International Dressage Riders Club

What has Aachen 2026 shown us about the future of Dressage?

The FEI World Championships in Aachen were first and foremost a fantastic showcase for Dressage – with great sport, an incredible atmosphere and huge enthusiasm from the public.

At the same time, Aachen also gave us plenty to reflect on. From judging and horse welfare to the way our sport is presented and understood by the public, the Championships provided important insights into where Dressage stands today – and where it should go next.

From the riders’ perspective, the future must be about fair and consistent judging, horse welfare at the centre of the sport, attractive and understandable presentation, and ensuring that the athletes’ voice is part of the discussion about how Dressage develops.

Aachen showed just how much appeal and emotion our sport can create when everything comes together.

What lessons should we take from Aachen – and what would you like to see for the future of Dressage?

💻 Riders Marketing
🐎 Rebecca Mauléon
📸

The Competition calendar heads into its strongest season coming into spring and summer. With the growing difficulty of event organisers delivering equestrian events, as a cornerstone of the sport, initiatives and efforts are key to help event organisers deliver events as well as make them accessible to more riders. 

💻

📸 .ec

Good Evening, IDRC Members,

With our Annual Online General Meeting set for next Tuesday 17th of December at 18:00 CET. Here is the scheduled order of the day.

As highlighted last years GA meeting minutes will be approved during this years meeting. For which the minutes have been published on the IDRC website for your approval.

Note that access to the GA meeting is for IDRC Members only.

For this and more information head over to www.idrc.me

💻



*dressage

Dear Members,
�I herby kindly invite You to our virtual General Assembly by Zoom Meeting for
‍�Tuesday, 17.12.2024 at 6:00 pm / 18:00 CET:
�Agenda details of the General Assembly can be read on the IDRC website.
Location: Virtual by Zoom Meeting

💻





• Tags by

As our sport continues to evolve it is important for all of those involved to work together in our constant pursuit of guaranteeing the welfare of the sport through knowledge. With this, this year's annual dressage meeting will bring together the key organisations to guarantee that pursuit.
- IDRC: International Dressage Riders Club
- IDOC: International Dressage Officials Club.
- Dressage Organisers.
- IDTC: International Dressage Trainers Club.
Special thanks go to KNHS Netherlands for hosting us at their facilities this year.

💻

After last year's successful meeting in Belgium. This year we are delighted to be hosted at KNHS Netherlands for our next Annual Dressage Stakeholder Meeting, Scheduled for November 5th 2024, 12:00 to 6th of November 15:00.
Hotel details- Please make your reservation early to secure your room.
Hotel Heerlickheijd van Ermelo
Staringlaan 1
3852LA Ermelo
Please email the hotel on : [email protected]

Room cost: Double 123 Euros, Single 103.50 Euros

We look forward to seeing you there.

Schedules, Speakers and additional information will follow in the coming months.

💻

The culmination of the FEI World Cup Series will see the very best dressage riders congregating in the heart of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, to compete for the coveted title of FEI World Cup™ Champion 2024.

The Finals of the Longines FEI Dressage World Cup™ will take place at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center located in the heart of the city that is set to become the center stage, drawing in the worldwide equestrian audience.

💻

For the further development of the sport a revision of current test is
necessary to evaluate improvements.

In response to some dissatisfaction with the current A & B tests several
alternatives were ridden and discussed at our 2023 Stakeholder Meeting
presented and explained by IDRC Board member Beatriz Ferrer-Salat
There also appeared to be an opportunity for an ‘introductory’ grand prix for
use in developing countries and amateurs or young horses. Ronan Murphy
agreed to discuss any proposals with the Dressage Technical Committee
and as part of a future strategy for developing the sport.

💻
📸 .ec

In line with our main objective of enhancing welfare and performance through knowledge. One of the main themes of our last stakeholder meeting looked at various new applications that can improve our horses wellness and health.

Dr. Siddhartha Khandelwai presented an app in development, Walkbeat,
which describes in detail how the horse is using its limbs. This could be
used to maximize performance and prevent injury.

From Wisconsin USA via live stream Kendra Skorstad presented the
HoofMapp app which owners can use to document and track a horse’s
shoeing over time. This was followed up by a webinar which further explains the tool.

Sleip Gait Analysis demonstrations where carried out which provides easy,
fast and user-friendly tracking the symmetry of horses in trot.

💻
📸 .ec

One of the main contributors and key stakeholders of our sport are event organisers as they provide the main platform for our sport to grow and operate.
For this reason, at our IDRC stakeholder meeting in Azelhof last year we invited two representatives from the sector to inform our members on the current status of event delivery and converse with our members to identify collaborative ways for beneficial event experiences for both riders and organisers.

Thomas Eyckmans and Dane Rawlins outlined the current difficulties organizers are facing in
creating competitions in the face of ever-increasing costs. Member awareness and
suggestions where solicited.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

💻