First FEI Dressage Judges Maintenance Course Held in Australia After 11 Years

Dressage

Australia

Unbelievable but true, but the first FEI Dressage Judges Maintenance Course has been held in Australia since 2014 ! After an eleven-year hiatus (!!) this course took place again, this time at the Australian Dressage Championships held in Sydney on 16 - 17 October 2025.

The course covered FEI Dressage judges from Level 1 to Level 3 and was directed by Dr Hans-Christan Mathiesen (DEN) and Mary Seefried AM (AUS).

There were 16 attendees from the region, including from Japan, Taipei, New Zealand and Australia.

Horse Welfare, Social Licence, Training the Eye

The first day was in the classroom and with the current emphasis on judges’ reactions to horse welfare issues and our social license as a sport was led by a stimulating presentation by Hans -Christian Matthiesen.

“This was such a valuable presentation which encouraged these already experienced judges to think more deeply about the welfare of the horse in the dressage sport and come to their own logical conclusions," said Matthiesen. "Also to continue their own inquiries on the topic which obviously is a field in which many veterinarians and equine scientists are producing valuable work."

The afternoon was taken up with the CES assessment – video clips which each attendee had to mark on tablets with interesting discussion after. This was technically assisted by Daniel Gohren of Black Horse.

The next day was in the field with Mary Seefried commenting and asking attendees to provide marks and comments on the Grand Prix CDN and the CDI-W Grand Prix.

Education - World Wide - is Key

Big interest in the Australian FEI Judges Maintenance Course

Matthiesen said that he was happy to be in the region because “education is the key if we want to keep the sport going. The Australian NF through Amy McGregor and the assistance from IDOC to run the course is much appreciated. It’s important for IDOC to help and provide support and education for all officials in the sport."

The Maintenance Course was a success and enjoyed by all judges. They were afforded an excellent opportunity to work closely with both Matthiesen and Seefried and took advantage to absorb their valuable advice.

The feedback from all attendees has been very positive – “when is the next one?"