Equestrian tournament
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A tournament in equestrian sport , usually a horse show , includes competitions with the horse as a sports partner. Riders and horses compete against each other in various tests.
In horse racing, the term “tournament” is not common, the racing days in gallop and trotting follow their own rules (see horse racing and harness racing ). Further information on vaulting as a tournament sport can be found under vaulting as a tournament sport.
history
The origins of competitions “on horseback” or with horse-drawn chariots go back a long way: evidence of equestrian ball games can be found in ancient Egypt (approx. 2000 BC). Chariot races were common in several advanced cultures in ancient times. In the Middle Ages, horses were an integral part of knightly competition at tournaments . Many tasks and lessons of courtly baroque equestrian art can be found today in dressage riding today. The horse racing took its own historical development since ancient times.
Modern equestrian sports began in the mid to late 19th century. The birthday today is April 15, 1864: On this day the Royal Dublin Society held two competitions in front of the Leinster House in Dublin, which were supposed to test the suitability of horses for fox hunting . It was a high jump and a long jump competition. There had been horse shows in Europe and North America before, but it was less about sporting competitions between humans and horses and more about breeding and aptitude competitions.
In North America, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in Upperville (Virginia) dates back to 1853, but jumping competitions were probably held later here too. Another early venue in addition to the Dublin Horse Show (since 1881 in Ballsbridge ) was the Concours central in Paris , which took place from 1866 onwards . This took place initially in the Palais de l'Industrie and from 1901 to 1958 in the subsequent building, the Grand Palais .
Pressburg (Bratislava) made the start in German-speaking countries . Here in 1872 particularly rideable military horses were presented as part of a charity event, a year later (on April 25, 1873) the first form of dressage test was carried out with the “price riding”. This event moved to Vienna- Krieau in 1875 , where with the "price jumping" there was also a jumping competition.
In the 1890s, driving competitions and briefly so-called endurance rides (raids), military forerunners of today's endurance riding , appeared. In show jumping, the term Grand Prix came up for the main test of an event. In the German Empire, the first Concours hippique were held from the 1890s.
In 1900, on the occasion of the World Exhibition in Paris , following the Concours central, international competitions were held over three days, the first Concours Hippique International (CHI). This competition, which took place almost without the participation of the officers who were influential in equestrian sports until the Second World War, was subsequently declared to be the first equestrian competitions of the modern Olympic Games .
With the Championnat du cheval d'armes in 1902, the first military ( eventing test ) was held, three years later the first international military in 1905 in Brussels. In 1909 the first Nations Cup in show jumping was held in London's Olympia Hall . In 1912 three equestrian disciplines were then included in the permanent circle of the Olympic disciplines. The World Equestrian Federation FEI was only founded in 1921.
In the 1920s, amazon tests for women in show jumping flourished. In the years 1929 to 1932, national prizes were even announced for “Amazons”. Even if civil "gentlemen's riders" played a major role from the beginning of modern equestrian competitions, they were largely excluded from the Olympic equestrian competitions until 1948 - for a long time only officers were allowed there. From 1952 onwards, at the Olympic Games, the development of equestrian sport towards civilian sports disciplines began, in which men and women compete against each other on an equal footing. In show jumping, separate world and European championships for Amazons were ridden in the post-war decades until 1974 .
Tournament times
As a rule, tournaments take place on the weekends (Friday to Sunday). Smaller, often one or two day tournaments, which are mainly aimed at professional riders and mainly consist of tests for young horses, also take place during the week.
The possible period for horse performance shows depends on the discipline . Eventing and endurance tournaments are tied to the "green season" and therefore take place from April to October. Other equestrian disciplines can also take place in halls, so the entire year is available as an event period. In general, however, there is a significantly higher number of tournaments in the "green season".
Regulations
One or more tests are held as part of the tournaments. These tests can be carried out according to the international FEI regulations or according to national regulations.
International tournaments officially have different French-language names depending on the discipline . Better known than these names are their abbreviations, such as CDI for an internationally advertised dressage tournament.
In Germany, a distinction is made between the terms horse performance show (abbreviated PLS) and mass sport event (BV). A horse performance show is a tournament whose tests are carried out in accordance with the international FEI regulations or national regulations. The tests of national horse performance shows in Germany are advertised according to the rules of the performance test regulations (LPO), in the context of these tournaments tests according to the competition regulations for mass sport (WBO) are also possible.
Pure WBO tournaments in Germany are officially referred to as mass sports events. These can be very similar to the testing range horse power shows (for example house Tournaments tab of clubs with show jumping and dressage), but can also significantly go beyond ( popular sports tournament ).
