An Affair to remember

 Article from: http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2015/02/16/affair-remember-1980-olympic-games-three-perspectives

An Affair to Remember: the 1980 Olympic Games - Three Perspectives

Sissy Max-Theurer and Mon Cherie win gold at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow

History

"The 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow certainly werean affair to remember as they became known as the "boycott Games". Host country USSR had sent troops to Afghanistan to support the new communist regime, which prompted US-president Jimmy Carter to boycott the Games. Numerous nations, but not all, followed in their wake. The FEI reacted in its own way by providing “Olympic Festivals” in Goodwood as an alternative for those riders unable or unwilling to go to Moscow. Eurodressage asked 1980 Olympic gold medalist Sissy Max-Theurer, 1980 Olympic judge Jytte Lemkow and 1980 Goodwood Alternate Olympic winner Christine Stuckelburger to think back on those tumultuous days.

The 1980 Olympic Games: Sissy Max-Theurer's Recollections

I have always had the opinion that one shouldn't mix up politics with sport. Generally sport should have the function to bring people together.

In 1980 it was seen differently. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan to stop the Taliban's advance. US- president Jimmy Carter loudly promoted a boycott of the Moscow Games and thought to be able to put political pressure through the sport. In the end 65 countries world-wide of 148 NOC followed which hit many sportsmen on the height of their careers. When in 2001 the USA occupied Aghanistan militarilly and shortly after the Olympic Winter Games took place in Salt Lake City (USA), nobody talked of a boycott.

The history of the Olympic Games is a story of bans, boycott threats and actual boycotts. 1952 in Helsinki (Finland) it had been the conflict between nowadays Taiwan and the Peoples' Republic of China which led to Taiwan staying home. As an „answer“ to the Moscow boycott all the countries of the political east block (except Romania) didn't travel to Los Angeles (USA) in 1984. They justified this with alleged fears regarding the security of their athletes because of the anti-communistic attitude of the host-country. The first truly boycott-free Games only happened in Sydney 2000.

Sissy and Mon Cherie at the 1980 CDIO Aachen

In Great Britain the government was for a boycott in 1980, but it was left to the athletes to take part in Moscow or not. Most of them who travelled to Moscow were the US- allies France, Finland, Ireland, Italy, New–Zealand, Spain and Sweden. The Austrian NOC also did not follow the boycott-appeal of US-president Jimmy Carter.

To me it was clear that I wanted to start at the Olympic Games because I had won gold with Mon Cherie at the 1979 European championships in Aarhus and with that had finished a 4-year-long reign of Christine Stückelberger and Granat. In the Olympic year 1980 we came twice 2nd at the CHIO in Aachen, only beaten by Dr. Uwe Schulten-Baumer on Slibowitz in the Grand Prix and by Dr. Reiner Klimke on Ahlerich in the Special. At age ten Mon Cherie was in absolute top form and I didn't know if I would get the chance to take part in Olympic Games once again.

But back to Moscow and its summer Games, which were very well organised compared to Los Angeles 1984, I took part in Barcelona 1992, Athens 2004, Hongkong 2008 and London 2012 either as rider or advisor. Also the hospitality of the Russians was overwhelming. Their concept of security and the organisation are still very well on my mind. The stabling of the horses was superior in new permament boxes. The equestrian park offered everything needed.

The facilities were located a bit outside Moscow and were in truly good condition. Only the surfaces had been a bit deep which made it a bit difficult on the horses. Back then a Grand Prix lasted 12 minutes and it included many piaffe-passage-tours, which cost enormous strength.
The competitions were well visited and the rivals not to be underestimated. The dressage riders of the Soviet Union had been quite successful at that time and also the later medal winner Kyra Kyrklund from Finland started.

An adventure of the special kind had been Mon Cherie's transport to Moscow. Ex formula 1- pilot Niki Lauda himself flew my horse in a self-built container with one of his planes, even though it was a work of milimetres to load Mon Cherie onto this comparatively small plane. But he handled the flight very well and the horse felt generally very well during our 10-days-stay in Moscow.

Sissy Theurer with her Olympic gold medal, flanked by her husband Hans Max

When I compare my both gold rides I was surely under less pressure at the European 1979, whereas we had been clear favourites in 1980. In 1979 nobody expected us to win, on the contrary. Christine Stückelberger already gave a winner's interview when I still had to enter the arena. In the end we were happy that we could show a great ride in Moscow and deservedly became Olympic champions.

When we returned home to Austria also the officials were happy about the medal win, because Austria is traditionally not that successful in the summer Games. And in equestrian sport never before the Austrian national anthem had been played in honor of the winner.

Also nowadays I would decide again to go for the Olympics. And I wish for all active athletes that there will never be boycott games again in which athletes are forced to decide between the demands of politics and their sport.

