Answering public questions at events could benefit horse sport

The use of dedicated "info stewards" at the Europeans in Riesenbeck, Germany has been widely welcomed

- LUCY ELDER

COULD having people to answer questions about horse sport to the general public benefit equestrian sport? The German federation thinks so and the idea is gaining traction.

Dedicated "info stewards" were on hand at the dressage and para dressage European Championships in Riesenbeck (5-10 September) to help explain equestrian sport to the wider public.

They were stationed at the warm-up arena and the idea was that they could help provide answers to queries, such as the technicalities of the sport and on horse welfare.

"The focus is on establishing the connection between judges, stewards, riders and trainers on the one hand and the spectators on the other," said Thies Kaspareit, head of the German equestrian federation's training department, who has worked as an information steward several times.