Aachen. The Aachen School for Course Building and Course Design that was founded predominantly based on an idea developed by Prof. Dr. Arno Gego and which in the meantime receives worldwide recognition is now to provide support in Qatar too, there is just one small hitch: Arno Gego has been struck off the lists by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI)…

Sheik Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar signed a contract with Prof. Dr. Arno Gego (74) in Doha for a cooperation in the area of equestrian sport and planning. The courses are to commence this autumn. Together with two further course designers of worldwide renown, Olaf Petersen (Munich) and Leopoldo Palacios (Venezuela), Arno Gego (Aachen) founded the “Aachen School of Equestrian Art and Design” (ASAD) eight years ago, with the approval of the World Equestrian Association (FEI), however the ASAD remained independent and didn’t merge into the FEI.

To-date approx. 2,500 course designers and equestrian sport enthusiasts from 76 countries from all of the Continents have taken part in the courses. The ASAD enjoys a fruitful collaboration with the universities in Aachen and Monterrey/ Mexico as well as with various other institutions and associations in Germany, Belgium, Italy, the USA, Russia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Chile, Qatar and

Zimbabwe. “We have particularly supported aspiring youngsters,” commented Arno Gego, long-time course designer of the CHIO in Aachen.

Gego planned and supervised the construction of equestrian stadiums in Monterrey, Warsaw, Oberanven/ Luxemburg (CSIO), Istanbul, Valkenswaard/The Netherlands and in Ryazan, 200 km south of Moscow. Under his direction a new “Kremlin Equestrian Stadium“ is to be erected in Moscow and near Bratislava, the largest competitive sport complex of Slovakia. In his capacity as course builder, he designed the obstacles for the 1986 World Championships in Aachen, he was the Technical Delegate at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and among others he built the courses of the 1989 World Cup Final in Tampa/California.

Together with Olaf Petersen, Frank Rothenberger and Werner Deeg he belonged to the small circle of course designers in Germany who laid down the guidelines for the courses and designs at Olympic Games and Championships. Now, he has been discarded. So far the only person from a list of approx 450.

Discarded like waste…

A significant amount of whispering was clearly noticeable at the end of April at the 2* CSI in Eschweiler, near Aachen. The always self-assertive, international course designer, Christa Heibach, didn’t take long to get to the bottom of the secrecy. Someone informed her namely that her husband Arno Gego is no longer allowed build courses and that he is no longer on the list of international

course designers. This is correct. In a cloak-and-dagger operation he was struck from the list, nobody informed him beforehand.

Dr. Harald Müller from Cologne, not a horse expert, but nevertheless FEI Executive Director for “Educations and Standards”, explained on enquiry: “In 2008 the FEI approved a new education system for course designers. This education system comprises of two basic principles: 1. Only active course

designers will be included in the FEI listing (Period of activity: Last 3 years), 2. Only active course designers are permitted to hold training courses. All of the course designers have been informed about this education system since 2009. Mr. Gego has not designed sufficient courses at FEI-approved events over the last three years. Hence, he was struck from both lists (Course Designers and Training Course Directors).”

Up until a few weeks ago the FEI still cited two South Americans on the list as course designers: One of them already passed away years ago and the second person was over 90 years old…

Source: www.ludwigs-pferdewelten.de