For Mon Cherie the Olympic Games in Moscow had sadly been his last international appearance. During an examination because of a breathing noise he was diagnosed with an inoperable melanoma near the larynx. With a heavy heart we decided to retire him from the sport. He spent a few nice years with us in the fields until his death in 1985.

The exciting days of Moscow will always accompany me in my memory and I like to think back to them. Even today I still get fan mail from Russia.

The boycott Games of Moscow 1980: Jytte Lemkow's point of view

Jytte Lemkow is a former dressage rider, retired I-judge and still an enthusiastic equestrian journalist. She became a judge in Denmark at age 25 and made herself a name by becoming an FEI-judge in her thirties, supported by Swedish colonel Gustav Nyblaeus, one of the most respected dressage judges of all times and at the time chairman of the FEI dressage committee.
At age 37 Jytte judged the Olympic Games of Moscow and set a record by having been the youngest Olympic dressage judge to this day.

Jytte Lemkow's pass at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow

When Gustav Nyblaeus, who had fostered my interest and desire to learn from the early 1970s on, asked me to judge at the 1980 Moscow Games, it came as a big surprise to me. Firstly I was only 37 and secondly I didn't carry the O-status which usually is a requirement. It was less than a month before Moscow and initially Joan Hall, the experienced British judge, had been nominated, but she had to withdrew due to threats and so I took her position. Colonel Nyblaeus told me the missing O-status wouldn't be a problem. I would get it after the Games, and I was high on the list to get that anyway (unfortunately it never realized later when Wolfgang Niggli shortly after the Games took over in the FEI dressage committee). Even though I was still only in my thirties, I had four seasons of international judging behind me, after starting at the Hamburger Derby in 1977.

When I was called to judge at Moscow I was excited at the prospect judging at the Olympics, but on the other hand I was well aware of the political situation and what level of equitation we would see there. Almost all dressage nations had decided to boycott the Moscow Games and to compete at the Olympic Festival in Goodwood instead. I knew that many of the pairs I would have to judge at the Olympics were not  there voluntarily, but had been called by the Soviet Union.

Even though some of these horses were no Grand Prix horses and only trained at small tour level, I think to remember I have seen most of them beforehand. I had judged at the 1979 Balkan Games in Athens. And the Russians had competed at Hamburg beforehand.

Before I agreed judging at Moscow I had a conversation with Gustav Nyblaeus because of the performances to be expected there. I told him I only agree judging at Moscow and replace Joan Hall when I am allowed to judge what I see. Without taking into account that these were the Olympics and some riders did not compete there by choice. His answer had been: “Of course you should do exactly this!” So, although my Olympic debut was awaiting me at an age a judge today can only dream of, I travelled to Moscow without great delight.

The performances there then actually were anything else but a delight! We judges were completely aware that we judged mostly rides which weren't Olympic level.
It wasn't particularly difficult to judge so many bad rides, but it was strange. One rider from Romania who had been forced to start not even tried to give a half halt to indicate he wants to piaffe. His horse, quite a nice one, was an Intermediate I horse and just couldn't do it! He got a 0 from all judges.

O-judges Jook Hall and Walter Niggli at the 1980 Goodwood Alternate Olympics

To illustrate the level we faced at Moscow: In my final overall marks I awarded 8 out of 14 starters an average below 4!

Judging under these circumstances meant either feel pitiful and judge accordingly or judge simply what was presented to you. As I made clear from the beginning I judged what I saw. This has always been my credo in my long judge's career which spanned 25 years and comprised 30 countries all over the world.

But there are also nice memories of the Moscow Games. One having been Sissi Max-Theurer's rides with Mon Cherie. Her ride gave Moscow Olympic glamour. She had no rival and won well ahead of Juri Kovshov and Viktor Ugrimov, both from the host country. Sissi had been the 1979 individual European champion and was the only one from the top-riders who took part. But for several years her colleagues criticized her for exactly this and her easily won Olympic gold medal.

Personally my best memory of Moscow happened outside the Olympic rectangle. The Russian rider Viktor Ugrimov had a reserve-horse Jenisei, whom he had started at Hamburg several times. This horse was a big favourite of mine because of his very special golden chestnut color and white mane. The stallion was most beautiful and Viktor had repeatedly promised me to be allowed to ride him. I had learned a bit of Russian in courses and he spoke a bit of German and so we managed an appointment after the Olympic competition was over. Early in the morning I rode Jenisei in jeans and sneakers on a race track close to where the Olympic horses were stabled. When I later confessed the experience to Gustav Nyblaeus, he just smiled and said: “Typical Jytte!”

Alternative Games Goodwood 1980: Christine Stückelberger's point of view

Swiss Christine Stückelberger was the reigning Olympic champion and again favourite for another gold medal in 1980.

