At international competitions, judges oversee horse welfare in the show ring. But outside that field of play, it’s the stewards who keep a keen eye on these equestrian athletes to ensure fairness and well-being.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sport, appoints stewards from member countries who have gone through a selection process based on horse welfare and competition knowledge, horse-specific language skills, and national and international training programs, to ensure a level playing field and optimal horse welfare at their events.

“The FEI steward helps stakeholders to prevent infractions and irregularities from taking place and intervenes when infractions or irregularities occur,” the federation states in its description of the role. Stewards receive discipline-specific approval to carry out stewarding duties.

But how do high-level sport stewards view their roles and responsibilities? The Horse.com (TH) sat down with Didier Deschauwer (DD), a police academy professor in Belgium and volunteer FEI dressage steward, to talk about his experience managing behind-the-scenes equine welfare at the Olympic Games, as well as four- and five-star events. Here’s what you need to know.

TH: What’s the main purpose of an FEI steward?

DD: Our motto is to help, prevent, and intervene. Really, that says it all. But, to break it down, what we’re doing is getting involved when we see horses getting out of their comfort zone, and we’re looking to apply FEI rules regarding veterinary and discipline-specific regulations. Of course, it’s much more important to help prevent. And we also have an important job of educating riders, teaching them to understand: What does the FEI expect of you? And how does the world look at you? And how does that blend with what the judges expect of you? And that’s really important because the idea is to get the horse to perform at his best without causing him any discomfort. In my specific discipline, for example, we want to show how harmonious dressage is with good horsemanship.

TH: What are your criteria for identifying signs of discomfort?

DD: There’s not an official checklist, but we have subjective ways of looking for signs of discomfort. You can see it in the eyes and the face, and the breathing, and the way the horse accepts the bit. Sometimes, you can even see a disturbance in the gaits. We also look for extreme hyperflexion, like forcing the horse to work with his head against his chest or bent significantly to the side, and we intervene as soon as we see that.

TH: If you see discomfort, do you raise a flag or create some other sort of standardized warning?

DD: Our role isn’t to act as showground police—even if I, myself, am officially a policeman. Besides, that’s not our style. And especially at these international events like the Olympics, not all riders are on the same level. We want to inform riders they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing. So we’ll approach them—without flags or whistles or anything—and we’ll aim for an appropriate time to do so, such as when a rider has completed an exercise in the warmup and stops to reward the horse. Of course, if we find an issue during a post-test check, like blood in the mouth or on the flanks, we report that to judges who decide on elimination. We also work closely with the vet teams on site. The official vets are very observant and maintain great open conversations with us, especially about anything they detect that might suggest pain.

TH: Where on the show grounds are your areas of intervention and prevention?

DD: We walk through the whole grounds, in the stables, in the warm-up areas. We’re watching all the time, and we’re listening to what people say—even when riders talk about other riders. Essentially, we’re everywhere, really—except in the competition test itself. You could say that we hand over the horse to the judge at the entrance of the field of play. But otherwise, we’re there all the time before the event, and we’re waiting right there as horses leave the field of play to give them a thorough check-over.

TH: Can you tell us more about these checks just after a test?

DD: We call it a tack check and, to be honest, you could even say it’s part of the test itself. Officially, dressage tests begin at A and end at the final salute. But really, the tack check belongs to part of that test. As they exit from the field of play, horses are escorted by two stewards to be sure that nothing changes (with their tack and equipment and that no one else approaches the horse). Then we do a 360-degree visual check of the horse, emphasizing the mouth and the skin that came into spur contact. Importantly, we’re also careful to not create stress for the horse—especially since horses are often a bit excited coming out of the show ring. We’re not dentists, but we inspect each horse’s mouth with a new pair of gloves, and we ensure that bits and other equipment comply with FEI regulations. We also use the index finger to check for noseband tightness; I like to check at the cheek. If indicated, we can also request removal of the curb chain and noseband for closer inspection. Overall, checks are really thorough, even if they generally last less than a minute.

The FEI is currently testing their new objective-measure noseband taper gauge, which will be a required steward check at all FEI events starting Jan. 1, 2025. Stewards must slip the gauge under the noseband along the nasal plane to check for noseband tightness, per Göran Åkerström, DVM, FEI veterinary director.

TH: So there’s no official pretest check?

DD: Not officially, no. But we’re constantly observing horses in the warmup and final holding areas, of course. So you could consider that a check.

TH: How did you become a steward?

DD: I started out as a mounted police officer in Belgium, and I really appreciated the importance of respecting how people should behave around their horses. People around me suggested I pursue a role as a steward, so I went through the necessary steps—including ongoing training courses led by the FEI—to become a dressage steward. And before I knew it, I’d done four Olympic Games.

TH: Do you feel like you’re contributing to horse welfare in high-level sports?

DD: Yes. Hand on the heart. It’s not always easy, of course, because not everyone sees that. People often think, “Oh the stewards aren’t doing anything!” But that’s just absolutely not true. Granted, many stewards are still on a learning curve and gaining experience. But we tend to consult with each other, and especially with more experienced stewards, to improve our skills. Everyone goes through a growing process. But regardless of our level, we’re all invested in ensuring good horse welfare.