In Austria, the Austrian Tournament Regulations (ÖTO) regulate the course of equestrian competitions, in Switzerland these are the regulations of the Swiss Equestrian Federation.
Different class divisions are used in tournaments , so a distinction is made between different test classes (from beginners to advanced classes) as well as age and performance classes.
Judge and judge
The judges have two tasks in an equestrian tournament. On the one hand, they monitor the regular course of the event. On the other hand, they judge the various tests such as jumping and dressage. While judges in jumping competitions usually have a rather observational role, they decide on the evaluation of the individual rides in dressage competitions and in style jumping and advanced tests. As in almost all sports, the verdict is final. However, there are ways to appeal.
All judges with the respective approval for the various classes and disciplines are published in the judges list every year. To be admitted to a class, the applicant must attend courses and exams. To be admitted as a judge, the candidate usually must have badges to prove that he / she has driving experience via corresponding own riding.
Clothing and equipment
In tournaments there are usually dress codes that differ between the individual disciplines. In exams for tournament beginners, these are often less strict. Whether and in what size logos or advertising is permitted is also regulated.
In show jumping and dressage, for example, the rider should wear dark riding boots or visually similar chaps , light (white) breeches , light top (shirt or blouse), riding jacket, tie or plastron and riding helmet . In the higher testing classes in dressage alternatively tails and cylinder is authorized or prescribed. In the case of dressage tests, the invitation and the tournament regulations also state whether they have to be ridden on a bridle or curb , in other disciplines the type and details of the permitted bridles are generally specified in the tournament regulations. The national or international regulations determine whether, for example, fly hats are allowed.
In cross-country tests, safety vests are required to protect the rider (see also Versatility riding # equipment ). In general, however, protective vests are allowed in all performance tests. In the disciplines of western riding , the clothing regulations are based on the traditional clothing of the cowboys of North America.
In addition to rider aids , the use of aids is also regulated in tournaments: simple auxiliary reins are only permitted in beginners' tests, while martingales are often encountered in show jumping. There are rules for use and size for spores . The use of whips and whips is also regulated.
Award ceremonies
As a rule, an award ceremony takes place shortly after the end of an exam. In the tests of a tournament, depending on the announcement, usually a third or a quarter of the starting field is placed. Most of the placed participants receive prize money, unless it is specified in the announcement that no prize money is paid out. In addition, some honorary prizes (material prizes) are awarded.
Usually the placed participants are obliged to take part in the award ceremony, this should or must be done together with the horse. At the award ceremony, the placed athletes receive ribbons that are attached to the horse's equipment during the award ceremony. The colors of the ribbons vary according to the association and the type of sport: while gold ribbons are awarded to the winner in many equestrian disciplines in Germany, western riding here is based on the United States. There the winner receives a blue ribbon.
Horse performance shows (Germany)
Preparation of a horse performance show
Horse performance shows are organized by a sports club (riding club). Championships (championships) or breeding events are also organized by the respective association (national association, regional association).
With the announcement of the horse performance show, riders from associations in the region are invited. Depending on the association, the announcement appears in a trade journal in the month prior to the event. In the invitation to tender, the various tests are listed with the number of participants per performance class . In addition, a provisional schedule is given, from which it can be seen on which day which exam should take place.
In the tenders it is also specified which associations are allowed to participate and are therefore admitted to the horse show. Often it is also stated that a certain number of individual riders has been invited by the organizer himself.
Riders reserve starting places in the individual tests by submitting an entry form. Feedback, which usually comes back positively to the denominator, indicates that the entry was accepted. But that does not mean that the rider is allowed to start in the respective test, because up to this point in time it has not been checked whether the performance class and the other provisions also correspond to those of the denominator. The entry must be received by the organizer by the entry deadline. In the meantime, online entry has also become standard, but entry in paper form with entry checkbook and horse stickers is also possible on request. A nomination can also be sent online on the website of the German Equestrian Association (FN). This is possible if you are registered there as a rider and have also added your horse to your horse list. There each individual is then also indicated which exams they can take part in with their respective performance class (LK). However, there is an online processing fee for each entry.
The closing date for entries is usually four weeks before the event. So-called late-entry tournaments can be advertised for which the entry deadline is immediately before the date of the event. The nomination must be the entire entry fee as a crossed check enclosed - be transferred or for online entry form. The entry fee increases with the difficulty of the exam and correlates with the prize money to be won in the exam.
Apart from the general authorization to participate in the event, the entry authorization for the individual examinations does not have to be taken into account. Each rider indicates which horses he would like to present at the horse performance show. The assignment to the different examinations does not take place with the entry.
