The FEI Jog

The FEI Jog

By Maribeth Hebert

If you compete at an internationally sanctioned dressage competition, you’ll have to take part in “the jog”—a horse inspection.

The FEI jog is an important part at any national or international show. Now before I continue I am going to

explain the jog, if you not know what it is. All horses are required to jog before a panel of judges and veterinarians to prove their soundness and readiness for competition. The jog is usually held the day before the competition starts and sometimes again during the competition. The jog is pretty simple - all you have to do is trot your across the arena. I had the honor to participate in my first jog after qualifying for nationals at Lamplight Equestrian Center. I did a jog for the FEI Children's test.

I feel that the best part of the jog was when I heard the announcer say, “Maribeth Hebert and Honour pass the jog.”

The jog is the first impression the judges have, and presenting oneself as someone who takes pride in everything you do is not a bad idea. When participating in the jog, you may be in full show attire, but no spurs. Also if you are under the age of 18 or handling a young horse you MUST wear a helmet. If you are older than 18 and are not handling a young horse, you are not required to wear a helmet, but it is highly recommended.

Your horse does not have to be braided but if you are at a national or international event, it is highly advised since it is rare that someone does not have their horse braided. Also for the jog, your horse may not be wearing any type of boots or an ear bonnet of any kind.

I remember the day that I was going to do my jog. I went down and braided my mare Honour and made her spotless. I had given her a bath earlier in the day. I walked up to the arena about 20 minutes before I was scheduled to jog. This day of jogging was running ahead of schedule. After the other girls in my category jogged, we went. You do not just jog back and forth, you also stand and wait while the judges inspect your horse. They check for any signs of injury or a reason that the horse should not compete. Most of the time, all the horses pass but sometimes there are one or two that are not sound enough to compete.

There is not very much more to the jog. Other than, well, your horse has to be able to trot across the arena without a whip. The reason you cannot use a whip is simple – with a whip you can get your horse to trot out of a normal gate and try to hide the soundness. You also cannot show any of the FEI tests with a whip. To continue, you also cannot carry a whip in championship classes at regional championships shows. You are required to show with spurs, though.

From my experience, I hope you learned something about the FEI jog that you didn't already know.

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