The stables in Goodwood

When early in 1980 the issue arose if, as a reaction to the Russian invasion, a boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games should be considered, I had been one of the first sportsmen in my country to be for it.

I was aware that not going to Moscow meant to lose a possible second Olympic gold medal, but in this case I didn't mind. I strongly believed that we could not go to Moscow celebrating Olympic Games while at the same time Soviet troops occupied another country. Of course we knew that we couldn't stop them by not traveling to Moscow. It was rather a thing everybody had to decide based upon his own morale and ethical standards. My trainer Georg Wahl who was my alter ego wasn't a political man and he agreed on my decision as long as I was happy with it.

While the German Equestrian Federation already decided in May 1980 not to send riders to Moscow, there was a big riders' meeting during the CDIO Aachen which also judges and trainers attended. The situation was thoroughly discussed  and we were all in unison not to take part in the Olympic Games under the current circumstances.

In Switzerland our chef d'equipe Hans Syz agreed and contacted the Swiss NOC as my country, unlike Germany, did not support a total boycott of the Games. There were a few athletes who did not allow their Olympic dreams slip away after years of hard work and took part in Moscow.

It took the dressage community by surprise that three weeks before Moscow we read in the newspapers that Sissi Theurer, the 1979 European Champion, declared traveling to Moscow in a Fokker plane of Austrian formula 1 driver Niki Lauda as she too had initially agreed not to go there during the meeting in Aachen. It caused a lot of stir. Kyra Kyrklund from Finland also went to Moscow and nobody cared a lot. I think the reason why the whole thing was held against Sissi was because she had been the favourite for the title.

Shortly after the Moscow Games we had the Alternative Games, the so-called Olympic Festival, at Goodwood. Of course it lacked the big razzmatazz of th eOlympic, but the organizers had tried their very best to create a festive atmosphere. Within the possibilities they reached the optimum. There was considerable more press present than at any usual CDI, of course. The best riders and horses in the world had been there and in particular Dr. Reiner Klimke did not tire from stressing that Goodwood was more valuable than Moscow because the sport happened at Goodwood. One has to know that the Soviets forced their socialist sister countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Poland to attend the Olympic dressage, even though they lacked suitable horses. Often they would only own PSG horses, but they had to come and perform. So when there was passage asked, they trotted and when they should do piaffe they halted.

Georg Wahl letting Granat graze in Goodwood

What I remember most of Goodwood in 1980 had not Granat's second individual gold medal after Montreal, but the very friendly informal atmosphere between all riders there. The boycott had welded us together. The reactions in my home country were overwhelming. Instead of blaming me for not winning a real gold medal at Moscow, they approved my decision not to go. The public more acknowledged this fact than the gold medal from Goodwood.

When in hindsight it was discussed in the media and by the public how useful the boycott had been, the answer was pretty useless.  I cannot completely agree for myself. Of course the boycott didn't influence the Soviet Union's political decisions, but this had never been the hope nor aim. Boycotting or not was a question of being in peace with oneself or not regarding morale standards.

I know it was a lot, maybe too much, asked of sportsmen and sportswomen who only had this one chance to get to the Olympics and whose dreams had been shattered by a decision of their NOC. As a sportswoman myself I still feel for them. But in my own case I absolutely don't regret to this very day having boycotted the Moscow Games. "

Great Article!

Dressage Naturally

I stumbled upon this website, and was immediately intrigued.

http://dressagenaturally.net/

The background (copied directly from the homepage):

About Karen Rohlf

 

Karen Rohlf trained over 20 years in dressage with Anne Gribbons ('O' dressage judge, International Grand Prix trainer and competitor) and studied Parelli Natural Horsemanship directly with Pat and Linda Parelli.

She has trained horses and students to the upper levels of dressage, represented the USA 4 times on the Young Riders team, passed her USDF 'L' Education (judge training) Program test with distinction, and was accepted into the USEF 'r' judge program.

She now divides her time between traveling the world giving clinics and training at home at her Temenos Fields in Ocala, Florida.

Karen Rohlf began in Pony Club, evented to the Preliminary Level, and learned her original dressage training with 'O' judge, Anne Gribbons. Karen studied closely with her for 2 decades, In the early years, she became one of the youngest riders in the US to train her own horse to FEI. She assisted, and observed Anne, as horse after horse was brought from the pasture and, over time, transformed into a Grand Prix horse. She has a solid understanding of a progressive gymnastic training system. Even in those 'strictly dressage' years, Karen developed a reputation for enjoying the 'special cases', showing unusual patience and curiosity towards trying to figure out how to make each individual horse and rider the best they can be.

In this video, Karen describes her background in dressage and her introduction to natural horsemanship.

