U.S. League Finals for the 2005 World Cup Finals

Transparent Power, Rhythm, Balance and Partnership

by Lita Dove for Eurodressage.com

At the United States League Final Qualifier for the 2005 Dressage World Cup Finals, transparency was everywhere. The Finals were part of the annual Festival of the Horse CDI, in Burbank, California, which is hosted at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

Courtesy of Pete Jorgensen and Fox Village, the electronic scoring was visible, immediate, fun to watch, and one further perk for the spectators, if you had tickets for the Equidome, you could access either of two laptops, generously provided by (and locked into place by) Fox Village, so that anyone with a little computer savvy could immediately access ALL the scores of ALL the classes in the show, not merely the League Finals, but the entire CDI.

But even more interesting, perhaps, in terms of transparency was the ease with which the audience was able to pick out and reward the really good performances.

No one needed to see the scores to rate harmony. No one needed the judges’ handbook to figure out which pairs had power and rhythm and balance and partnership—the key concepts of dressage.

I dare say that an applause-o-meter could have placed the classes just as fairly and surely as the estimable judges, the panel including Elizabeth McMullen (O), Mary Seefried (O), Hanne Valentin (O), Trond Asmyr (I), Janet Brown (I) and Lois Yukins (I).

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