In a bid to make Britain’s young dressage riders the best they can be on the international stage, British Dressage (BD) has today announced an exciting strategic review into the Under 21 international teams, including the structures and systems which govern them. The Pony, Junior and Young Rider programmes will all be reviewed by an independent panel comprising BD Sport Operations Director Tamsyn Cowie, list 1 judge, international rider and trainer Judy Harvey and Sara Green, who has been involved in a range of roles in her four decades of involvement in dressage.
The management and operations of our Under 21 teams, as well as the communication, policies and procedures that underpin the programmes, will all be assessed by the panel through a combination of interviews and written submissions. Stakeholder groups including selectors, trainers, Chefs d’Equipe, riders and their parents will all be consulted. The panel have already started their research with a view to submitting their final report to the BD Board in November.
Anyone who has been part of the Under 21 team system, past or present, is also invited to provide their views, comments or suggestions via email at feedback@britishdressage.co.uk. Please note that all such feedback will be treated in complete confidence and will be non-attributable in the final report.
BD Chief Executive Jason Brautigam commented; “Our riders continue to perform well on the international stage, but in this competitive environment we need to constantly evolve and improve our programmes in order to contest with the very best. We want to be realistic medal challengers at every Championship where we’re represented. Therefore we need to identify our strengths and weaknesses to ensure we have a programme which supports our athletes to be the best prepared they can be to realise their full potential.”
“Now more than ever, nations such as Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark are exceptionally strong at these levels with clearly defined systems and structures in place and we’re still playing catch up,” he continued. “This review is very much forward looking; while we do need to learn from past experiences, the intention is to create the best platform to build a system which delivers medals and produces riders who can go on to success in the future.”
Following a review by the Board, a summary of key findings, recommendations and an action plan will be published by BD in December. The Board will then work towards ratifying a strategic plan to implement the agreed actions in 2018 and beyond.