IJOC Case 1.
You are President of the Ground Jury at a CSI1*. It is Saturday, and the jump-off of the last class of the day, the Grand Prix run under JRs Art 238.2.2, is taking place.
17 athletes have qualified for the jump off.
The 15th athlete has completed his round and is currently ranked 5th.
The event director comes to the judges box and informs the Ground Jury that he has been told by some spectators sitting in the ringside restaurant that this athlete had a knock-down in the initial round at obstacle number 7 which is situated directly in front of where they were setting.
The last two athletes in the jump off do not jump clear, so the ranking does not change.
There is an official event video company, but it will take them approximately 5 minutes after the end of the class to be able to show the video of that athlete’s round to the Ground Jury.
The OC and athletes are impatient for the final results and to commence with the prize giving ceremony where, according to the schedule, the top 5 athletes are invited to attend
As President of the Ground Jury, how do you proceed and what action, if any, do you take?
IJOC Case 2.
You are judging a competition run under JRs Art 238.2.1. Obstacle number 5 is at the far end of the arena and, as you feel you are able to judge it adequately, you have not requested the assistance of a member of the arena party to signal eventual faults.
An athlete/horse jump the obstacle and you notice that the top pole falls. However, as you have a feeling this is not entirely clear, you ask the free GJ member to look at the video, which is available immediately in the judges box. It is obvious that the pole fell because it was hit by one of the horse’s shoes, which had loosened, and flow off. Consequently, the decision was taken to remove the initial 4 faults awarded.
In the meantime, the athlete had continued his round, but pulled up after obstacle number 7 and left the arena. The Ground Jury recorded the result as “Retired.”
The athlete becomes aware that the 4 faults initially awarded had been corrected, and comes to the judges box to say he wants to have the opportunity to complete is round.
What options are available to the Ground Jury, and what would you decision be?
IJOC Case 3.
You are judging a 6 year-old competition.
An athlete has a disobedience with a disturbance at obstacle number 10. You ring the bell, but the athlete continues, circles and then jumps number 11, the last obstacle on the course.
The Ground Jury eliminates the athlete for jumping an obstacle after the bell has rung to interrupt the round.
After a few minutes, the athlete accompanied by the event director comes to the judges box. They both assert that it was not possible to hear the bell from the arena, and request that the result is changed.
As the president of the class, you explain the reason for your actions, which are supported by the other Ground Jury members and the President. However, you have already agreed with your colleagues beforehand that, as it is raining hard and all of the doors and windows in the box are closed, you cannot be sure that the bell could be heard outside.
The official event video is available, but unfortunately you can only hear the music that is playing, and not the bell.
How do you deal with the situation, and what is your final decision?
IJOC Case 4.
You are judging a competition running under JRs Art 238.2.2 and it is a very windy day.
An athlete is approaching obstacle number 5, a double combination. The horse suddenly stops and spins around, clearly alarmed by something.
At the same time, you become aware that chaos was erupting in the warm-up arena that is clearly visible from the judges box.
It becomes apparent that the cause of this disturbance is a parachute display team who have started to land in both the competition and warm up arenas. Later, you learn that they were blown off-course by strong winds.
The athlete decides to leave the arena until normal conditions resume. The competition re-starts and when the judges ring the bell for the athlete to resume his round, he starts from obstacle no 1, completes the round and qualifies for the jump off, after which he is ranked in 3rd place.
The 4th-placed athlete protests, stating that the 3rd-placed athlete should not have been allowed to compete in the jump-off because, although he had a disobedience in the initial round, he was allowed to restart his course from the first obstacle because of the parachutists’ disturbance.
How would you handle this situation, and what would your decision be?
IJOC Case 5.
You are judging a CSI2* competition run under JRs Art 274.2 in 2 phases
Horse and athlete pass the starting line within 45 seconds, and the horse starts to resist while approaching the first obstacle. It backs towards the starting line and also towards the timing equipment, which is not visible from the judges box. The athlete regains control of the horse and circles in order to approach the first obstacle again. However, he has not noticed that the timing equipment has become tangled in the horse’s tail, and the judges are also unable to see this. A member of the arena party sees the dangerous situation and shouts out to the athlete to stop.
What action, if any, would you take, and how would you proceed to deal with the situation?
IJOC Case 6.
A Level 3 Course Designer has been invited to a CSI 4* event. The Organising Committee has sent her photographic documentation of their obstacle material, and indicates that it is very important to use a custom-built sponsor obstacle in the main competitions. She confirms that this will be possible, and compliments the OC on their material.
When she arrives at the venue and inspects the obstacle material in person, she realises that the sponsor’s poles weigh between 8 – 10 kg, are 10cm in diameter, 3m in length and made of aluminium tubing. There are no wooden poles or planks in the right colours.
She asks for a meeting with the President of the Ground Jury to discuss the situation.
Regardless of whether you are the Course Designer or the President of the Ground Jury, who do you believe should be present at the meeting, what do you expect would be discussed and how do you think the situation could be resolved?
IJOC Case 7.
You are judging a competition that is a qualifier for the Grand Prix, run under JRs Art 238.2.1. An athlete turns his horse very tightly in order to take a short cut from obstacle 6 to obstacle 7.
However, while turning, the horse goes a little wider than required, and almost runs into a wing on obstacle number 11 without disturbing the obstacle in any way. In turning the horse to the right in order to get back onto the desired track, the horse appears to take one small step backwards. The athlete/horse jump the entire course with no knockdowns.
How would you proceed in order to establish the result of the athlete’s round beyond doubt?
IJOC Case 8.
You are the Chief Steward at a CSIY event. The Grand Prix has just started and you are in the warm-up. A member of your stewarding team approaches you saying she has received an urgent text message from a competitor’s mother. You read the message and it states that she is forbidding her son from competing in the class.
You check the start list and see that he has 8 horses before entering the arena.
How would you proceed?
IJOC Case 9.
You are the Ground Jury President at a CSIY event. You are calling the faults in the Grand Prix that has just started when you receive an urgent message from the Chief Steward that there is an issue with an athlete who is listed to start in 8 horses. It appears that the Chief Steward has received a phone call from a good friend who is also the mother of this athlete who is 17 years old, and that she has not given her son permission to compete in the Grand Prix with the horse he is riding, of which she is also the owner. However, her son did not answer his phone when she called him so she couldn’t directly forbid him from starting.
How would you proceed, and, if the athlete had been older, would you dealt with this any differently? If so, how?