tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post8893408224144628309..comments2023-09-09T05:35:11.672-07:00Comments on Boots and Saddles: Diamond Bar Schooling ShowMelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627065628317652042noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-55857970649751108112009-11-04T06:18:06.021-08:002009-11-04T06:18:06.021-08:00Mel, I think you and Farley look very nice! Congr...Mel, I think you and Farley look very nice! Congratulations on surviving your first dressage show. Just think - you didn't mention how Farley was scared of the judge's stand at C, so you already have one up on many horses at their first dressage outing. :)<br /><br />I agree with OntheBit about her comment about focusing too much on her head. It's my understanding that at the lower levels the judge isn't looking for full collection, instead they want to see a horse accepting the bit, softening in their mouth and moving out with confidence. So at intro levels they're wiling to overlook a horse that noses out some as long as they're accepting the bit quietly and moving off the rider's commands properly. I made this mistake myself, and had to be reminded a lot not to over collect Huck, his back isn't ready, and he'll end up hollowing his back and either going above or behind the bit based on the day.<br /><br />I think you guys did great for your first time out. I'm proud of you!<br /><br />DanielleDaniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15777722229477786430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-21509852651363188612009-11-03T21:20:18.781-08:002009-11-03T21:20:18.781-08:00Hey - OntheBit - I just looked at my goals for the...Hey - OntheBit - I just looked at my goals for the show again (which were don't go off course AND look spiffy) and I'll assume from your comment that even with a hairy horse, second hand breeches, boots, and shirt, Used tack, and the fact I had to clip her bridle path with sissors....I ACTUALLY achieved the goal to look spiffy????? WHOOOHOOOO! :)Melhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627065628317652042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-89943539856799624022009-11-03T16:53:25.523-08:002009-11-03T16:53:25.523-08:00OntheBit - some very good comments and I will keep...OntheBit - some very good comments and I will keep them in mind as I do the next test!<br /><br />So this show didn't even have a prize list - that's how informal it was :) they allowed gaited horses to show at this show......AND THE GAITED HORSE PLACED ABOVE ME!!!!!! So yep, I really should take everything re: this show with a grain of salt! :) <br /><br />On my next tests I'll try to get a video so that I can get better feedback. <br /><br />My next show doesn't even offer intro from what I can see from the 2009 Omnibus ( I only know what that is becuase of YOUR blog!) so I probably would be training 1 or training 1 and 2. <br /><br />she's better after SCHOOLING the canter, unfortuantely if we only do 1 20 meter and then try to trot - the trot is very quick and tense, so I have a lot of work to do in the next few months.Melhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627065628317652042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-33038123405311679182009-11-03T16:34:41.208-08:002009-11-03T16:34:41.208-08:00My trainer teases me all the time that at intro al...My trainer teases me all the time that at intro all you need is forward, straight, and steady. She laughs because Phoenix and I often have none of those things. Which is why as simple as intro is it is still really hard for me. <br /><br />My thoughts? Maybe 8 movements is not enough for you to show off your cool mare. What about doing intro B and then training 1. If she is better after she canters that might help you out a lot. And the cool thing about dressage is that those people who messed up only lost 2 points off their total score. That sucks when you put in a nice ride, but it is great when you make a mistake. Even doing the completely wrong movement can only take away 2 points. And for those people with poor transitions, unfortunately there is no separate score for transitions at intro. As you go up they will be scored alone, but for now if the judge likes the movement, but the transition is sloppy they can not give the transition a lot of weight. As for the rider who rode at a sitting trot...the test is marked rising trot so that person should have been DQed for not showing the movement. <br /><br />I know that you said that this was like a pre-schooling show so that makes me think that maybe the judge was not a real judge. Did they have a letter next to their name on the shows prize list? <br /><br />Don't be too down that your first tests were not the best, I can't think of a single person who did well on their very first dressage test. And I know A LOT of people! Even Courtney King-Dye (Olympic rider who finished 4th in 2008) did not do well the first time she entered at A. <br /><br />My advice? Don't be so hard on yourself. And I know that you said you came in last in every class, but did you get ribbons in each class, because years from now I doubt that you are going to recall how many people were in the class and that you will be very proud of Farley and her very first red