Her students and she competed locally, nationally and in the International Young Riders Championships. Karen Rohlf  was selected 4 times to represent the USA at these championships, twice as part of the silver medal team and once earning the individual bronze medal. A student of hers also was selected for the team twice on two different horses trained by Karen. There are also multiple National USDF Horse of the Year placings, Regional Championships and Reserve Championships earned by her and her students. So although currently Karen’s top priority is not to compete, she is certainly no stranger to the show ring.

She was well on track to become a dressage judge, when Karen realized that although she thoroughly enjoyed the training process to become a judge, and has a lot of respect for that skill, it just wasn't what she wanted to do. Somehow she knew she would be making a different contribution to dressage.

Here are some words from Karen Rohlf: "It's funny to me, that there is so much debate about whether natural and dressage can be combined. It probably is due to people's differing pictures they have when they hear each of those terms. I started out very natural with horses. I was lucky enough to have had opportunities to just be with horses when I was young. I learned to ride bareback before I rode with a saddle, and I learned to just hang out with a horse before I rode at all. When I had my first horses, it was with my best friend in a very private and secluded property. There was lots of room for play (and thank God, I survived it!). I did crazy things like climb on them in the pasture and sit backwards, then get them moving to see what it would feel like. I went on adventures with them. They were friends to me. One of my first teachers, in the 1970's, was a wonderful woman who was in her 70's, with great experience in the hunt field, who taught us to ride with no reins, including jumping.

Even later as I began doing dressage, I still had times where my horse and I went on trail rides and I would let my horse make all the decisions. One horse, Brave Tom, absolutely refused to do dressage on Mondays. I thought that was reasonable and so never challenged it. This horse was very injury prone, and I can remember when he was lame I would just go and sit with him, holding the injured part in my hands ... for hours.

This horse had not passed the veterinary exam for dressage. I got him when I was 15 and he was 7 years old. Neither of us had done dressage. He ended up going all the way with me. Time and time again he came through for me in the show ring and in general. I am still amazed at how much "above and beyond" he went for me.

As I became more "professional", I stopped doing these "silly" things with horses. The horses I was responsible for were more and more expensive; they were treated royally and well ... according to us humans. I got much more serious about my training, and it paid off. I learned a lot! In those years with Anne Gribbons, I had great opportunities to ride horses of Olympic caliber. I trained the easy ones and the challenging ones. I taught countless students of all levels. But I do remember thinking, how none of these horses gave me what Brave Tom had given me ... and he had only a fraction of the natural talent that these super athletes I was working with at this time had.

I will make this long story short, but it wasn't until I took a retiring Grand Prix horse to a Parelli clinic that I realized that all the things I instinctively had done with my horses when I was young, were actually something valuable that I could do on purpose even now. Those seemingly silly things I did had a powerful effect on my relationships with those horses. As I gained knowledge in dressage techniques, I had forgotten many of my natural horse partnership techniques.

It was with this Grand Prix horse, Vivaldi, after playing with natural horsemanship principles, that I felt something I hadn't felt since Brave Tom ... partnership. It is hard to describe exactly what I felt. Vivaldi was a horse who had retreated inside himself. I met him when he was 11 years old and already at FEI level, but no one at the farm really wanted to ride him because he was about as close to an inanimate object as a living creature could get. He was not that much fun to ride, and I'm sure he hadn't enjoyed it either. But there, in that barn aisle, late one evening, when everyone else had left, I felt it. He opened, he trusted. In the couple of years I had with him, between practicing natural horsemanship with him and until his soundness made him retire for good, he offered me more than he had when he was in his physical prime.

It was impossible for me to ignore the facts. Physical training is not the only thing necessary to do dressage, or any sport. The partnership, the mental and emotional connection between human and horse, is absolutely necessary in order to maximize the physical potential. Of course, if we train well, we improve them physically as we improve them emotionally and vice versa. Yet, I am so thankful that I found Parelli Natural Horsemanship in time to help me remember what it is to be natural with a horse. I am so glad that now I can be as consciously competent about how to develop partnership as I am about how to develop suppleness, balance and strength.

More photos here: 
http://dressagenaturally.net/about/photos-videos/photos-d-n-students

Euro Dressage: ISES Suggest to Empower FEI Stewards to Control Tightness of Noseband

Copied article: http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2012/02/06/ises-suggest-empower-fei-stewards-control-tightness-noseband

"Training and competition issues relating to the noseband have been flaring up in the media in the wake of the discussions involving the proposed blood rule. Eurodressage will be featuring a "Noseband Special' this week with in-depth articles on the history and use of the noseband as well as interviews with trainers about their personal noseband preference. We start the "Noseband Special" with an important statement by the International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) on restrictive nosebands.