Depending on the number of entries for the individual exams, the organizer creates the time schedule in which the start of the individual exams and their duration are specified. The timing must be sent to all participants one week before the event. Exams may start at 7:00 a.m. at the earliest.
Before the rider can start at the event, he must report the individual tests mentioned. By registering, the rider shows that he is ready to start and indicates which of the horses he will ride in the test. When reporting, all restrictions resulting from the advertisement or regulations must be observed. As a rule, the registration deadline for this exam is 60–120 minutes before the start of the exam.
The starting list for the test must be available 30 minutes before the start of the test. In the starter list all registered riders with their horse are listed in the order in which they will start.
organization
The organizing association provides the so-called tournament director, who bears overall responsibility for the event and is a member of the arbitral tribunal - not to be confused with the judges who make the judgments in the various tests. The tournament director is already determined with the announcement.
Except for pure dressage tests, a course builder is specified who designs the courses in jumping, eventing and driving tests and is responsible for their proper construction. Depending on the size of the horse show, one or more course builders can work together. The course builder (s) are also already named in the tender.
The jury that judges the individual rides are the judges. A large number of judges are deployed depending on the number of parallel exams. The assignment of the judges to the individual tests is based on the time schedule. A judge is the so-called LK commissioner and as such is also a member of the arbitral tribunal. All judges and the LK representative are named in the announcement. However, changes are possible and frequent. Paramedics , a tournament veterinarian and a tournament blacksmith must be present during the entire event.
In addition to these functional positions, a number of mostly voluntary helpers such as car park service and catering staff are responsible for the smooth running of a horse performance show .
Reporting office
The registration office or the registration office staff is the central administration point of a horse show. It is responsible for the formal processing starting with the acceptance of the entries and ending with the handover of the result lists to the FN .
The registration office itself must be manned at least 30 minutes before the start of the first examination of the day and at the latest by the end of the last examination of the day. The staff is the point of contact for any organizational questions. The most important tasks are the acceptance of the mostly telephone reports, the creation of the start lists, the administration of the result lists, the payment of the cash prizes and the organization of subsequent entry changes such as changing riders, changing horses or taking over or adding a starting place. Subsequent changes are possible for a relatively high fee. The registration office also checks that every starter has paid the entry fee and accepts additional payments. TORIS is usually used as software by the reporting offices in Germany .
Ranking points
Ranking list points are credited to the tab for each placement in an LPO test. The points of the previous season are decisive - October 1st of the year before last to September 30th of the last year. The annual ranking lists of the German Equestrian Association for the individual disciplines are created for these periods.
If an examination has to be divided due to a high number of participants, the division according to ranking list points should be the primary division criterion. This ensures that a comparable field of participants is created. Further admissible criteria for division are the age of the rider or horse, the name of the rider (alphabetically), the gender of the rider or the performance class of the rider. The subsequent division of examinations based on the results is no longer generally permitted since the LPO change in 2001, but is still widespread.
Web links
- Germany:
- Tournament sport on the website of the German Equestrian Association
- WBO tournaments are named on the website of the German Equestrian Association
- Austria:
- Tournaments: Information for riders on the website of the Austrian Equestrian Federation
- Switzerland:
- General provisions for the organization of events on the website of the Swiss Equestrian Federation
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leinster House , dublin.de, accessed on July 28, 2019
- ^ Dressage - Invitation to Dance , Cornelia Wumkes in the magazine of the CHIO Aachen (PDF)
- ↑ Max E. Ammann: History of equestrian sport: jumping, military, dressage, driving . Special edition, Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1983, ISBN 3-570-09074-4 , p. 20-21 .
- ↑ Max E. Ammann: History of equestrian sport: jumping, military, dressage, driving . Special edition, Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1983, ISBN 3-570-09074-4 , p. 22, 24-25 .
- ↑ Naissance de l'équitation sportive , communaute-tradition-equestre-francaise.org
- ↑ Max E. Ammann: History of equestrian sport: jumping, military, dressage, driving . Special edition, Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1983, ISBN 3-570-09074-4 , p. 26, 36 .
- ↑ Max E. Ammann: History of equestrian sport: jumping, military, dressage, driving . Special edition, Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1983, ISBN 3-570-09074-4 , p. 69, 79 .
- ↑ For example, the special provisions of the State Commission for Horse Performance Tests Baden-Württemberg, § 2
- ↑ for German tournaments according to the regulations of the EMU: Rule Book 2013, § 1100 f. ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 8.3 MB), Erste Westernreiter Union
- ^ Tournament names at home and abroad on the website of the German Equestrian Association
- ↑ Calculation of the ranking list points according to §63 LPO (PDF)
- ↑ Ranking lists, pferd-aktuell.de (German Equestrian Association)
