The proposed changes for Dressage competitions are set for approval later this month. Once implemented, officials are confident that the competition will gain more fans due to easy accessibility of the sport.

According to reports, a dressage taskforce (DTF) has been set up to make dressage more mainstream just like any other mainstream sports wherein judges can be assessed, supervised and continually educated.

Part of the proposal includes increasing the number of judges in major championships – from five to seven in a bid to spread the influence when it comes to individual scores.

DTF member Frank Kempermann said that even if the judge has been into the sport for more than two decades, he or she should still undergo educational activities to be more updated with the latest trends and rules. DTF was formed by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

Two racing horses are up for the Horse of the Year honors. The judges will have a hard time deciding considering the two have never competed with each other on the track.

According to reports, racing horses Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra have great credentials that either will certainly deserve getting the award. This will be the first time since 2002 that a female horse will get honored once more.

Rachel Alexandra won eight out of eight races this year with three of them winning over male horses. As for Zenyatta, she improved to 14-0 after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with most of the competitors are male horses.

The verdict will be determined this coming January at the Eclipse Awards, considered as the Oscars of horse racing. The winner will be announced during a special gathering in Beverly Hills.

Olympic equestrian judge and world-renowned dressage rider Linda Zang will be honored this coming December at the Travis County Exposition Center in Austin, Texas.
According to reports, Zang will be inducted into the United States Dressage Foundation (USDF) Hall of Fame for this year. The induction takes place at the USDF Annual Convention on December 4, 2009.

Zang has won numerous Federation Equestre International (FEI) titles during her 30-year equestrian career. One of her biggest achievements was winning the gold medal in the aforementioned event at the 1979 Pan American Games. She ride Swedish Warmblood Fellow Traveler during her lustrous career.

In 1985, Zang earned an FEI “O” judge and USEF “S” judge accreditation which means she’s the lead authority when it comes to competitions. She served as a judge at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s a regular fixture in international events.

The Dressage Task Force, initiated by FEI – the governing body for all Olympic equestrian disciplines, will be spearheading the demonstration of dressage tests this week in the German city of Aachen.

The Dressage Task Force is attempting to make this sport more understandable to the public in order to gain interest. Aside from that, the task force is aiming to create a fairer environment among players. CHIO Aachen Show Director Frank Kemperman, the chairman of the task force, has already outlined the ideas and concepts of this upcoming event.

The officials also consulted with experts from other sporting fields such as figure skating and gymnastics. This is in order to get more insights as to how to implement the judging methods for dressage test competitions.

The venue of the dressage test is at the Deutsche Bank Stadium in Aachen. Qualified international judges have been invited to assess the performances of the dressage riders and give necessary feedback.

England’s dressage team is targeting an unusual goal. Instead of aiming for gold, the team would be very happy settling for silver – that is, as long as they achieve this feat.

The European Championships is set in Windsor later this month and the British dressage team has been handed the challenge to perform well on their home country and get at least the silver medal.

Richard Davison, the dressage team captain, stated this challenge before the tournament featuring showjumping and dressage will take place later this month.

In an interview with the media, Davison said that the team has a great chance to achieve the bronze model but it would be great to go one step further and clinch the silver.

Fighting for a chance for the second best finish would mean performing better than dressage powerhouse Germany and Holland.

The organizers behind the upcoming Alltech FEI European Jumping and Dressage Championships have decided to give the players and spectators a preview on what to expect in next year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games next month. The 2010 competition will take place at the European Championships where all FEI disciplines (8 categories) are going to be featured.

The Alltech World Equestrian Games Gala Night will be staged on August 28 in the middle of the 2009 dressage competition. Participants will have the chance to see the competition venue in Windsor, Kentucky. There will be contests where winners can get up to 10,000 pounds in prize money.

Simon Brooks-Ward, event director, said that next month’s competition and the 2010 dressage events are considered important moments for equestrian sport. He said that it is a perfect time to encourage enthusiasts to attend these competitions because they’ll get to see the finest players at their best.

150 players from 32 countries have been invited to the 2009 Championships. Several major sponsors have made their commitment to provide ample financial support to make this competition successful. The deadline of entries has been set on Monday, July 27.