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NEUE SCHULE FEI PERMITTEDSNAFFLES AND BRIDOONS

Technical Briefing Note BN001

NEUE SCHULE ‘DRESSAGE LEGAL’ SNAFFLES AND BRIDOONS

Technical Briefing Note BN001

Produced by:

Dr. Graham Hugh Cross, CPhys MInstPTechnical DirectorNeue Schule Ltd

Date of document: 21st November 2014

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ABOUT THIS GUIDEThe term “Dressage Legal” has entered thelanguage of dressage to mean those piecesof horse tack, including bits, which are “permitted for use” in competitions organised by the various governing bodiesof the sport.

The World governing body for equinesports is the Fédération Equestre Internationale, or, FEI. The individual national governing bodies affiliated withinthe FEI are free, in principle, to interpret,add to, or amend, the core rules of theWorld governing body. Nevertheless, theDressage Rules Handbook of the FEI setsthe basic framework within which this maybe done. In addition to this there also exist governing bodies that lie outside of affiliation to the FEI which are free to construct their rules independently.

Over time the rules laid down by the FEI itself may evolve and it is therefore necessary to be aware of the most recentrules that are published annually. Further tothis, it is also necessary to be aware of theannually published rules of the relevant national affiliate body.

Because of the sometimes transient natureof the FEI dressage rules and the possible variation of these rules within the national affiliates of the FEI and those rules of any unaffiliated bodies, Neue Schule cannotwith complete certainty describe any oneof its products as being ‘Dressage Legal’ atany one time and in all circumstances. Thisis a reflection of the variable nature of therules and not of the design of products.

Bits produced by any Manufacturer that areconsidered to be ‘Dressage Legal’, and

have become accepted as permitted foruse by governing authorities, are thosewhere there is a general correlation between the design of the bit and the design required by the FEI or its affiliates.

We therefore follow the principle of comparing the design features of the ‘Dressage Legal’ Neue Schule productswith the descriptions and text given in theannual FEI Dressage Rules Handbook thatis published online. This principle gives themost reliable method of providing adviceon the ‘legality’ of bits.

Where there is correlation between the design of a Neue Schule bit and the FEI descriptions of required designs we advisethat the products are considered to be“permitted for use” in dressage competitions organised by the FEI itself.

To make this clear, we have reproduced, onpages 4 and 5, the FEI descriptions which comprise, in part, diagrams of the permitted snaffles and bridoons. In additionto this we provide the relevant textual statements that relate directly to the NeueSchule ‘dressage legal’ designs. On pages6 and 7 we show accurate scaled plan diagrams of the Neue Schule snaffles andbridoons indicated as “permitted for use”in dressage competitions.

These tables may be used by riders, officials of the governing bodies, retailersand distributors to aid in the identificationof Neue Schule products that meet the FEI requirements1.

1 Comments or requests for clarification can be forwardeddirectly to the Technical Director of Neue Schule Ltd.g.cross@nsbits.com

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FEI Dressage Rules Handbook DiagramsFEI PERMITTED SNAFFLES (© FEI)

1 2a

2b

2c

3

4

5

7

9

11

6

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10

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Selected FEI Rule Book Contextual Information (adapted from 2014 Rule Book):A. 2 (a,b,c) Snaffle with jointed mouthpiece where middle piece should be rounded

B. Minimum diameter of the mouthpiece is 10 mm (Snaffles for Young Horse classes, minimum diameter of 14 mm)2

2 Neue Schule products shown in tables A and B have diameters greater than or equal to 14 mm except forthose with a design diameter of 12 mm - denoted † and those with diameter of 10 mm – denoted ††.

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FEI Dressage Rules Handbook DiagramsFEI PERMITTED BRIDOONS (© FEI)

1 2a

3 2b

4 2c

2d

2e

2f

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TABLE A: CORRELATION BETWEEN NEUE SCHULE PRODUCTS ANDFEI PERMITTED SNAFFLES

NEUE SCHULE FEI PERMITTED

Mouthpiece Code Snaffles Diagram Mouthpiece Code Cheek Codes

8011, 8012, 8013 1 1

8022, 8023, 8024,8093†† 2b 2b, 3, 4, 5, 8

9008, 9014 2b 2b

9009, 9012† 2a 2a

9010†, 9011 2b 2b

7022-TT, 7023-TT 2c 2c, 5

1CCB††, 1CCE†† 10 8, 10

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TABLE B: CORRELATION BETWEEN NEUE SCHULE PRODUCTS ANDFEI PERMITTED BRIDOONS

NEUE SCHULE FEI PERMITTED

Mouthpiece Code Bridoons Diagram Mouthpiece Code Cheek Codes

8011, 8012, 8013 1 1

8022, 8023, 8024,8093†† 2b 2b, 3, 4

9008, 9014 2b 2b

9009, 9012† 2a 2a

9010†, 9011 2b 2b

7022-TT, 7023-TT 2c 2c

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Neue Schule LimitedEndeavour House | Ellerbeck Way | Stokesley Business Park

Stokesley | North Yorkshire | TS9 5JZUnited Kingdom

tel: +44 1642 711 777 | email: enquiry@nsbits.com

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