ISES issued a statement on their position and recommendations concerning restrictive nosebands:

Background

Extreme tightening of the noseband may force the mucous membranes lining the cheek against the molar teeth and is thought to increase the bitted horse’s compliance and responsiveness to rein pressure, perhaps by sensitising its mouth (Randle & McGreevy, 2011). This may advantage the rider since the horse appears to achieve a lighter rein contact, colloquially referred to as becoming more ‘submissive’. However, tightening the noseband is likely to mask the horse’s natural comfort-seeking responses by restricting jaw and tongue movements that disclose resistance and behavioural conflict.

Recent evidence suggests that horses wearing tight nosebands undergo a physiological stress response, are sensitised to bit pressure and may have reduced blood flow (McGreevy et al., 2012). Consequently, on welfare grounds, the use of nosebands that constrict with potential to cause injuries should not be permitted in training or competition.

Most nosebands gets extra padding instead of loosening them up

Tight nosebands can mask unwanted behaviour in horses, which might be indicative of either pain or deficiencies in training, or, indeed, both. Consequently, the loosening of nosebands might reveal undesirable responses that could be dangerous to riders and other horse-rider combinations. Riders should therefore rule out any pain-related issues in their horses and ensure that their horses are trained according to principles of learning theory to meet the demands of competition.

In most equestrian disciplines, gear stewards check that all equipment used on horses competing complies with the specified regulations. By implementing a process that can be used to remove or loosen tight nosebands, stewards could ensure that the detrimental effects of these devices could be eliminated or at least lessened.

Furthermore, it is an established principle of ethical equitation that the horse’s relaxation must be benchmarked (McGreevy & McLean, 2007; ISES, 2011). This entails training lightness of rein contact by carefully eliminating expressions of mouth discomfort such as opening, gaping or crossing the jaw. Indeed, in the same vein, some equestrian manuals and competition rule books propose that ‘two fingers’ be used as a spacer to guard against over-tightening, but fail to specify where this gauge should be applied or, indeed, the size of the fingers. The dimensions of average adult first and index fingers at the second joint are: 1.59 × 3.87 × 9.89 cm (McGreevy et al., 2012). This amount of space under the noseband allows horses to express conflict behaviour and so aligns with the principles of ethical equitation. That said, it does not permit horses to perform the full repertoire of behaviours, including yawning (McGreevy et al., 2012).

Recommendation   

ISES recommends that all equestrian sports should require that the tightness of any noseband is checked by a steward at the nasal midline (see Fig.1).

For fairness and objectivity, a taper gauge inserted under the noseband should be used for this purpose. The gauge should be placed without force and be clearly marked to show the desired stop which, in alignment with established industry guidance, should be the dimensions of two average adult fingers.

Riders should be advised and encouraged to use the same gauge in practice."

Where do we go from here

Epona posted the following article: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/april/where-do-we-go-from-here

I agree completely, and I think they adress alot of issues in this article, which needed pointing out in this whole Andreas case.

(picture used in another article regarding Andreas)

Article here:

As always when we break a horse welfare scandal, somebody points out that "this guy is not the only one doing this stuff" - and then they proceed, as if they were the first person ever to have this insight, to lecture us on how it's not fair to make one person the scapegoat for a structural issue.

We actually agree that it's not fair. The hypocrisy of sponsors who are now paddling away from the sinking ship that is Andreas Helgstrand is almost too much to bear. As if they didn't know what they were funding. As if they had no idea. As if they don't have eyes in their heads. Of course they knew. They're just sorry they got caught and unlike Andreas Helgstrand, they have the luxury of being able to distance themselves from Andreas Helgstrand.

It's not fair. It's never fair. It wasn't fair to Patrik Kittel, it wasn't fair to Craig Schmersal, it wasn't fair to Jason Webb. Because they are only doing what everyone else is doing.

Okay - so what does that imply? Does it imply that we should never publish photos of blue tongues or spur marks or scared horses because it might lead to an unfair distribution of blame on the riders? Or does it perhaps imply that there is a really big, ugly elephant in the room which needs to be addressed? If it's really true that "I have seen worse many times" and "oh, that happens to everyone" and "this guy over here is just as bad" - what does that tell you about equestrian sport? And where do we go from here?

What needs to happen is happening. A previously untouchable dressage star is losing his sponsors because he did something really, really ugly to his horse in front of everyone, including someone with a camera who decided to share the photos. The situation has been exacerbated for the rider by very bad crisis management on the part of the Danish Equestrian Federation and the Danish animal protection societies, Hestens Værn and Dyrenes Beskyttelse. These organisations who claim to work for the welfare of the horse have in fact done nothing to resolve the problems. Except talk. They have talked for five years now. Their failure to do what was wanted by a growing number of horse lovers has transformed simmering dissatisfaction and disillusionment into pure rage. And now that rage has all been directed at Andreas Helgsgrand via his sponsors.

