International Dressage Trainers Club Celebrates 40th Anniversary in Radzionkow

Dressage

IDTC

-- by Agata Grosicka for Eurodressage - Photos © Malgorzata Frysztak

The International Dressage Trainers Club (IDTC) celebrated its 40th anniversary at its annual meeting. This year the general assembly with gala evening took place at Cichoń Dressage equestrian center in Radzionków, Poland, on 5 - 6 October 2026.

The event was hosted by Andrzej Sałacki, Polish Youth Team trainer and member of IDTC Board, in collaboration with Mateusz Cichoń and the Polish Equestrian Federation. The two-day gathering was a true feast of knowledge and an opportunity to exchange experiences.

Exchanging Ideas and Experiences

The extensive program of panel discussions covered key areas of dressage and includes a wide range of subjects such as.

There were panel discussions dedicated to veterinary and judging issues, including:

- a guest lecture by Dr. Hermann Genn, FEI Veterinarian, on the current issues and questions regarding dressage horses in the competitive sport;

- a presentation by Daniel Göhlen from Black Horse on the trends in judging and actionable conclusions for trainers. He also brought an analysis of the judging at the 2026 FEI World Championships;

- Alain Francqueville gave a multimedia presentation on the evolution and historical perspective of the piaffe and passage:

- Markus Hinschke provided a practical demonstration on how to prepare the best Kur music

- Sanne Beijerman gave a lecture on equestrian sport psychology: a science based approach to high performance coaching;

- Ronan Murphy, the FEI Director of Dressage, updated the participants on the current full rule revision process, the updated dressage tests, and the status of the strategic plan for dressage.

Klaus Roeser was planned to bring an IDRC presentation of "dressage from the standpoint of the IDRC: Priorities, concerns, how can we work together," but was absent from the meeting. He sent a video message instead.

Live Training Sessions and Demonstrations

The panels and debates were accompanied by the practical presentations:

the training of young horses with the discussion led by FEI 5* judges Elizabeth Max-Theurer and Henning Lehrmann
the presentation of the Children tests and the discussion how to improve the degree of difficulty and interest in lower level freestyles led by FEI 5* judge Katrina Wuest.
Piaffe and passage presentation led by trainers Jan Bemelmans and Andrzej Sałacki.

Live training demonstrations illustrated the theory and showcased the training potential of the riders. The participating riders were Danish Grand Prix rider Amalie Albaek representing Hof Kasselmann, as well as Polish riders Żaneta Skowrońska-Kozubik, Katarzyna Popiołek, Caroline Pawluk, Mateusz Cichoń, Filip Kowalski, Maja Kucharska, Karolina Król, Sandra Górska, Olga Serafin, Kamil Puliński, and Jakub Klekot.

When asked about the development of the sport in Poland FEI dressage committee chair Diana al Shaer stated, "I think it was great to see the development of dressage in Poland – good combinations and very talented young riders, I was really impressed – the horses also looked happy and sound. And this is what we want to see today."

40th Anniversary

The culmination of the annual meeting was the gala marking the IDTC’s 40th anniversary. Filled with nostalgia and emotion, the evening served as a perfect summary of four decades of global equestrian development, demonstrating the remarkable unity of the community surrounding this discipline.

The presence of David Hunt and Linda Keenan (IDTC), FEI Dressage Committee chair Diana Al Shaer and FEI Dressage director Ronan Murphy (FEI), as well as Bianca and Ulrich Kasselmann (Hof Kasselmann), and Karolina Mądry (Vice President of the Polish Equestrian Federation) underscored the event's diplomatic and sporting significance.

David Hunt and Linda Keenan Retire

After 25 years of successful leadership David Hunt announced his retirement as president of the IDTC.

“This is my last time as I’m moving on," Hunt stated in his emotional farewell speech to the members and guests of IDTC meeting. "And I have one plea that the person who takes over: that he has the same passion as I do. It is the passion for our sport that has driven me and still drives to challenge people. We all must challenge ourselves and push forward because we have the most amazing sport with the most amazing people. We must hang on to it."

Linda Keenan also announced that she is stepping down from the IDTC Board. As long-time secretary she promised to assist the IDTC through the transformation period and in the election of new Board. The remaining IDTC board members are Andrzej Salacki, Ferdi Eilberg, Monica Theodorescu, and Dane Rawlins.

Diana Al Shaer commented on the outcome of the 40th IDTC Meeting:

”Taking into consideration that it’s David’s last term and last year I think we should really appreciate when we have people with so much passion and people who are willing to devote their time in order to develop our sport further. What is also special is that we could see all the stakeholders coming together: trainers, breeders, judges, stewards and riders. This is also the most important part of our strategy now. Communication is the key and so is having common strategy and common goals. We should be really grateful to have people like David who dedicated so many years – 25 years of being the President of IDTC."

Ronan Murphy on the Future of Dressage Sport

Ronan Murphy updated the meeting on the current full rule revision process for Dressage and he shared the Strategy and mentioned the key changes that are coming: including the updates to the Dressage Tests and the Dressage Judging Guidelines which will be made available for everyone online. He noted:

“Our ambition is to ensure that dressage remains true to its fundamental purpose while evolving as a modern, credible, globally relevant and inspiring," said Murphy. "The object of dressage is the foundation upon which the sport has been built and remains the guiding principle for its future development."

Diana al Shaer and Karolina Mądry,
vice president of the Polish equestrian federation

The "Object of Dressage" is the development of the horse as a happy athlete in a positive mental & physical state through harmonious education. Allowing the horse to be calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with the rider.

Expanding on this principal Ronan noted that, "at its heart dressage is about the progressive and harmonious education of the horse, creating a partnership in which horse and rider work together with confidence, understanding and mutual trust. Sporting excellence is not separate from this purpose; it is achieved through it. As dressage continues to evolve, the object provides a clear reference point for decisions about the development of the sport. Innovation, modernisation and change should serve to strengthen the qualities that make Dressage unique, while ensuring that the wellbeing of the horse remains fundamental to everything we do."

Al Shaer added, "the IDTC meeting was so special because it was very educational. It was the dialogue and all about exchanging the views. We could also see a lot of data information which was very interesting as we want to make our decisions in the FEI Dressage Committee more and more based on data. Of course we have to consider the key human factor and see the whole picture but data helps us a lot to make decisions. Analysing is very important. It is only when we can analyse past and present we can become more confident about the future.”

(Eurodressage note: The IDTC annual meeting is held behind closed doors and press is not invited to the IDTC meeting. This message was curated under the supervision of the organizers)