer and up to 20cm higher than the other teams. Having not considered that he would be in the drive off, he said after that he hadn’t thought about the different routes in obstacles 5 & 9 when two gates were taken out. While in 5, he knocked cone 6 so the clock was stopped and he was given an addtional 10 penalties. He started again, having taken the foot off the pace, and with another ball down, ended his competiton in 3rd place on 323.73.

Bram re-entered the arena and rising to the challenge, produced another exceptional round in 118.39, knocking one ball. But he had done enough to really apply the pressure to Boyd. 

All eyes were on the Australian, who was aiming to take his 10th indoor title, and he began in convincing style with all those watching believing that he would retain his title. Yet everyone gasped as right at the end, his horses lost balance between the final two obstacles and he hit cone two, rolling the ball, which crowned Bram World Champion. 

In a rousing gesture during the prizegiving, the loudest cheer went to Bram’s proud father, the legendary Ijsbrand Chardon, multiple champion, who came in to hold the reins while Bram took to the podium. After receiving their prizes, champagne was sprayed around then the three drivers performed their famous ‘showboat’ before Bram was left alone to absorb the cheers from an adoring audience and exit at the gallop with his stunning grey horses wearing their new, red winners’ rugs.

Still grinning at the press conference, Bram commentated that it was fantastic to have Mareike in the final and he hoped it went to prove that driving a four-in-hand wasn’t all about strength, but as much about the training and getting the equipment right.

A fitting finale to a fantastic competition, after a much shortened season, the drivers are now looking towards the outdoor event at Kronenberg (NED) next weekend. All being well, we can look forward to a full programme of FEI Driving World Cup™ events for the 2022-23 season and much more excitement in this rivetting contest between the world’s very best.

Full results here.

By Joanne Eccles MBE

Under the lights of the Leipziger Messe the 2022 FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Champions were crowned. No-one could keep French Manon Moutinho from the female title whilst Lorenzo Lupacchini took his chance to bring home the glory for Italy. Janika Derks and Johannes Kay gave a spine-tingling ultimate performance to win the Pas de Deux.

After a great start in the Technical Test the trio of Manon Moutinho, FRA, Corrine Bosshard and Saitiri pulled out a show stopping Free Test with a perfect artistic score to win the final on 8.431.  “I am really happy, I could not have expected more from me, my horse or my lunger. It was a really good experience to start this new season 2022. There is still some work to do but we are only in April and I am very pleased.”  Bringing back her 2019 winning freestyle theme wasn’t enough for German defending champion Janika Derks.  She had to settle for second place, 8.257.  Making her mark in her first individual World Cup final, Kimberly Palmer (USA) was one of only three female individuals scoring over 8 points and finished in third place (8.009).

The men’s competition went to a tense finish. After slipping from the horse in one of his risk exercises Lambert Leclezio (FRA) (8.628) had to watch the title go to Lorenzo Lupacchini (8.795). The Italian barely lost a point as he performed gracefully on top of Rosenstolz. “I am really really happy, because I didn’t expect this result. I just participated for enjoying. I was on the third place so far, so I had nothing to lose and nothing to win. So I tried to give emotions and not only exercise.”  He becomes one of only two athletes to have won the FEI World Cup™ Final in the Individual and Pas de Deux class. Jannik Heiland completed the podium for Germany (8.019).

An exquisite final performance from the German Pair, Janika Derks and Johannes Kay, concluded the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final as well as their vaulting careers. Alongside Nina Vorberg and Humphrey Bogart OLD they left the audience with goosebumps as they became World Cup Winners (8.754). Screaming with delight as he landed his final dismount Johannes later summed up his experience “Yes, once in my life I competed in the World Cup, that was here and today and that was the last time - and we have won. But winning was not important to me. We made the thing out of it, what we wanted to make out of it. That worked out, we are satisfied... To have found such a beautiful conclusion, in such a beautiful atmosphere - it doesn't get any better than that.”  Romana Hintner and Eva Nagiller managed to improve on their first round performance to move up into second place (8.016) leaving Chiara Congia and Justin van Gerven in third (7.960).

