Dressage judge

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A dressage judge is responsible for assessing a dressage test and is a certified official. The assessment of a dressage test is done at all levels. Dressage depends on judges because they have to judge the rider during their test. A dressage judge is open and transparent and judges what they see at that moment. [1]

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A dressage judge must first obtain a certificate to judge. A judge is then a certified official and has the authority to judge official national and if possible international competitions. To become a member of the jury, a judge must undergo education through the national sports federation in the country in which the member of the jury is active. A jury member starts at the bottom of the base, after which he or she educates to a higher level. The form of education differs per national federation. The highest level to judge is the Grand Prix, which is also the highest level in dressage.

Certified national Grand Prix jury members can follow the training to become an international jury member at the FEI if the national federation reports the judge above. The highest level as an international jury member is Level 4 status, formerly known as 'O' jury member or 5* judge. With this status, a Level 4 judge is authorized to judge major championships, such as the World Equestrian Games and the Olympic Games. [2] [3]

International judge

International jury members are authorized to judge at international competitions. It is only possible to become an international jury member if a judge is registered by the national federation to follow the training as an international jury member at the FEI. The FEI is the umbrella organization for equestrian sports that is responsible for training and supervising the jury members. Only certified FEI jury members have the authority to judge international competitions. The international competitions are only organized by the FEI and are known as Concours de Dressage International.

There are four different levels as an FEI judge: [4]

Level 1 judges are licensed to judge international through Prix st. George and Intermediate I level with a limited range of competitions.

Level 2 Judges are licensed to judge international through Grand Prix level, except 4* or higher-level competitions and FEI Championships, World Cups and the Olympic Games.

Level 3 judges are licensed to judge all international Grand Prix competitions including FEI Championships, except the World Equestrian Games and the Olympic Games

Level 4 judges are licensed to judge all international Grand Prix competitions including FEI Championships, World Equestrian Games, and Olympic Games. This is the highest level to reach as an international dressage judge.

Dressage judges worldwide

There are currently 164 licensed FEI Dressage Judges from different countries worldwide. The list below shows from which countries how many FEI jury members come (in 2024), different from Level 1 to Level 4. [5]

  • Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria (1 judge)
  • Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina (4 Judges)
  • Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia (9 Judges)
  • Flag of Austria.svg Austria (3 Judges)
  • Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium (3 Judges)
  • Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus (2 Judges)
  • Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil (4 Judges)
  • Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada (6 Judges)
  • Flag of Chile.svg Chile (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia (2 Judges)
  • Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic (2 Judges)
  • Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark (8 Judges)
  • Flag of Spain.svg Spain (3 Judges)
  • Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Finland.svg Finland (3 Judges)
  • Flag of France.svg France (11 Judges)
  • Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain (8 Judges)
  • Flag of Germany.svg Germany (12 Judges)
  • Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary (3 Judges)
  • Flag of India.svg India (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Israel.svg Israel (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Italy.svg Italy (4 Judges)
  • Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico (3 Judges)
  • Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands (13 Judges)
  • Flag of Norway.svg Norway (2 Judges)
  • Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand (6 Judges)
  • Flag of Palestine.svg Palestine (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Peru.svg Peru (1 Judge)
  • Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Poland.svg Poland (5 Judges)
  • Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal (4 Judges)
  • Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa (3 Judges)
  • Flag of Russia.svg Russian Federation (3 Judges)
  • Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia (2 Judges)
  • Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden (5 Judges)
  • Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Chinese Taipei (1 Judge)
  • Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine (3 Judges)
  • Flag of the United States.svg United States of America (11 Judges)

Former champion riders became judges

All judges must have competed themselves and have exercised a certain level. Many former international competition riders decided to become a judge after their riding career to stay involved in the sport. [6] A number of well-known old top riders, who used to participate in major championships such as European Championships, World Championships or Olympic Games in the past, have now been promoted to become an international jury member. Elisabeth Max-Theurer became Olympic Champion during the 1980 Olympic Games and promoted as judge to Level 4 in 2018. [7] Some other former riders who are now judges are Lars Andersson, Olympian Ricky MacMillan, [8] Sandy Phillips, Marian Cunningham, [9] Lorraine Stubbs, Charlotte Bredahl, Hilda Gurney, Karen Pavicic, Sven Rothenberger, Peter Storr and Jennie Loriston-Clarke [10] are a few who decided to focus on International judging.

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References

  1. "Dressage judge: Who? How? What for? - Pamfou Dressage". Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  2. Dressage Judge Education - Dressage Today
  3. https://www.fei.org/stories/eventing/becoming-fei-judge
  4. What Do the Different Dressage Judge Ratings Mean? - Expert how-to for English Riders
  5. https://data.fei.org/OffListRpts/OfficialsByOffFct_JUG.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. "Learn the Basic Rules of the Equestrian Olympic Competitions".
  7. "Max-Theurer bekommt fünften Richter-Stern". 19 June 2018.
  8. "Ricky MacMillan Resigns as Chair of Equestrian Australia Board".
  9. "Olympic Games Versus World Equestrian Games". 4 October 2014.
  10. "8 things you may not know about Jennie Loriston-Clarke". 20 January 2019.