It seems bizarre but the sponsors who knowingly funded Andreas Helgstrand's pursuits for years are now leading the way towards better horse welfare. Their cowardice and frantic hand washing aside, sponsors like Equsana, Jan Nygaard BMW, Passier and Linsmark are sending a signal to all the other riders out there: If you get caught hurting your horse, you lose. This is a message which the equestrian federations and the so called animal protection societies have consistently refused to convey. Now the sponsors are doing the dirty work for the federations and animal protection groups. The sponsors, who paid good money in return for what they thought would be positive exposure, are having to clean up the mess left by the federation and riders like Andreas Helgstrand who have been having a big party with no consideration for the horses or the future of the sport. It doesn't bode well for future sponsorships if that's the deal one can expect.

At the centre of all this is Andreas Helgstrand. Unlike a lot of people, we don't feel sorry for him. He has had so many warnings. He has had so many close calls and everytime he has laughed it off, made a big joke about how some people thought he was a cruel rider, never stopping to consider whether perhaps those people had a point. He is a big boy who made his bed and now he has to lie in it. If you feel worse for Andreas than you do for his horses, we can't help you. You'll have to wait until one day you wake up and smell the coffee - boy, are you going to feel like an idiot. We all did. Your day will come as well.

What would be even better than Andreas Helgstrand's sponsors throwing him under the bus as they have done would be if he were to be tried and convicted for animal cruelty. It has long been clear that equestrian sport will not clean up itself. It will never happen. If horses are to be safe, they must be protected from the federations, not by the federations. The animal protection laws of the various countries must do what the federations and animal protection societies are unwilling to do.

The fact that the veterinarian invited by the Danish Equestrian Federation said the skin was normal where the pictures had indicated damage from the spurs does not mean Andreas Helgstrand is home free. There is still the matter of the squashed, blue tongue and the painful mandible almost a week later. Will the animal welfare groups step up to their responsibilities? Will the police?

One veterinarian who is not afraid to speak up is Lene Kattrup who is a member of Denmark's Ethical Council, which advises members of Parliament on bio-ethical issues. According to Kattrup, animal cruelty and neglect cases are notoriously under-prioritized by Danish police.

"In Denmark, it can be difficult to get the Police to take up a report for animal cruelty or neglect. It is necessary to report cases of animal cruelty or neglect in writing and to request a receipt for the report. If you just call the Police on the phone, they may not take the case any further. But legally, they have to. Even if you are a private person, you can report animal cruelty and neglect to the Police and they are not only obliged to investigate but also to make sure the animal receives the help which it needs."

The animal protection societies have claimed that ”photos alone” may not be enough to prosecute, but Lene Kattrup disagrees. "Looking at the photos of Akeem Foldager, it is my opinion as a veterinarian that the Danish animal welfare legislation has been violated. I would stand up and say that in court”.

"It is an uphill struggle to fight for animal welfare in Denmark. As a veterinarian, I have been working for many years to improve animal welfare, including a campaign to ban animal brothels. You have to have broad shoulders because not everyone wants to hear what you have to say. But we must not give up."

Kattrup adds that the Veterinary Health Council in Denmark, which advises politicians on veterinary and animal welfare matters, occasionally makes statements about certain interventions based on photographic evidence alone. It seems the claim that "pictures alone" are not enough to go after Helgstrand is just another bad excuse.

It is Lene Kattrup's opinion that the extensive photo material documents that the horse has been subjected to pain, fear and significant discomfort, which would constitute irresponsible treatment in violation of Paragraph 1 of the Danish Animal Protection Law. She feels that the photos clearly show marks from excessive use of sharp spurs on the horse's sides and moreover, a gaping mouth and blue tongue as signs of hypoxia. She would expect the spur marks to have healed by the time the veterinarian from the Danish Equestrian Federation examined Akeem.

"The photos show that the tongue is entirely squashed because of the sharp bit and as a veterinarian I would be worried about serious lesions to the tongue as a consequence of a strongly compromised circulation as well as crushing of the soft tissue. This can lead to acute trauma as well as delayed trauma such as neuropathy and local necrosis of the tongue tissue. The horse looks very uncomfortable and seems to suffer at the same time as having his neck in a very short position."

Lene Kattrup further underlines that any pain and fear felt by Akeem during the incident would - in itself - be enough to warrant police investigation, regardless of whether the horse still had symptoms five days later when examined by the vet chosen by the Danish Equestrian Federation.

Where do we go from here? It's clear where we should go. It is not good enough that federations have ethical guidelines and sponsors kick the riders out who are caught on camera. Animal cruelty is a criminal offense and the law which prohibits it should be enforced. A precedent must be set before we will see real change. Whether it's going to happen this time is still up in the air.

