FEI Driving World Championships For Young Horses – What Your Need to Know
Saturday, August 3, 2024 | Posted by Mary Phelps
Since 1992, young dressage horses have converged at the World Breeding Dressage Championships to gauge their development among the world’s elite. This competition grew in importance and value, where breeders were showcased, some young stallions made millions, and the bar was raised.
Unique Format for The Ridden Dressage Young Horse Competiton
The judges’ panel sits together at C and evaluates the horse’s gaits, temperament, ways of going, and overall impression. The judges require skill, knowledge, and communication among themselves, the rider, and the spectators. One judge, selected as the spokesman, gives the result and reasons why. The rider can then return for the second day for the final, often improving their score with what they learned in the Preliminary test.
Young Driving Horse Format
In 2015, the FEI Driving World Championships For Young Horses held their first competition in Mezőhegyes (HUN), with 38 competitors from 9 nations. Held annually, these FEI Championships emphasize the training scale for all phases. Just like in the dressage world, horses are bred for driving. As the sport has evolved, so have the standards for movement and temperament.
Breeders are a passionate group. For many, it means generations of breeding for driving. The sport of combined driving requires skill, speed, soundness, and drivability. Driving has more diversity in breeds and types, but the standards of correct training always apply.
The Driving World Young Horse Championships was expanded to encompass the five-six- and seven-year-old divisions with the dressage test, cones, and obstacles. The judges’ panel’s responsibility on paces, level of training, and drivability was expanded beyond the dressage test, and into the other phases.
Ponies Added in 2025
In 2024, the FEI Driving World Championships for Young Horses will be held in Lamontte-Beuvon, France. Ponies have now been added to the roster. Since no equines are allowed to compete at the FEI Level until they are 6 years old, this creates more opportunities to develop young horses and ponies for the world stage.
How It Is Judged
During the first qualification, the combined event features of the dressage phase are held in a 40 x 80 arena with cones placed strategically inside the lines of the dressage test. Following the dressage test, they immediately do the cones course, keeping the same pace.
Horses are judged on the basic paces in Dressage and the horse’s education, referring to the training scale for the cones and obstacles: obedience, elasticity, suppleness, forward engagement, contact, maintaining speed, confidence, and following the aids.
The overall impression is judged on the quality of natural movements, obedience, suppleness, willingness for collection, appearance, harmony of the performance, and potential as a Driving horse.
The most influential points are the horse’s character and drivability.
This document includes the complete rules, dressage tests, and standards.
Complete Driving Rules for Young Horses, FEI Standard events, and FEI Championships.
Coming to America in 2025 – FEI Young Horse Division Added to Shows
In 2022, USA driver Leslie Berndl attended the FEI Driving World Championship for Young Horses in Szilvásvárad, Hungary, competing in Kareltje, a 7-year-old KWPN stallion owned by C.Cividini, and won the silver medal in her division. The only US Driver to have participated in this international event to date.
In 2025, the FEI Young Horse Classes will be introduced April 17-20 at the FEI/USEF Katydid Combined Driving Event and in the fall at the FEI/USEF Tryon CDE September 17-21. Organizer Jennifer Matheson has strategized selecting officials with experience judging the World Championships, with plans to add required training programs for US-based FEI judges and officials.
The Return of Andrew Counsell
In November, FEI 4* Driving Judge and member of the FEI Driving Committee Andrew Counsell will be coming to Florida to judge the ADS Iron Horse CDE at the Florida Horse Park from November 18-19. This will be followed by a three-day clinic at the Horse Park, beginning with a lecture and video presentation on the Training Scale on Sunday evening, the 17. Then, there will be two days of driven dressage tests at all levels, including the Young Horse Test and program.
Counsell has judged this event multiple times and believes it is the foundation for all driving. Following a successful symposium in January 2024, drivers, judges, and auditors said it was “the best learning experience we had all season.”
Learn More
Watch the Video
Szilvásvárad – FEI Driving World Championship for Young Horse 2022
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