Stuttgart – Two years ago at the General Assembly of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) in Copenhagen (Denmark), Thomas Baur, the Assistant Horse Show Director at the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS, was voted onto the six-seat Dressage Committee as the representative of the world’s horse show organisers. The General Assembly convened last week in Rio de Janeiro and re-elected the 44-year-old German for a further four years in his honorary position on the committee.
Frenchwoman Margit Otto-Crepin, who sat on the committee as the riders’ representative, did not seek re-election. The remaining committee members were all confirmed in their office. Alongside Thomas Baur, the other members are Chairman Frank Kempermann (Germany), Anne Gribbons (USA), Elisabeth Lundholm (SWE) and David Hunt (GBR). It is still to be decided who will replace Margit Otto-Crepin.
Gotthilf Riexinger, the horse show director of the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS and a predecessor of Baur on the committee commented, “It’s very important that the position is held by somebody who is closely involved with the subject matter and who understands something about dressage and horse show organisation.” The criteria are fulfilled by Thomas Baur who has been involved for the past 26 years in the organisation of the show in Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle and since 1988 at the Mannheim Horse Show. “The representatives of the horse shows have to speak up for the interests of the organisers, take regulatory action against excessive demands – simply to mediate and create a balance.”
