EXCLUSIVE: Cameras at the Warm Up Arenas of the FEI World Championships in Aachen

(Updated with the official statement of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV), August 11)

Sometimes in journalism, you don't need to be an oracle. You just have to read press releases properly instead of blindly copy-pasting them.

​While the equestrian world is still arguing over whether a horse in the arena is smiling happily or looking depressed (and whether you're even allowed to disparage riders as long as an AI is reading along), a sentence caught our eye in an official press release that inevitably makes you rub your eyes in disbelief:

“Of course, there are also official FEI stewards, who are additionally supported by numerous cameras in the warm-up arenas.” (From the official press release for the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026, 30 July 2026)

​Wait. Stop. Let's read that again: Numerous cameras in the warm-up arenas support the official stewards!?!?! 

OMG. We have never read about this in public articles or statements but maybe we should wear our glasses more often.

​Suddenly, the horse sports' most sacred space - that shady spot behind the tents where the magic of preparation (and often the horror) of the horses traditionally takes place - is being converted into a high-tech surveillance zone (or already was for years).

And it's hidden so casually in a press release as if it were just a question of whether vegan oat milk is available on the showgrounds.

​The Magic of Technology: From Shaky Video to Holy Evidence

​You have to praise the organizers in Aachen. While people elsewhere are still complaining about a lack of transparency, facts are being created here or already have been for years - quietly and smoothly, somewhere between the instructions for barrier-free travel and the vegan food options.

​For a long time, the warm-up arenas suffered from a serious geographical disadvantage: they were simply too uncontrolled - or, according to the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV), have been camera-monitored for years.

True, some diligent stewards did their absolute best to avoid keeping track of everything, but now technology is finally stepping in. It's basically like road traffic: where speed cameras are set up, people automatically drive slower.

​Yet now the ultimate question arises: How does the infamous "moment in time" behave depending on the camera type?

• ​The spectator's smartphone or camera (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook): Shows an unflattering “millisecond” (5 mins), but is immediately and reflexively dismissed by the association as a "taken-out-of-context misunderstanding" and a defamatory snapshot by an individual rider.

• ​The official HD security camera: Suddenly, with official blessing, the exact same clip transforms into high-official evidence. Or, depending on the severity of the violation, perhaps just simple archive material for the eternal cloud.

​Where to With the Data Streams?

​The concerned observer naturally wonders what happens to all these valuable moving images. Are they actually used, or just watched by the stewards with popcorn? Will they serve as instructional films in the future? Are the cameras able to zoom in? Hmmm.

Our inquiries to the Aachen press team were answered in the meantime and the response speaks for absolute, long-standing administrative routine. According to an official statement by the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV), host and organiser of the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 and the annual World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen:

„The use of cameras in the warm-up areas has been standard practice at the showgrounds in Aachen for many years and is therefore entirely unrelated to recent developments concerning private recordings. The footage is available to the FEI Stewards in the Stewards’ office; they can access the material at any time. The cameras do not replace the Stewards’ constant and thorough observation of the areas themselves; rather, they serve a supporting role and can assist in decision-making in cases of doubt – during the event period and afterwards.“

Well, that clears it up!

What read like a sudden futuristic high-tech coup in the press release is apparently an old hat. For "many years," the cameras have been humming away, feeding the Stewards’ office. They don't replace the human eye, of course - they just serve as the ultimate digital safety net "during the event period and afterwards."

​Nevertheless, we can remain optimistic: If the horse in the arena should happen to look a little depressed after all that perfect, seamlessly monitored preparation, at least we'll know that everything in the warm-up area was handled fairly (and monitored in high definition) - after all, there are a lot of "moments in time" safely stored away in the Stewards' office. Somewhere in the archive. And that is genuinely totally reassuring….