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| Within one month time, three international Dressage Forums take or have taken place already somewhere in the world. It all started with ‘Linking the steps’ organized by Cara Whitham in Ontario, Canada, on October 8th and 9th. The FEI Regional Dressage Forum in Sydney, Australia, was the second one in the row. This Forum was not just for elite judges and riders – but a wide spectrum of training was covered, including Children, Ponies and Young Horses. In addition, as well as in Ontario also Dr Gerhard Heuschmann's presentation on Functional Anatomy was a presentation for every rider, trainer and breeder. The Sydney Forum included Mariette Withages, chairman FEI Dressage Committee and O-Level FEI Dressage Judge. She introduced the new three-member Team format to be launched at the Beijing Olympics (Equestrian in Hong Kong), enhancing the Olympic ideal of “universality” in Dressage. Jean Bemelmans, trainer of the Athens silver-medal-winning Spanish Dressage team, was the second important contributor. Jean’s ongoing work and individual approach to each combination on the Spanish team has seen Spain turn the corner in their Grand Prix work, fine-tuning the quality of work to gain those extra few percent and launch Spain into the medals at Athens and recently at the European Dressage Championships. Angelika Frömming, FEI I-Level Dressage Judge and Young Horse Judge, has been heavily involved in the training of Young Horse judges in recent years, as these judges bear a heavy responsibility: influencing the correct preparation of potential superstars. Finally Michael Stone, head of the FEI Sports Development Department presented his view on development projects including Olympic Solidarity, FEI World Jumping & Dressage Challenge, FEI Development Fund and the Coaching System. Last but not least the Global Dressage Forum will take place this forthcoming week in Hooge Mierde, the Netherlands, on October 31 and November 1st. This first ever Global Forum on Dressage in the world cleared the way for similar initiatives and now will be held for the fifth time already. |