I rode Radar too, and he is spending less and less time bothering the draw reins and more and more time in a long, low relaxed and rythmic walk. It's so much less hassle than getting the same result any other way.
Then we took Jazz to do an M61. I am thrilled with him. He was far and away the best he has ever been. He stayed light and responsive the whole test. He was very active, much more than normal, he barely opened his mouth at all, and he did his absolute best. I was a bit surprised when the judge drew back the window and said "I think you need to go back to the drawing board" and it seemed a completely unnecessary and rather rude thing to do. When she scored me 54%, with 6's for many of the movements, and justifiable 3's for a non-existant extended trot, I was very surprised. I realised in the end that I was entered for a regional qualifier and she thought that I thought that I could possibly win it, so when she saw me break into a broad grin as we finished (because he had gone so well) she thought she had better bring me down to earth. I'll remember not to grin next time, this dressage is supposed to be "serious" and judges don't actually want to see you enjoying yourself, but to look as if you have been working hard.
I've watched the video and I think she marked us hard, particularly compared to one that I watched go in before me, which was unbalanced and wobbling the whole time. I've grabbed a few pictures off it, not brilliant quality but let's see what we think, eh?
Sorry about the tilt, but we got 6 for this medium trot so I think we are getting there.
This was a walk to cantr transition.
Rather a rude comment, I agree. Fact is, what the judge sees is just a few minutes in time influenced by all kinds of factors he/she knows nothing about.
ReplyDeleteJazz looks darn good to me in the pictures. I wonder if having a session with a trainer where you ride the test might help your scores? Could be there are some "tricks of the arena" you might do to up some of those marks which do seem low to me. (Having seen Jazz work for so long.)
A 54% is not devastating, and it's pretty clear you were delighted with Jazz's demeanor and effort, so in the end that's all that matters. You deserve to smile.
Speaking of which, I always used to grin in my tests, whether they were bad or good. No reason to be grim and sober when you love to ride!
And I thought the criticism they give is supposed to be constructive, now downright rude! Still, the important thing is how YOU feel he went, glad to hear he was such a lovely boy. Well done you & Jazz
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I thought 54% was a good score Jean, for a test where there are two movements that he cannot do at all and several more that he can only try his best, which is not yet good enough.
ReplyDeleteThe comment was actually "go back to the drawing board", Sh has reminded me! Still rude though, eh Sarah?
I will try cinnamon I think Tracey. He'll enjoy it even if it does nothing.
C
The thing was, Jean, we got good scores, 6's, for what he did well, and poor scores for what he can't do, which is all I wanted. The comment was out of place, but that's all.
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