It has been an historic Final in Leipzig. France and Italy each took the title for the first time in their respective classes. Wrapping up the experience and marking the career end for Janika Derks  “I think we have achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve here again: Having fun with the sport, just enjoying it - this was just the perfect show for both of us to find closure for us”.

Full results here.

By Sarah Dance

As the final competitor to start late on Friday night for the first round of the FEI Driving World Cup™ Final in Leipzig (GER), Bram Chardon (NED) laid down his claim to the 2022 title with a fantastic drive.

Smoothly steering his four-in-hand of grey horses through Jeroen Houterman’s (NED) flowing course of thirteen obstacles, he managed to leave the balls on top and recorded a blistering time of 135.80 secs. Reigning champion Boyd Exell (AUS), who is aiming for his 10th indoor title, was the sixth competitor to go and had set the fastest time of the night of 143.35 with no balls down.  Dries Degreick (BEL), in his first FEI World Cup™ Final, drove a quick course but with one ball down finished in third on a score of 152.76.

A delighted Bram said, “It is incredible to start the finals here. I watched the others on the screen. I knew Boyd by far was the quickest time, so I thought, if I can get near his time I am going to be happy. Definitely I was planning on staying clear, I was trying to go a little bit more safe, but then when the horses felt so good, I just let them go and pushed them to the end, when I knew there was more in it, this is fantastic.”

Seven of the world’s leading horse four-in-hand Drivers are competing in the 20th Indoor Final which was last held in Bordeaux in February 2020. For the first time a female driver is competing, Mareike Harm (GER), who drove a smooth round but knocked three balls and finished in sixth place on 163.89. Fellow German, Michael Brauchle, the wild card entry, ended the night in fifth on 156.94.

Glenn Geerts (BEL), was fourth on 156.94 after driving a clear but slower round.  Making uncharacteristic mistakes was former champion Koos de Ronde (NED) who ended in seventh on 173.78 after knocking several balls and incurring extra penalties for having to stop so the course could be rebuilt.

All the Drivers are now eligible to return for the second round of the Final on Sunday. They will drive in reverse order and the top three will drive again to decide the final placings.  All except Bram, who will start with a penalty score which is 50% of the differential between theirs and the leader’s score.

Full results here.

 

By Joanne Eccles MBE

The 10^th edition of the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final started in spectacular style with French favourites Manon Moutinho and Lambert Leclezio dominating the Individual Female and Male classes with their high difficulty, technical routines proving impossible to beat.  Janika Derks and Johannes Kay of Germany, blew the competition away to take the top spot overnight in the Pas de Deux.

Derks, vaulting on top of Rockemotion lunged by Nina Vorberg, had to settle for second place overnight in the Individual Female competition with 7.883 points. Her gracefully performed technical routine didn’t score quite enough to stay ahead of Manon Moutinho (FRA) who finished with 8.237 points, and who teamed an incredibly high level of freestyle exercises with superbly performed technical moves to give herself a 0.3 lead going into tomorrow’s Final competing with Saitiri and Corrine Bosshard.

Showing the special bond they have Manon explained “It’s the first time my mare sees an arena like this. This was a big arena for her, and the crowd feels really close. When we came in, the lunger kept her close, and I trust her because I knew this was strategic, but as soon as she said ok – then I just went into performance mode.” 
Kimberly Palmer (USA) (7.644) brought her artistry to the table to hold the bronze medal position, proving that she can take on the best in the world even when competing on a borrowed horse. Hannah Steverding sits just behind her on 7.436.

In the Male competition Lambert Leclezio (FRA) showed us just why he is the one to beat this year, aboard his reserve horse Saitiri, he delighted the audience with near perfect technical exercises to take the lead on 8.785. Just within touching distance, (8.489), Lorenzo Lupacchini (ITA) didn’t allow Lambert to get too far ahead. His experience was evident with Rosenstolz on the circle and Laura Carnabucci on the lunge as we were treated to his performance to Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’. After an unfortunate landing in his Cartwheel exercise, Jannik Heiland (GER) was forced to settle for third place with Lukas Heppler in fourth.

