FN Young Horse Summit: Riding horse and pony national championships change
New procedure, new mode for “young horse-friendly” Bundeschampionate
from Dominique Wehrmann 
In future, the in-hand presentation will be omitted for both the three- and four-year-olds in the riding horse arena at the Bundeschampionat. Photo: sportfotos-lafrentz.de The first adjustments will be made at the Bundeschampionate, the FN’s own show in Warendorf. In order to “prepare young horses for their sporting careers in an even more age-appropriate and gentle manner”, the test procedure for three and four-year-old riding horses and riding ponies will be changed.
Three-year-olds
- Stabling the day before the competition is obligatory to give the horses time to acclimatize and to ensure equal opportunities.
- In future, the three-year-olds will only take part in one test, i.e. no more qualifications. On the day before the start, there will be a training session on the test course.
- The competition is ridden in divisions of three horses each.
- The task from 2025 without extending steps remains in place.
- There is no longer an assessment of the building by hand – instead there is a score for the overall impression, which includes the quality of the body.
- In the future, there will be scores for walk, trot and canter, rideability with a special focus on age-appropriate fulfillment of the criteria of the training scale (which, however, has always been postulated as a decisive criterion, editor’s note. ) and overall impression
- Instead of the previous 0.5 increments, tenths can now also be awarded
Four-year-olds
- Qualification still in the form of a test for young riding horses, the previous task will be ridden.
- A novice class dressage test for young horses will be ridden for the first time in the final.
- Building grades are no longer awarded for four-year-olds either.
- The external rider test is not required
Changes to the grandstand structure
Up to now, there has been a standing grandstand separating the preparation arena from the competition arena. This will be removed to allow the young horses to have visual contact with other horses. This will be particularly relevant for the four-year-olds, as the finalists will enter the arena alone for their class A dressage test.
This is an initial measure, explains Dr. Klaus Miesner, Managing Director of the Breeding Division within the FN. “We are evaluating whether the measures we have adopted are having the desired effect,” says Klaus Miesner. Where further adjustments are needed, further steps should follow accordingly. The aim is to “continuously develop the Bundeschampionate in such a way that it prepares young horses for their sporting future in the best possible and responsible way”.
Composition of the working group
The working group in which the measures were discussed and decided upon is made up of representatives of the breeding associations, judges, veterinarians, breeders, trainers, instructors, riders, horse management experts and FN employees. There are 15 people. Individual names were not given on request.
This group of people will continue to meet, for example to discuss further test formats for young horses and training from breaking in to the first competition start in general, according to the FN’s press release. The aim is to “focus even more strongly on horse welfare”. This is not a static state, but a “continuous aspiration”, as Dr. Miesner puts it. The aim is to “further develop equestrian sport, improve its quality and make it socially acceptable in the long term”, according to Miesner.