We leave you with some more photos from the open day at Helgstrand Dressage. The photos show the four-year-old stallion Vincent Maranello being worked by Andreas Helgstrand and Morten Thomsen. We want to make sure the Danish Equestrian Federation includes a thorough instruction in how to fit a regular snaffle bridle when they sit down with Andreas Helgstrand and explain to him how to use a double.

- See more at: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/april/where-do-we-go-from-here#sthash.rb1J3lyS.dpuf

Andreas Helgstrand and Akeem Foldager

Epona.tv has once again made an expose regarding a "big dressage talent". They shot photos during Helgstrand Dressage open house event, and what these photos show, is in no way nice to look at. I think people need to take a good hard look at riders, that practice these sorts of methods towards horses. This both during the actual training, but  also during warm ups to big horse events (and smaller ones), where it is possible to control how horses are treated.

The photos show a tongue that is being completely mashed by the briddle (kandar) and is blue as a result of the lack of oxygen, and if that isnt bad enough, there is marks on the flanks left by hard usage of spurs, which has been used hard enough to break the skin. They have covered this up, by using black shoe polish. Another thing I noticed are stripes which appears on the hind quarters of the horse. Which indicates it has been hit by the whip enough to leave marks behind.

This has all ocured in this big open house event and the horse was shown like this in the open arena (with the marks "covered up") with people applauding.

If this is what shown to the people at big shows, I dont event want to know what goes on behind closed doors.

Enough talking, I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

When did this kind of treatment of animals become okay?

Is winning really everything, and does the methods we use to achive our goals mean nothing?

Dont we as riders have a moral and ethic responsibility towards the animals we use for our sport?

I think several top riders have shown you do not need these harsh methods to become a winner in the top of the field. (just look at Carl Hester, and Charlotte Dujardin, top of their field, and not using these kind of methods, where horses are bleeding and have blue tongues.)


The Danish Equestrian Federation has reacted here: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/april/danish-equestrian-federation-reacts-to-akeem-photos

I really hope this will get taken very seriously, and AH will get much more than just a quick reprimande. Though sadly, I doubt it....

Possibly a rollkur ban in Denmark

Found this article on epona.tv today: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/january/danish-rollkur-ban-in-the-cards

and it says the following:

"The Danish Animal Welfare Society, Dyrenes Beskyttelse, has sent out a press release demanding a ban on the use of rollkur in Denmark. ”This is not a new debate” said Payana Hendriksen, who heads up the equine division of Dyrenes Beskyttelse, to Epona.tv. ”We have been talking about this for years. Dyrenes Beskyttelse is against the use of rollkur, and now that Switzerland has banned the practice, we feel that it is time to take the issue to the Danish politicians and try to make sure the same thing happens here.” - See more at: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/january/danish-rollkur-ban-in-the-cards#sthash.pn8VFniu.dpuf"

The Danish Animal Welfare Society does not distinguish between rollkur, hyperflexion and low, deep and round, according to Payana Hendriksen. ”While we understand that the FEI continues to allow the so-called low, deep and round technique which does not involve forcing the horse into hyperflexion, we feel that in practical terms, it is close to impossible for stewards and other officials to discern between LDR and rollkur. So as long as the FEI cannot provide clear definitions of rollkur and LDR, we at The Danish Animal Welfare Society consider them to be one and the same thing.”

Hendriksen adds that several of the adverse effects of hyperflexion apply whether the horse has been trained humanely to assume the position or is being forced to do so by use of the reins. ”The horse can't see where he is going when he is in hyperflexion. His breathing is restricted and his bones and muscles are also being stressed. We don't think it is humane to ride a horse like this.”

Even if the campaign to ban hyperflexion by law in Denmark is successful, it will be an uphill struggle to actually stop riders using rollkur, Payana Hendriksen acknowledges. ”This is a practice which has gone on for a very long time and we're aware that it won't stop overnight with a ban” she said. ”But we hope that by writing it into the Danish animal welfare legislation, we send out a signal to riders everywhere that this type of riding is not okay. We have a lot of work ahead of us, informing horse owners about humane training methods. No doubt, this will be a huge step for horse welfare in Denmark.”

- See more at: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/january/danish-rollkur-ban-in-the-cards#sthash.pn8VFniu.dpuf

Great article, one step in the direction. It may be babysteps, but I think the more we take. The closer we will get to reach our goal of humane equestrian welfare. Afterall these steps are being taken towards protecting the horses.

Carola Koppelmann

I was sitting and looking through Euro Dressage when I stumbled upon an article about Carola Koppelman : http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2012/11/03/carola-koppelmann-starting-over-desperado-old (great article)

After reading abit and seeing the pictures I decided to google abit and see what I would find, and I think she seems like a very sympathic rider.

