Getting BD members ready for action

The eagerly awaited restart of British Dressage training and competition activity is just over a week away and the team at BDHQ is busy preparing with our venues, organisers and officials for a smooth and safe return to action from Monday 29 March.

Our COVID-19 Toolkit hub is now fully updated on the BD website ahead of the resumption of activity.  Our guidance protocols for competitors, organisers, judges and coaches, along with the Standard Operating Procedure document, have all now been revised. These reflect the latest government restrictions and requirements in place to ensure the health, welfare and safety of all participants.  It’s imperative that you read through the guidance before your first outing, whether that’s for training, facility hire or competition – these basic principles will still apply for all activity.

We released updated Member FAQs last week, which can be found in our COVID hub on the BD website, as well as a link to the COVID toolkits for our stakeholder groups.

Many of you will have also read our latest news update yesterday, which announced a new equine self-certification form that will be an entry requirement when we get restarted, at least for the first two weeks.  This will initially be in place from 29 March until 11 April inclusive initially, although it may be extended beyond this date, depending on the level of risk at this stage.

The EHV-1 outbreak in Europe is a concern for us all and we all need to do what’s in our power to help mitigate the risk of cross-contamination.  So, while this extra step adds time to making an entry, it’s well worth it to protect the wellbeing and health of our horses.  Please make sure you complete the form when submitting each entry.  We’re working with organisers on implementing this and you’ll begin to see it integrated into your online entry process very soon – your support and co-operation is much appreciated.

Also recently released ahead of the competition resumption is our 2021 BD Tack Guide, which is a helpful tool to help you ensure your tack, dress and equipment is all BD compliant. We update this twice yearly and the next revision will be done ahead of the season change on 1 July 2021.

If you have any tack, bit or equipment queries, please email the membership team – with a photo if you can to help us provide the right assistance and advice. It’s worth reviewing this document along with the 2021 Members Handbook if you haven’t already before you head down the centre line for the first time this year.

We look forward to welcoming you back to BD venues very soon and wish you all the best with your competition aims and ambitions over the coming weeks and months ahead.