Article 15 — The jury
OFFICIAL EVENTS — the jury comprises at least three artistic judges and one technical judge, approved by the Federation.
TRAINING COMPETITIONS — the jury comprises at least one technical judge and one artistic judge, approved by the Federation. This lighter threshold allows a club to run a training competition without having to gather a full panel.
An artistic judge need not be a rider. Choreographers, dancers and performing arts professionals may judge the artistic side; they are then supervised by a judge approved by the Federation.
THE ARTISTIC JUDGE DOES NOT JUDGE TECHNIQUE. The most frequent error comes from the artistic judge who rides: they spontaneously assess the correctness of the movement, which belongs to the technical judge, instead of appreciating expression, musicality and emotion. The two marks are distinct and must not overlap.
THE COMPETITION SUPERVISOR
Each competition is placed under the authority of a supervisor appointed by the Federation. The supervisor does not judge: they see to the regularity of the event and to the consistency of the judging.
To that end, they check that the score sheets are properly filled in, that the judges apply the same scale, and that these rules are observed. They settle any difficulty arising during the event.
STOPPING A PROGRAM — Stopping a program in progress belongs to the supervisor, and to the supervisor alone. A judge who believes it should be stopped reports it immediately; the judge does not stop it personally, for otherwise they would cease to judge and become the authority of the event.
The supervisor stops the program when the pair is in danger, when the horse is in difficulty or in distress (article 8), or when it is struck or disturbed by tack, dress or an accessory. The performance is then not ranked.
Such a stop is not a judgement passed on the competitor: it protects the horse, and it carries no further consequence. No one has to finish a program that is going badly.
In online competition, the supervisor may ask a judge to look at a performance again where a mark departs markedly from the others, and explain why. The mark remains the judge's: the supervisor does not replace it.
