Brett Parbery and DP Weltmieser at last year’s Sydney CDI.
© Stephen Mowbray
By Equestrian Life
This exciting new DoD system — powered by SAP technology and created by FEI 5* judge Katrina Wuest and Black Horse One Director Daniel Göhlen — has already been in use at some of the World’s most important shows overseas. Next weekend, it will reach Australian shores at the prestigious Sydney CDI.
The Sydney CDI Event Director, Toni Venhaus, is looking forward to seeing the new technology in action this coming weekend in the CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle.
“The Sydney CDI would like to thank SAP and their technology partner Black Horse One for their support to enable us to test the FEI Degree of Difficulty System for the first time in Australia,” she said.
How does it work?
The DoD system means that riders submit their individualized Freestyle choreography in advance via an FEI app before the actual competition; the program then determines, depending on the execution, which degree of difficulty mark can be achieved using this floorplan. It allows judges to score movement by movement just like in a normal Grand Prix. The judges know the planned degree of difficulty, attempted combinations and difficult transitions beforehand. Knowing these details in advance and the standardized handling of difficulties provides great transparency and ensures that the assessment of the various difficulties is the same for each combination.?This also enables live trends during the freestyles and quicker results after each competitor – and even more action for the fans!
Despite the submission of the floorplan prior to competition, this new system isn’t about to take the “free” out of freestyle — the rider has the option to add in up to three additional movements which the rider didn’t enter into the original floorplan, and they can also leave out movements and difficulties if they feel this is necessary.
The DoD mark is worth 10% and comes under the Artistic Marks section (although it is technical in nature). The new DoD system now allows this mark to be calculated with greater accuracy.
The technology
The DoD Freestyle System is powered by SAP and comprised of three sections:
The Rider
The rider transforms their choreography with the help of an electronic system, the online “Floorplan Creator”, into an electronic test sheet. The Floorplan Creator offers full functionality for the rider and is integrated within the FEI entry system. The rider is able to set up their floorplan and assign it to future competitions where their entry is accepted.
The Judge
The “Judge Assistant” is as the name suggests: it manages and displays the various floorplans submitted by riders and assists the judge in scoring the Freestyle. It makes it quicker and easier for the judges, meaning results are finalised and posted faster for spectators – even live trends during the Freestyles are now possible!
The Spectator
At the Sydney CDI, Spectator Judging will be up and running — allowing spectators to score combinations throughout the event. Make sure to also participate and submit your own marks! Maybe there is even a surprise in store!
You can read more about the Spectator Judging app here.
Where has the DoD Freestyle System been used?
The DoD Freestyle System may be new to Australia, but for many overseas it has become a very familiar concept. Eight years in the making, the concept was made public in 2009 before being trialled for the first time at a CDI in Fritzens in 2015, as well as a 2016 CDI in Omaha.
To date, the DoD system has been used at a number of events in Europe and North American, including the World Cup Western European League and North American League events, the 2017 and 2018 World Cup Finals, and also Nations Cup events. It will also be used at CHIO Aachen in July and the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in September.
If you are planning to watch the Sydney CDI and want to experience these amazing new developments in the sport, download the Spectator Judging app — it’s free in the App Store and Google Play!
This article was written in conjunction with SAP.
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