On the occasion of the anniversary of the Verein zum Erhalt und zur Förderung der klassischen Reitausbildung Xenophon e.V.

Even though the term “roll cure” dates back to the 1990s, it was suddenly on everyone’s lips again in 2005. It was triggered by an article in St.GEORG under the headline “Dressage perverted”, alluding to the fact that horses were being trained using the roll cure or hyperflexion, as the FEI later called it, instead of being systematically trained. Horses trained in this way were the spearhead of the sport at the time.

There was much debate at the time. The advocates of hyperflexion wanted to sell it as a modern training method, while the representatives of classical riding theory held out against it. In the end, the FEI found a lazy compromise by introducing the “10-minute rule”, which tolerated hyperflexion in the preparation arena for 10 minutes. Perhaps that was the real problem. No clear boundary was drawn, but “a little bit pregnant” was okay. Because even in the years that followed, the bad images never completely disappeared. Even though the performances of a Damon Hill, a Dablino, an Uthopia, at times also a Valegro, a Showtime, a Dalera and today a Zonik Plus by Justin Verboomen and a Freestyle by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour showed and show how it should be.

But is it possible to talk about riding that is more in line with the guidelines and more horse-friendly across the board, both nationally and internationally? The first impulse probably says: no way! But to be able to give more than a “perceived answer” here, you would have to carry out a statistical survey. That doesn’t exist. But since 2024, it has been possible to anonymously report training methods that are cruel to animals to the FEI. Problem: As Canadian journalist Pippa Cuckson found out, only 20 percent of the cases reported are actually followed up. And anyway, what are cruel training methods? And is all riding behind the vertical cruelty to animals?

There are gray areas here. The “okay” and “no longer okay” are most clearly defined in the criteria catalog for the preparation arena published by the FN. Here, for example, it is defined that “bringing about a tight head and neck posture” is to be observed by the supervising judges and that “rough and incorrect use of aids and aids” as well as “any use of force (e.g. measures with rough rein aids)” require immediate action. At various tournaments, “info stewards” are now on site to answer questions from spectators and, as it turns out, also provide a kind of moral support for the supervising stewards and judges.

No action

Problem: Riding in public is one thing. The other is what happens behind closed doors. A few weeks ago, a video from a training stable went viral showing a man gagging a horse equipped with draw reins in a rather brutal manner. Many reactions in our environment had this tenor: “Not nice, but not rare.”

Who is surprised when an Olympic champion rides an untactful horse in public on bare reins. This seems to be the new normal. Because no action was taken here, although the steward would at least have had to penalize the tact problem according to international regulations. If nobody says anything at the show, how are you supposed to deal with abuses at home?

The answer is as simple as it is frustrating: not at all, unless at some point the riders start to realize themselves. Then, as many fear, equestrian sport really will be banned across the board at some point. Just like touching, which was once a recognized training method for show jumpers, but fell into such disrepute due to repeated abuse that it is now no longer allowed at all. This way, at least you have a clear course of action for those who get caught.

Solutions from several sides

The focus of public criticism is primarily on dressage and show jumping. But the truth is that the issue concerns everyone who is involved with horses. It is not enough to draw up rules and regulations if they are not enforced. It is not enough to devise evaluation criteria if they are only applied selectively in practice. It is not enough to impose sanctions if the offender does not realize that he has acted wrongly. On the one hand, this requires consistency on the part of the supervisory authorities. But these cannot be applied everywhere. And maintaining the social license is not just a “top-down task”, it must also work in the other direction.

Trainers must not only preach values in dealing with animals, but also exemplify them. Children and parents need to be willing to get to know and understand the horse as an animal. The sense of responsibility for the animal, the knowledge of its needs, the feeling for the horse must grow organically as the rider’s training progresses. This is perhaps the most important task that trainers have today.

Rider training and related topics must once again take the place of gossip in the stables. Mutual insults and poor, disrespectful treatment of horses are neither part of equestrian sport nor of dealing with horses. The “Ethical principles of the horse lover” provide clear guidelines that every rider should adhere to.

Our goal

What does all this have to do with Xenophon? On the one hand, we as an association can point out grievances. More importantly, however, we have a network of trainers who teach the values mentioned above from the ground up. Renowned trainers make their knowledge and experience available for this purpose. Because classical riding training for the horse and not against the horse is a matter close to everyone’s heart. We see ourselves as multipliers of these values. They are timeless. They are classic. That’s why Xenophon calls itself the “Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Classical Riding Culture”.

As such, we strive to offer as many courses as possible in order to impart knowledge and teach horse-friendly riding. It’s not just about “heel deepest point” (that’s why, then especially about the “how” and the “why”), but we also explain the horse’s expressive behavior and incorporate it into the training. For the horses. Because we want to show riders what a pleasure it is when horses are happy to cooperate. And because this is the only way we can keep them as part of society in the long term.

At the same time, we want to reward good riding in a publicly visible way. Xenophon was the first institution to award a prize for good riding, regardless of the placing in the competition. We now also award this prize together with our partners at the Bundeschampionat.

We will inform you about all these activities here on EQUI PAGES in the future. Stay tuned!