The German equestrian website Dressur Studien controversially announced that the 10-minute 'Low Deep Round" rule was not effective at the 2010 CDIO Aachen.
Dressur Studien received confirmation from chief steward Rolf Peter Fuss that the 10-minute rule was no longer in effect.
The FEI, however, denies these rumours to Eurodressage and officially states that Annex XIII was never changed nor abandoned.
"Annex XIII was not changed or abandoned for the competition in Aachen. There was also no instruction by Jacques van Daele to the Stewards not to apply the rule," the FEI told Eurodressage. "Aachen was one of the first major events where the new Annex XIII rules were applied and it was therefore crucial for Jacques van Daele to closely assist the Stewards in applying the new system. It was also important to act in a sensitive and reasonable way with regards to the riders, since they had to adapt to the new system as well."
The FEI was open in its communication to Eurodressage about the application of Annex XIII:
"There was a meeting with all Stewards and Jacques van Daele watched the first training sessions in the main arena. Stewards were also encouraged to consult Mr van Daele directly if they were unsure of when it was appropriate to apply the Annex rules. Mr van Daele’s instructions to the Stewards were that they should always act in a way that would prevent a situation arising in which it would be necessary to use the 10-minute rule. If a Steward felt unsure about whether the situation would require issuing a yellow or red card or whether alerting a rider would be sufficient, they were to consult with Mr van Daele first and a decision would be taken in conjunction with him. The stewards were very grateful for the consultation opportunity as it gave them more confidence in when and how to act according to the rules. As a result of this procedure, there was no incident where the 10-minute rule had to be brought into play or where yellow or red cards were necessary. It did not mean that the rule was not in place. All situations were dealt with before any critical situation arose, demonstrating the highly professional work of the Stewards."
Photo © Barbara Schnell
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