At the international dressage and jumping festival 2007 World Championships of young dressage horses in Verden
How did professional riders estimate the surface layers and what did they expect?
With this survey selected professional riders at the international dressage and jumping festival 2007 in Verden were asked to assess the surface layers. This included COTRACK, the surface layer used by the company DÜBAS riding sport surfaces, which was used in the dressage arenas. 42 riders in both dressage and jumping disciplines took part in the survey. Here are the results:
COTRACK (special sand / textile fibre mix)
I have seen or ridden on the surface layer and assess the following factors from 1 = very good to 6 = bad
Elasticity of the surface layer
77% of the riders judged the elasticity of COTRACK to be very good or good. This is an excellent result and an unbeatable argument for the surface. Elasticity spares the joints and allows the horse to work safely on the surface layer. The answers sufficient (4) to unsatisfactory (6) were not marked at all.
Stability of the surface layer
100% of the riders confirmed that the sure-footedness for horses on the COTRACK is exceedingly good. The horses are thus able to concentrate completely on their work.
Quality of the surface layer
78% of respondents judged the quality of COTRACK to be very good or good. This means that the composition of the various materials was considered to be positive by the professional riders.
Shear strength of the surface layer
Shear strength means that horses develop a certain force during hoof strike, which can move the surface. COTRACK demonstrated a high level of shear strength. 44% stated that the shear strength was good to very good, 44% did not answer this question.
An excellent result! 89% of the professional riders found the surface to be very low in dust. 11% did not answer this question.
Work on the surface layer
66% were of the opinion that the work on the surface functioned either well or very well for both the horse and the rider. The horses work "on" the surface, instead of "inside". 33% did not answer this question.
Optical value of the surface layer
How could it have been better judged? 67% considered COTRACK to work optically very well and 33% thought it worked well!!
What do professional riders who have seen or ridden on COTRACK think of this surface?
In conclusion a very good result!
COTRACK was judged excellent by 41 of 42 professional riders. One rider refrained from the individual answers and wrote instead that the surface was too deep and that she personally considered it too blunt. No one judged a criteria for COTRACK to be only sufficient (4) to unsatisfactory (6). One respondent added, that this had been the best tournament surface of the season!
We would like to thank all participants for this excellent assessment!