Paperless “eDressage” Judging Makes World Premiere at Achleiten CDI4*

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The paperless “eDressage” judging system in use at the Achleiten CDI4* in Austria. © 2018 © Michael Rzepa

ACHLEITEN, Austria, June 11, 2018–Pens, paper, writers and calculators were replaced by digital tablets in the world premiere of “eDressage” paperless judging at the CDI4* in Achleiten, speeding up results that are insured accurate at the source.

The debut of the system for five days of the CDI with more than 190 rides “worked flawlessly,” said FEI 5* judge Thomas Lang of Austria.

The system was created by Daniel Göhlen and his Black Horse software company in collaboration with the European Equestrian Federation whose secretary general Carina Mayer has pushed technical innovation. Elisabeth “Sissy” Max-Theurer who hosts the Achleiten CDI at her family estate, and Thomas Baur, the organizer at Achleiten implemented eDressage at the show. Daniel teamed up with the global software giant SAP in developing online spectator judging that is now used around the world.

Paperless judging was first tested at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida, where Thomas Baur is the sports director. It may be applied throughout the entire Global schedule of seven CDIs next winter after further tests at Leudelange, Luxembourg in July and Cappeln, Germany in August.

“We were all very excited,“ Sissy Max-Theuer, a long-time judge who also competed at the 1980 Moscow, 1984 Los Angeles and 1998 Barcelona Olympics. “But after five days of events, we can proudly say that the new paperless system is going great and judges, writers, riders and spectators are all excited about the speed and reliability of the new system.“

Thomas Lang said: “The new system worked flawlessly, it was really great and completely unproblematic to work with it. The input masks on the tablets are very clear, you can control every entry and score really well and it’s easy to add comments. The judges sign the protocol directly on the screen and the rider electronically receives the protocol more or less five minutes after his/her ride. By quickly transmitting the scores, which need not be corrected afterwards, the audience gets even closer to the sport.“

“The possibilities that arise from this system lead us into a new dimension in the presentation of this sport,“ said Thomas Baur, who coordinated the smooth test run in Achleiten together with Hippodata that compiles and displays the results and all other participants.