ribbon.OnTheBithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07688127613313016544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-27718561142429017512009-11-03T16:34:33.770-08:002009-11-03T16:34:33.770-08:00Hmm...I don't know what to tell you without a ...Hmm...I don't know what to tell you without a video, but I guess I will just say the only things that come to mind because they are common. But first let me be my good teacher self and give you complements. Your and your mare looked fantastic as far as turnout goes. Try as I might, my fat spotted pony and I would have taken 2nd place to you at a show if there was a turnout competition. <br /><br />As for "other horses" doing better...warm bloods I would belive, but quarter horses are built the exact opposite way from a well moving dressage horse. In dressage you want the horses shoulders to be higher because that gives them a bigger gait and more freedom of movement. Judging from the pictures Farley is a very nice mover so I wouldn't even give the breed thing a second thought. Most judges would place an average arab over an average quarter horse any day because of how they are built in relation to movement for dressage. <br /><br />As you know I did Intro this weekend as well so here is what I think the judges are looking for at intro...<br /><br />Perfect figures. They want the test to be totally accurate so while at 1st level you 8 meter circles can be 10 meters without most judges knowing it at intro they want your 20 meter circles to be the right size and also perfectly round. If you cut off even one quarter that can bring you down from a 6 to a 5. <br /><br />Rhythm. That is pretty much all Intro is about. You might have been very rhythmical, I don't know, but that is just a thought.<br /><br />Forward. Looking at the pictures of you and Farley she is not tracking up, which means she is not using her back. Which is a big no-no at intro. As you saw, contact does not count for a lot at intro, but forward does. Has your trainer ever told you about the german training scale? Just google that phrase and dressage and you will see a cool pyramid thing with what most people consider to be the proper progression of dressage. At intro they are only looking at the bottom of the pyramid, so contact counts for very little. Also, my grasshopper, you are making a very common newbie dressage mistake...you are thinking too much about the horses head. Dressage all comes from the hind end (every person to have ever ridden a dressage test ever obsesses about the head so you are so not alone)<br /><br />Submission. This could be the "not relaxed enough" comment. In dressage it is all supposed to appear effortless. Which it is so not as you know! If you gave the impression that you were struggling with contact that would knock you down. Stupid I know because you need the contact as you go up, but better to make a head in the air look effortless at intro then get the contact.OnTheBithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07688127613313016544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-10492699683671941852009-11-03T15:31:27.567-08:002009-11-03T15:31:27.567-08:00Thanks for your feedback JB and I think certaintly...Thanks for your feedback JB and I think certaintly some of the factors you mentioned came into play. Yes, it was one judge all day and the comments on both tests were absolutely identical. <br /><br />BTW - another student of my trainers rode last weekend too - she also rode in the earlier shows in this series. She was getting 70's at the last show, so it will be interesting to hear how she did at this one and her comments. Another view is healthy!<br /><br />A arab is going to move differently than a warmblood or quarter horse. That's just way they are. If I was serious and cared a lot, I wouldn't be competing on an arab - that's for sure! A short horse with a short back is going to look choppier than a longer horse. Just part of the game. I think it's going to be important to keep in mind my goals and achieve them privately at each show, even if it's not recognized by the judge. For example, getting Farley to step through at the trot. She really short strides at the trot and it's even worse at the canter. Looking at the pics, I was pleased to see how much she was reaching through. <br /><br />I did talk to my trainer about the show and her insights really cheered me. It sounds like schooling shows in this area can be a crap shoot depending on who's there. The correct goal at a schooling show is personal goals, and not necessarily a specific show or judge-oriented goals. <br /><br />I'm trying to be careful and positive about what I say becuase I don't want anyone NOT to go to a schooling show in my area, or in their own area because of my comments. They are useful experiences, however I'm learning from my trainer and from others around me, that goals may need to be modified from what you expect at a recognized show. <br /><br />I try to write so that if the show organizer read my blog and my comments, she wouldn't think me an ungrateful brat, but rather understand my confusion surrounding the show and some of the inconsistencies. <br /><br /><br />I think the proof will be in the pudding - when I go to my first recognized show (probably in January) and get my scores there.Melhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627065628317652042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-34777150384093170192009-11-03T15:09:02.255-08:002009-11-03T15:09:02.255-08:00Ok, here is my take on dressage judges:
