There are a handful of them in the world, unknown to the general public but so essential to the world of equestrian sports.
In French, we call them “track leaders”.
They prefer the English term “course designer”.
We are talking about these officials who imagine, draw and design a show jumping course.
An oxer here, a cross there, a vertical elsewhere, a river, a wall... it comes from them.
“To track manager, I actually prefer this term
race designer
because it integrates notions of design, drawing and consideration of high-level sport,” explains Grégory Bodo.
He continues: “The power of this official is to create, from his own imagination and according to certain rules obviously imposed by the FEI
(international federation)
, competitions for the horse-rider couple.
It is he who identifies the route to follow in the obstacle events.
He's a director.
With the covering, the obstacle park, the decoration, the level of the stage, he must set up the decor of a play for the artists.
Ours are not actors but horses and riders.
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