Henning Lehrmann has already been president of the judging panel twice at the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses – this year, the international Grand Prix judge will be there for the third time, and for the first time in Verden. From 6 to 10 August, the world's best young dressage horses will gather in the riders’ town to crown their world champions.
Interview with Henning Lehrmann – What do you expect to be the greatest challenge when judging at the World Championship for young horses? What plays the main role in the assessment? Is it significant for Grand Prix sport?
What will be the biggest challenge when you sit down at the judges' table at the World Championships for Young Horses in Verden? When judging a World Championship for young horses in general?
Henning Lehrmann: Judging is clearly based on the guidelines, the training scale – the most important thing is the rhythm. Each horse receives five marks – one each for the three basic gaits, submission and perspective. The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is the score for submission. A consistent fault, such as a clear problem with contact, must of course be penalised more severely than a brief jump away. That's clear. But here's an example: we once had a horse in the six-year-olds at the Bundeschampionat that we, the group of judges, liked very much. However, in the qualifier, the horse failed to perform the flying change to the left – which is required only once in the test. The horse fell into trot and started galloping again. To us, it seemed like a misunderstanding, but you have to put it into context. That's what I mean: the score for submission is difficult because you have to classify exactly what to evaluate in the brevity and entirety of the test.
Conversely, does that mean that an international Grand Prix is almost easier to judge than a World Championship for young horses because you have concrete points of reference from lesson to lesson?
Henning Lehrmann: For me, it's indeed easier to judge a Grand Prix, partly because I do it more often. And you give marks for each individual element, which is of course very clear and, yes, I find it easier.
To what extent is a young horse world championship like this meaningful in terms of the big sport, let's say Grand Prix sport? Does this influence your judging?
Henning Lehrmann: Yes, it certainly does. Nationally, the fifth mark we give is for overall impression. Internationally, it's a little different; the fifth mark is for “perspective”. We always pay attention for a horse’s ability to take weight – more so in seven-year-olds than in five-year-olds, of course – and whether the hind legs are quick enough, etc. We look to see whether the horse works through its body from behind and whether its conformation gives the impression that it is an athlete. All of these things are taken into account at national and international level, but in international competitions perhaps with a little more emphasis on perspective. There are also some horses that were successful at the World Championships and then went on to become good Grand Prix horses. But of course we can't look into a crystal ball to see whether the horses will be good at piaffe and passage later on.
At the World Championships, the small finals and the championship finals are commented on by a judge after each horse – this will also be the case in Verden in August. Does this make sense or is it more of a “time waster”?
At the World Championships, the small finals and the championship finals are commented on by a judge after each horse – this will also be the case in Verden in August. Does this make sense or is it more of a “time waster”?
Are you preparing specifically for your judging role at the Young Horse Championships in Verden?
Henning Lehrmann: No, but I'm looking forward to it. Judging young horses is of course very different from a CDI or international Grand Prix. And judging is different because we judge as a team. That's interesting and fun. In addition, I have already judged the World Championships in Ermelo twice, which was great, but now I also think it's nice to be able to judge the World Championships in my own country, in Verden.
