Phew, how are you guys handling the information overload? Today’s post starts with the Second level rides, which was most interesting to me as this is what we are (were) working towards this year. Because of that, I took some rather shoddy video of Janet critiquing this pair as they rode part of Second level test 1.

(excuse my video skills, was trying to watch and listen at the same time!)

Second Level

• At this level, collection is expected to “come and go” slightly
• When the test was rewritten, Janet advocated for less counter-canter in the second level tests as she thought it was counter-productive for those schooling changes
  • She feels the current test therefore has too much counter canter
• The short sides of the arena are the only place where the judge can see overall balance/collection/etc

Eliza demonstrates the Extended trot for Third level

Third Level

• The primary goal of the half pass is forward, the secondary is sideways
• The half pass should have more bend than a 10 meter circle

Another Raleigh trainer rides in the Fourth level demo

Fourth Level

• In walk or canter pirouette, the haunches should be in the direction of the bend
• Flying changes are the most “personal” of movements for a horse/rider pair, and so are most difficult to replicate for a strange rider
  • This because each rider is built differently- for instance she compared her leg length to Chris’s, which are about 6 inches longer. Her cue for the change will be in a very specific place, so if Chris asked for a change on her horse the horse might overreact due to not being used to feeling the leg ‘there’. If she got on Chris’s horse, the horse would likely ignore her aid for the change because her leg couldn’t reach where the horse is expecting that cue.

Interesting Tid-Bits

• In Europe, judges at the CDI level are only paid a per-diem fee of roughly ~$150, but nothing else, so judging is really out of a passion for the sport
• The German language has much better verbage for dressage, whereas they have a single word for a concept, in English we sometimes need whole sentences to describe it. Takeaway? Germans just speak dressage better than us.
• The change of diagonal (HXF or MXK) in intro builds the foundation for flying changes, as it tests the straightness of the horse
• Most tests are written for the judge at C, so in tests where there are multiple judges C tends to be the highest score
  • Judging at ‘H’ is referred to the Hellhole, since judge’s can only see the horse’s ass (her words, not mine)
  • Judges at E and B typically give the lowest scores because they can see the most sins
• Do not, under any circumstances, retire from the arena without the judge’s permission. Not only is it bad sportsmanship, but the judge can (and Janet Foy will) give you a zero for the test (which at a recognized show is a big deal since the scores stay with you forever) and the judge can also opt to give you 0’s for every other ride (even on other horses)
  • It doesn’t matter if it is a local show or a Selection Trials, good sportsmanship matters.

Congratulations to you if you made it through all that! 8 hours of dressage clinic left us all a little brain dead, but eager to hop on our own horses and apply some of the new found knowledge.

Last Thoughts
My overall impression was that each horse was extremely well schooled in the level it was representing. With the exception of the Friesian, all horses were warmbloods of varying quality. A couple were built downhill, a couple flat-crouped, and a couple that were just absolutely drool worthy. The riders also in general were very well turned out and for the most part had nice equitation, but some had holes in their position that definitely reflected in their rides. Seeing some of these imperfections made me think that perhaps a dressage clinic of this caliber might be something that Foster and I could do in the future, and will definitely be something I would consider going forward.

For certain, each rider left the arena having been improved in some shape or form, and the auditors left being a little more schooled in understanding scoring and the execution of movements at each level.

Or should I say, the Janet Foy and Chris Hickey Clinic. Unbeknownst to us, Debbie experienced severe vertigo before getting on the plane and was banned from flying, so Chris Hickey (formerly of Hilltop Farm – a la Riverman, Don Principe etc) filled in for her. Certainly it was a dissapointment that Debbie could not be there, but that didn’t mean the day wasn’t exceptionally informational nonetheless.

The clinic was structured around each level, progressing from Training level to Grand Prix with two riders demoing part of their level’s test or movements. Janet spoke mostly from a judge’s point of view, providing scores and their justification as the riders went through the test elements, followed by Chris working on each pair’s weaknesses for a short time.

Because the clinic was so darn long (8:30am – 4pm) there was just too much to capture in one post. So today, let’s look at the more general feedback and Training and First level demos.

General:

• Janet describes a “red line” for her, where at scores of 5 and 6 there are more problems than good, and where that starts to affect the overall scores of submission, gaits, etc.
• Horses tend to like the right leg better than the left, and therefore be more submissive in that direction
• Watch out for “jelly belly”, or the rider absorbing too much of the motion of the horse in their torso
• The horse MUST be in front of the leg
  • Send the horse forward and back to confirm being in front of the leg
  • Also test how quickly the horse responds to the forward request (sounds familiar to me!)
• For the horse that evades a more forward trot by cantering, don’t bring them back to the trot, instead send them forward at the canter, so the horse does not learn the escape being forward
• True dressage is when things look easy, and the relationship is symbiotic

Training Horse checks out the crowd

Training:

• Stretchy trot: The nose should be between the shoulder and the knee, but not any lower, else the horse be on the forehand
• Use the geometry of the tests to fix the horse’s problems, often being accurate allows the horse to better be on the aids
• Even at this level, corners should be obvious, not part of the 20m circles
• Straightness down the long sides is really represented by shoulder-fore (so the shoulders are in front of the hips)

This lovely creature appeared in the First level demo

First Level

• Even in the working trot, a lengthening should always be accessible at any moment
• Don’t bother lengthening the frame in a trot lengthening until the weight is properly on the hind end
• The canter is truly balanced when it is “10 meter circle-able”, or that the rider could complete a 10 meter circle at any time without the horse losing balance
• The canter should be 50% pushing power and 50% carrying

Tomorrow, Second thru Fourth level and my overall impressions from the day!