First, let me say that I’m not one of those that say, “But this is the best that my horse can do, so I should get an ‘8’ for effort, at least...” because I don’t agree with that. Some horses are more talented than others, just as some dancers are better--and those are the ones I pay my money to watch. What I do feel, though, is that sometimes judges are too quick to mark a horse down to a ‘5’ or ‘6’ based on a limitation (or not even that, but perhaps a lack of a ‘something’) when a movement was performed absolutely correctly, and that while very few horses have the potential to get, say, an 80%, most should be able to at least dream about scoring close to a 70% on a perfect day when all goes well, if they are competing at the appropriate level AND can perform all of the appropriate movements.
Let me make this personal (and please read to the end before you right this off as the grumblings of someone who is sour grapes): Tequila doesn’t have extensions. Certainly not at the trot. On a perfect day, we can get a 6, but we usually only get a 5. She can really really try hard, run, fall on the forehand, and get a 5 for the effort, or I can insist that she is correct, and get a 5 for ‘little difference.’ A stickler judge might give us a 4, though that is unusual (and unfair, if you ask me--it ain’t much, but there is effort there--just look at her determination, and you’ll see she’s working at it, and we DO come back to something). Tequila is 17 and conformationally limited, and it’s just not there. We understand the concept, but fail in the execution. We’re better at canter, and can get a 6... maybe a 7. We’ll NEVER get an 8 unless we’re riding for a judge that is feeling giddy and a bit over-the-top; haven’t met many of those. So... we know we’d better work hard on the rest of the test. And trot isn’t Tequila’s best gait. She doesn’t have ANY suspension, and let’s just say that getting something that looks forward and expressive doesn’t happen often. I can try, but usually it will only look like I’m chasing her: she will start wringing her tail, get a pinched look about her lips, and we’ll lose anything we’ve gained to “tension,” and “running.”
Now, some (even most) judges recognize this lack of apparent “impulsion” for what it is... the horse’s natural way of going... and accept it in an AA ride. I don’t get the “high” marks, but they will give me a ‘7’ mark for a movement properly executed. I thank them for that. If I can put together a test with 6’s and 7’s (and hopefully, Tequila and I will get predominantly 7’s), with an 8 for our halts, and perhaps for our walks, we can come away with a VERY respectable score. We won’t win our class, but for us, it isn’t about winning or losing... for my ego, though, it is about staying above a 60%. Others feel the need to punish us when she’s having one of her “feeling old” days, where she feels, I’m sure, every one of her 17 years--and when I ride for a “punishing judge” on one of her “feeling old” days I’m headed for a bruising no matter how nice the ride. I know “feeling old” days the minute we hit the warm-up: she shows no freshness; she is willing, but shows no eagerness; every transition is correct with no “how about we do it my way?” because she’s telling me, “if I do it your way, can we just get this over with and go home?” I know on those days that I will have a lovely ride, with regard to correctness of the work, because she’ll be responsive to the aids and easy to ride. What I don’t know is how the judge will score us (Stephen Clarke in ’05, and Linda Zang in ’06 gave us personal bests on “feeling old” days; yesterday we had a miserable score on one of them.)
Yesterday, I had a ride that felt about as good as First Level Test 4 has ever felt. We’d gotten a 68% the day before for a ride with moments of brilliance, but a few rocky points; yesterday’s ride, in contrast, was smooth and easy from start to finish with the exception of one leg yield I’d like to have done over and one transition I’d like to have done two strides earlier. I was certain we’d get a score of at least 65%, and perhaps even beat the previous day’s score. I couldn’t have been more incorrect! We received a 59%! I’ve never had to pass around my test sheet to so many people, either, because those watching (and we’d had quite a few fans), couldn’t believe it, either.
The judge nailed us for lack of energy/impulsion on every movement because Tequila hadn’t matched the brilliance and expression she’d had the previous day. AND the judge gave me a ‘5’ for rider with the only comment, “ENERGY!” I felt slapped. I’d received a ‘7’ the day before, and felt I’d ridden even better yesterday: more accurately, prepared the movements better. I watched my video, and it was obvious that the pace was not because I was holding the horse back and limiting her, nor was I not using leg--but I wasn’t chasing her or whipping her either. It was her natural rhythm and way-of-going. My feeling is that Tequila is 17, and if that was the energy/expression she felt she could give me without me whipping/chasing it out of her, then that is what we were going to show.
And here is where I think we have a problem: insisting on rides that are very forward all the time is only going to encourage riders to chase their horses out of their natural rhythm, just as you see horses presented at auction--and that isn’t correct. I think there is a distinction between a naturally forward horse possessing incredible gaits that should be rewarded with the 8’s and 9’s, or even 10’s. (and lucky them--still get the 7’s on the movements where they’ve made the mistakes!), and horses like mine that are performing movements correctly within their natural gaits (not held back) but who do not possess the lovely energy/expression, and that this latter group should still be ‘allowed’ a 7 as a start. Finally, horses that are held back/impeded by the rider but perform a movement correctly, are a third category, and should start from a base score of ‘6’. We’ve dropped the “set point” (or base score) of our scale too low, is what I’m saying...
I think judges need to ask themselves what it is they’re judging and what they’re trying to say to the horse and rider... Do we REALLY want to encourage artificial gaits? I think not. Punishing a rider for not riding the horse’s natural gaits is exactly going to do that, however... and failing to make a distinction between natural gaits and impeded gaits is also to the horse/rider’s detriment. (We also have to remember what level we’re discussing when we’re judging... and whether the judge’s expectations are level-appropriate).
That’s my opinion, anyway.
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