New guideline on "Concerns about the bias of judges" published

As reported by buschreiter.de, the German Equestrian Federation (FN), together with the state commissions, the German Judges' Association (DRV) and other tournament stakeholders, has adopted a new guideline to ensure greater clarity and transparency.

The guideline recognizes that judges naturally have points of contact with riders, horses and trainers, but excludes "inappropriately close relationships" from the assessment. A blanket definition of bias is not possible, as factors such as friendships or professional relationships must be assessed on an individual basis.

Important points of the directive

• Judges naturally have points of contact with competitive sport, which is desirable, but inappropriately close relationships must be excluded.
• This is a guideline, not a definitive regulation, so personal responsibility and self-reflection are required.
• Judges, participants and organizers are responsible for recognizing and reporting possible biases at an early stage.
• Early planning and transparency help to avoid conflicts.
• Consequences of bias: Ranges from a ban of at least three months to removal from the list of judges for life in the event of repeated violations.

Concerns of bias by category

The document distinguishes between several categories of possible biases and defines different consequences:

1. training of rider/horse

• Regular training with a rider/horse → bias for one year
• One-off training sessions → bias for two months
• Several training sessions spread over two months → bias for six months

2. ownership of the horse

• Owner or (co-)owner of the horse → bias for one year
• Breeder/breeder of a horse:
  • Basic and advanced examinations → Bias
  • Examinations at a higher level → Avoid in order to maintain external impact

3. kinship or close relationship

• Family members such as parents, children, siblings, uncles/aunts, etc. → Bias for one year
• Spouse/life partner → bias for one year
• Acting as a judge together with a related/related judge in an examination → Avoid as far as possible

4. friendly relationship

• Personal, close friendship with rider/horse owner → Pay attention to self-reflection & external impact

5. employment relationship (employer/employee/colleagues)

• Employee-supervisor relationship → bias until the employment relationship ends
• Children/spouses of employers/superiors → Self-reflection required
• Work colleagues → Self-reflection required

6. economic relationship

• Business relationships with riders/horse owners or their family → bias for one year
• Sale/brokerage of horses → bias for one year
• Stable operators/owners and their direct family members → bias for one year

7 Other relationships

• Joint club membership → No exclusion, except for team tests
• Board work in the same association → Self-reflection required
• Horses/employees of show organizers → Self-reflection required
• Stable colleagues/judges → Self-reflection required

Consequences of violation

In the event of proven bias, the directive provides for the following measures:

• First offense: At least three months ban as a judge + fine if applicable.
• Repeat offense: At least one year ban as a judge, possibly removal from the list of judges for life.

This guideline is intended to help ensure the independence of judges and strengthen trust in the sport of show jumping. Suggestions for improvement can be submitted to the responsible national commission (LK).

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