I especially liked these pictures:

I just like stumbling upon these riders  I havent really seen or heard about before, since I think its nice to see people making it to the top, and still treat their horses right :)

Classical Training: The Psychology of Dressage, Coping with It All

Article from Eurodressage: Classical Training: The Psychology of Dressage, Coping with It All.



"I still remember one of my first ever dressage tests, when my stubborn shetland pony decided he would pick that day, of all days, to refuse to go into canter. I left the arena. I was an 8 year old in tears and my mother said to me, "If you ever leave the arena in that state again, I will give your pony away!"
I never forgot that and still to this day, I slap on a big smile at the final salute, even if on the inside I'm horribly disappointed. The lesson that my mother was trying to highlight was that our sport should be fun and we should remember that we are there to enjoy it. At the end of the day, win, lose, break in the canter, or pig-root over the puddles, you should both, horse and rider, be having fun!
However, while every athlete faces many pressures in their pursuit of success, the sport of dressage is particularly complex, especially given that we are not the only emotional entity in the arena. When a runner loses a race, they can easily reflect and decide what they can improve on, or where they went wrong. A rider can do this to a certain extent, but if your horse suddenly leaps out of the ring for no apparent reason, it is a little more complicated to ask him why he chose that moment to do so. Sometimes we try so hard to do the perfect test, that we forget to ride it, or our horse senses our tension, and won't let us ride it. Whatever the reason, in dressage we face many ups and downs, in and out of the arena.

We have all left a competition frustrated that our best test was marked particularly badly, while the test we thought was a complete shamble put us in first place.  We all know the rather puzzling realization, or self critique, that we seem to be doing worse this week, rather than better. Or that at our last competition we believed we had finally mastered something, only to have it return at a greater degree at the competition following. "

Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2012/11/21/classical-training-psychology-dressage-coping-it-all

Putting words into action- Eurodressage article.

Found this article on eurodressage, which I will recommend people to read.

Part 1- http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/09/16/coming-together-minds-2011-fei-young-horse-seminar-and-judges-course

Part 2- http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/09/17/putting-words-action-practical-demonstrations-s-level

"First to go was “Dankeschön” (by Danone I x Fidermark), a good type of horse presented by Anja Wilimzig who works for the National State Stud in Warendorf. At age 4 Dankeschön was quite impressed with the foreign surroundings and first was looking around a bit and whinnying repeatedly.
As he was a bit tight in the neck at the beginning, Hess asked his rider to open the frame of the horse, even though the conditions were not easy for doing that. Wilimzig revealed much talent, riding the excited liver-chestnut with feeling and precision and brought him more constantly in front of the vertical in trot and canter."

Quote from the article.

Im so impressed by the beautiful riding, shown on the pictures. One thing is "saying all the right things", but they are definatly puttings words into action.

Here is some of the pictures:

Adelinde Cornelissen Olympics 2012

One scandal after another keeps surfacing in this years olympic dressage discipline. It is about time the FEI steps up to their job and stick to their own rules.(!)

At all stages during the preparation and training of Competition Horses, welfare must take precedence over all other demands.
a) Good Horses management
Stabling, feeding and training must be compatible with good Horses management and must not compromise welfare. Any practices which could cause physical or mental suffering, in or out of Competition, will not be tolerated.
b) Training methods
Horses must only undergo training that matches their physical capabilities and level of maturity for their respective disciplines. They must not be subjected to any training methods which are abusive or cause fear or for which they have not
been properly prepared.

Watching the video above, I was in shock. I do not understand how the FEI can stand behind this. Sealing off the area to make sure none can see how the horses are trained is truly disgusting! If you cannot stand behind the training methods- then dont use them - just some common sense.

How Adelinde Cornelissen can be awarded second place when she trains her horse like this is beyond me. I could hardly watch her ride her program as she constantly pulls her horse in the mouth which is constantly whipping its tail showing obvious signs of being uncomfortable with the way it was being ridden.

That the FEI will contineously allow these kind of training methods and even help cover up the practice in some futile attempt to state that it is non occurant is not only hippocracy but also pathetic.

Pull your straw to the stack by signing this petition aimed towards the FEI and demand action towards the rollkur practice here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-rollkur/
and look at this facebookgroup: https://www.facebook.com/DislikeFEIrules


For studies regarding the effects of rollkur on horses, I suggest reading this article: http://www.cavallo.de/medizin/neue-studie-zur-rollkur-liefert-alarmierende-ergebnisse.386954.233219.htm?skip=0 Unfortunately, it is in german, but with some help from google translate, you should be OK.

 

Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival

A happy horse and athlete?