World Champions Janika Derks and Johannes Kay (GER) had a dream start to their Final competition together. A beautifully executed test gained them a perfect score from the artistic judge and an overnight score of 8.754. Compatriots, Chiara Congia and Justin Van Gerven, dug deep to show their best on a slightly unsettled Calidor with Patric Looser working hard from the center to ensure the pair could show the elements they planned.  They were rewarded with a score of 7.873 but it will be a big ask for them to try to take the title tomorrow. Third place currently is the Austrian pairing, Romana Hintner and Eva Nagiller, with Jolina Ossenberg-Engels and Timo Gerdes completing the class.

The Leipziger Messe proved to be a challenging atmosphere for several horses throughout the competition. Thomas Brusewitz (GER) in 7^th place, adapted as he went to try to complete his technical program on Calidor. An unfortunate fall in his last exercise, the jump to backwards stand, left him with no score for the exercise and a deduction at the end of the test. Eva Nagiller (AUT) finishing 8^th was also forced to make modifications to her planned routine.

In tomorrow’s Individual FEI Vaulting World Cup ™ Final it’s the French to beat, whilst the Pas de Deux class, we will see the end of an era as Janika Derks and Johannes Kay end their careers together.

Full results here

The FEI Dressage Performance Dashboard, a unique platform for Dressage and Para Dressage athletes to review their past sporting performances, has been launched today by the FEI in partnership with SAP and Black Horse One.

FEI registered Dressage and Para Dressage athletes can access all their paperless scoresheets, including comments from judges over the last five years, through the FEI Dressage Performance Dashboard. While athletes can access the platform for free and use the basic analytical tools available, they can also choose to unlock all the features of the platform through a Premium subscription.

The FEI Dressage and Para Dressage results only, and the analytical tools, are also available to trainers, dressage enthusiasts and other members of the community through the Premium subscription.

“The FEI Dressage Performance Dashboard is yet another example of the ways in which technology can be introduced into equestrian sport to inform training practices and enhance sporting performances,” FEI Commercial Director Ralph Straus said.

“In Dressage and Para Dressage the information in scoresheets, particularly the judges’ comments and feedback, are important to athletes looking to create long-term training plans and goals in order to improve their performance in international competitions.

“While athletes know they can gain valuable insights by thoroughly analysing their scoresheets from Events they have competed in, the paper versions of the score sheets made this a highly time consuming task for athletes and their trainers.

“The platform facilitates the analysis of athletes’ scores across all movements through an intuitive interface and provides a centralised database of information that athletes can refer to from anywhere and at any time.”

The FEI Dressage Performance Dashboard is yet another milestone for the market leader in enterprise application software SAP, and software development company Black Horse One. The two companies have partnered with the FEI to provide innovations that have contributed to the digital transformation of the sport.

SAP and Black Horse One previously combined their expert knowledge in technology and fan engagement to create the award-winning Spectator Judging® app. Since 2018, this app has allowed audiences at FEI Dressage World Cup™ events to get into the judge’s seat, with scores and rankings created in real-time during the competitions and then placed side-by-side with official results on the arena scoreboards.

The two companies also led the development of eDressage™, a paperless judging software based on the SAP HANA Cloud to enable the scoring of FEI Dressage and Para Dressage competitions without a scribe having to write down each mark on an FEI Dressage score sheet. This system is now used at all major Dressage events and was featured at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The creation of the FEI Dressage Performance Dashboard takes the electronic score sheet initiative a step further by feeding data back into an athlete’s training programme, and allows for all the information to be accessible from portable devices.