They alwa...Ok, here is my take on dressage judges:<br /> They always have to find something wrong, its not that they are being mean, they are just doing their job. Dressage is supposed to be about training and learning, so they need to tell you what you are still doing wrong so you can go home and work on it. Hopefully they can say this in a nice way!<br /> Remember that while you see a high strung endurance horse doing wonderfully at her first dressage show, they see an energetic Arab. They do not know all the hard work that has been put into getting to where you are now.<br /> I have found that for the most part dressage judges want to see a calm relaxed horse vrs. a not calm relaxed horse that is performing better. They do seem to really not like horses that are at all forced into a frame or are being held back.<br /> I always got the highest scores on this one TB who loved to slow down and stretch his neck all the way out!<br /> Since you were judged by the same judge the whole day, it is possible that he/she saw something that they didn't like in one test that carried over into their judgement on another.<br /><br />And lastly, dressage judges are just as prone to being breed biased as any other. Although I do have to admit that most of the judges that I have dealt with are not really that way. Granted those judges were all at small unsanctioned schooling shows.<br /><br />At any rate you and Farley look great! I hate all the prim and properness of dressage so I have no comments for your turnout, other then that Farley's braids look very nice!<br /><br />So glad you had fun!JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13115540814717548371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-91493818327441811602009-11-02T19:35:53.282-08:002009-11-02T19:35:53.282-08:00I wondered when you would report on your show! Ve...I wondered when you would report on your show! Very interesting and entertaining.Ownerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14995563073895843631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-23673606918797895522009-11-02T19:03:15.924-08:002009-11-02T19:03:15.924-08:00Karen - thanks for your kind words. It's hard...Karen - thanks for your kind words. It's hard to put into words just how much the dressage has helped me. I'm so glad you are taking lessons!Melhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627065628317652042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-41411519105692014022009-11-02T18:56:26.298-08:002009-11-02T18:56:26.298-08:00I think your pictures are great. You guys look ve...I think your pictures are great. You guys look very neat and tidy and I believe that white breeches aren't a necessity for lower level tests.<br />Farley is such a pretty mare, you should be very proud of her- for her first show I think she looks very relaxed! <br />I've been inspired by your dressage posts, and have decided to take some lessons with my horses this winter. I don't know if we'll do any actual shows but I would only hope my boy could look 1/2 that professional at his first show (actually I'd be happy to just stay on him:) ) Karen W.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-81968644354792792152009-11-02T18:07:10.231-08:002009-11-02T18:07:10.231-08:00I had lost sight of that - you are right - the sam...I had lost sight of that - you are right - the same judge did all 3 classes. What would be really interesting is to do a show where I did 2 tests with 2 different judges and see how they compare (as long as the horse did similarly).<br /><br />I did have fun. I think Farley had fun. She certaintly behaved herself and acted like it....<br /><br />Not only was I the only endurance horse there - I was the only ARAB there too. Everyone else was on warmbloods and quarter horses. What's funny is I was the only one that went the totally traditional route with my tack and dress. LOL. I do nothing by halves!!!! :) <br /><br />BTW - everyone feel free to critize away on my dress etc. in the pictures. I'm interested if I'm making any horrible mistakes in my dressage (besides the breeches!!!!!). <br /><br />I so need a black girth. <br /><br />I see what needs to be improved in my riding - puppy dog hands, I lean, I push out with my feet with a post, need to keep the toes in, slightly leaning forward at times, sometimes my leg goes too far back (which is a miracle - my leg is ALWAYS too far forward!).<br /><br />Any tips on keeping nice shiny boots shiny and not dusty when going into the ring?Melhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627065628317652042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1963277636652034473.post-36622499601414850572009-11-02T15:47:50.215-08:002009-11-02T15:47:50.215-08:00Remember, it was THAT judges opinion. I drove my f...Remember, it was THAT judges opinion. I drove my friends horse at a combined driving event last year, and he was really good in his dressage test, and we had some scores that were off the charts different than others in the class. Pays yer money, takes yer chances. The important thing is if YOU are happy, had fun, and the mare had fun. Anything beyond that is a bonus. maybe convince a friend to video you next time.<br /><br />Bet she was the only endurance horse there. loltxtriggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12165396761654165021noreply@blogger.com