The latest on Rollkur

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According to Horse and Hound, the FEI are going to debate the Rollkur issue at their general assembly on 15th November in Copenhagen. A spokesman said "important developments will be announced as soon as possible."

When you look at the FEI's dressage page, and see listed along the right hand side article after article on Anky and other Dutch dressage riders (Anky, the Olympic gold medallist, is very well known for being a Rollkur practitioner, as I believe are most of the Dutch team) it is immediately obvious what a tension there is here. On the one hand, the top echelons of the sport support rollkur, and are presumably lobbying very hard for the FEI not to change their stance; on the other there's a great deal of public attention being directed at a sport which has only just emerged out of the shadows and started to become popular.

In an ideal world, I would suggest a moratorium on rollkur being practised until definitive studies have been done on the effect on the horse's mental and physical wellbeing have been carried out. Until those happen, the need to produce a top competition horse, will, unfortunately, take precedence as rollkur's practitioners argue their practices do not harm, and in fact can help the horse.

Comments

Jackie said…
At Beijing, Anky got, I believe it was an 8, for the final movement, which is on the test as : 'Halt, Immobility, Salute'
That must have been the hell of a salute, because the other two components were markedly absent.
My eight year old daughter got a 4 at Pony Club D because her pony didn't halt and stand still!
No backstory, see!
14 November 2009 at 09:26
Jane Badger said…
For Anky, that movement is slow down, resist, bounce, snatch in general direction of hat, smile because you know it doesn't matter.
14 November 2009 at 10:09
Jackie said…
drop reins, throw arms in air, smile glitteringly, and greet your adoring public.

Funnily enough, that doesn't appear on the test ....
15 November 2009 at 13:09
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