“Helping athletes gain new, real-time insights to enhance their performance, and providing a more engaging experience for the fans is a key objective of our sports partnerships,” SAP Director Equestrian Partnerships, Henrike Paetz said. “It is amazing to see how equestrian sport has been leading the way with regard to digital innovation and fan engagement over the last five years as a result of our cooperation with the FEI and Black Horse One.”

“The FEI Dressage Performance Dashboard is set to transform the way Dressage and Para Dressage athletes approach their short- and long-term training decisions as well as their choice of horse for specific competitions,” FEI Director Information & Sports Technology Gaspard Dufour explained.

“Through this platform, athletes can not only read comments from judges and take this feedback into their training sessions, but they can also compare performances across their different horses as well as against other combinations.

“That all this information will now exist at everyone’s finger tips, is a key step forward for equestrian sport and opens the door to more technological advancement in the long-term.”

By Joanne Eccles

After a three-year hiatus, the long-awaited FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final will return on the 8^th and 9^th April 2022 at the Partner Pferd in the Leipziger Messe (GER).  Alongside the FEI Jumping, Dressage & Driving World Cup Finals, it is sure to be a high energy, thrilling spectacle as the World’s elite take to the stage.

World champions and previous medalists will come together to battle it out for glory as FEI Vaulting returns with a new format. This year, individual athletes will be required to show a Technical Test in Round 1 and a Freestyle in the final round, both of which have been allocated an extra 10 seconds over normal competition to allow the vaulters to fully explore their artistic concept.  The scores of both rounds will combine to crown the new FEI Vaulting World Cup™ winners in the Individual Male, Female and Pas de Deux classes. 

Janika Derks (GER) is the only reigning champion returning this year as she hopes to retain her 2019 FEI Vaulting World Cup™ title and end her vaulting career on top of the podium.  She will face stiff competition from Eva Nagiller (AUT) who took the bronze medal at the FEI Vaulting World Championships in August 2021, finishing hard on the heels of Derks who won the silver, and Manon Moutinho (FRA) who placed closely behind in 5^th.  Hannah Steverding (GER) and Jolina Ossenberg-Engels (GER) will aim to thrill the judges and the audience to earn their place in World Cup history, whilst the USA’s Kayln Noah and Kimberly Palmer will provide a challenge to their European rivals. Young talent Annebeth Kubbe (NED) will be looking to make her mark at her first World Cup final.

In the male category all eyes will be on decorated vaulter Lambert Leclezio (FRA).  The thrice World Champion is making his debut at the FEI World Cup™ Final and will aim to complete his trophy cabinet with a World Cup win, in what will be his final season of competitive Individual Vaulting. Vice World Champion Jannik Heiland (GER) alongside team-mate Thomas Brüsewitz (GER) will try to thwart Leclezio and use the home crowd to their advantage.  Also looking to take the top spot and beat his previous best, second place 2017 FEI World Cup™ Final finish, is seasoned World Cup competitor Lukas Heppler (SUI). Bringing personality and grace to his performance, Lorenzo Lupacchini will represent Italy alongside David Zanella, whilst Austria’s Philip Clement completes the Men’s line up.

Four of the World’s best Pas de Deux will compete for World Cup honors in what promises to be an exciting and emotional exhibition as World Champions Janika Derks and Johannes Kay (GER) go for gold in their final performance together.  Highlighting the gravity of the event, Kay stated “It is very special for us to get the last round in Leipzig, as we have never done any World Cup competition before, so it is the last thing we were missing, and we thought that there might be no more World Cup. It is very special that we will have the opportunity to join the final and get our last round done in this awesome circle”.

They will face hard-fought competition from fellow compatriots, Vice-World Champions Chiara Congia and Justin Van Gerven who will also be looking to gain the title for the first time with the long-time partnership of Jolina Ossenberg-Engels and Timo Gerdes hoping to beat them both to it.  Austrians Romana Hintner and Eva Nagiller round out the incredibly strong competition and are equally likely to be crowned worthy winners.

There is plenty to look forward to in what promises to be a high-stakes, exhilarating FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final.

Further information on the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final can be found here.