{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T20:16:48Z","timestamp":1790799408549,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]],"date-time":"2024-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1720483200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigated the visual search behavior of equestrian dressage judges at different expertise levels during the assessment of Grand Prix horse-rider combinations. Twenty judges (11 foundational level, 9 advanced level) participated in the study, with their eye movements recorded using Tobii Fusion Eyetracker as they evaluated video recordings of dressage tests. Fixation metrics, namely Total Duration of Fixation (TDF), Average Duration of Fixation (ADF), and Total Number of Fixations (TNF), were analyzed across four Areas of Interest (AOIs): front, back, rider, and horse\u2019s feet. Statistical analysis utilized linear mixed-effects models. Results demonstrated that judges consistently focused more on the front of the horse, with additional differences in fixation duration and frequency based on judge experience and specific movements. Advanced judges focused more on the horses\u2019 feet, suggesting they draw meaning from specific areas indicative of performance quality. Conversely, foundational level judges focused more on the rider, reflecting different evaluative priorities at lower levels of the sport. These findings suggest that judges focus on a limited number of highly relevant areas, differing across movements and expertise levels. The study underscores the necessity of understanding both gaze behavior and subsequent interpretations of visual information to increase judging transparency, fairness, and equine welfare.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14142025","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]],"date-time":"2024-07-09T15:27:20Z","timestamp":1720538840000},"page":"2025","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["In the Eye of the Beholder\u2014Visual Search Behavior in Equestrian Dressage Judges"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0394-8417","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Inga","family":"Wolframm","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Research Centre, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, 6880 GB Velp, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Reuter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Research Centre, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, 6880 GB Velp, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Tobii Technology GmbH, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iulia","family":"Zaharia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Research Centre, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, 6880 GB Velp, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2646-9216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johannes","family":"Vernooij","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fiedler, S., and Gl\u00f6ckner, A. 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