Any dressage judges out there who can give an opinion on turnout

unicornystar

unicornystar

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Hi there

Myself and baby horse are doing an unaffiliated dressage champ at weekend at Hickstead.

Normally I would wear showjacket (sadly it has pink bits on it) and horse has pink sparkly browband and flash noseband. Having just competed doing some showing classes this weekend in a plain hunter bridle, snaffle and hacking jacket turnout, it actually looked (IMO) a lot more simple and smarter!

Would a dressage judge care too much on differences in flash noseband (it was painfully obvious from Sunday just gone he doesn't need it!) and large noseband on hunter bridle?

Would welcome opinions as now don't know what is "best" and whilst black jacket is nice the pink is a bit "bling"!!!

Thanks
Anne
 
If he goes better without the flash then go for the hunter bridle and hacking jacket, simple and smart will always be preferable if your horse goes nicely as is!
 
To be perfectly honest I (and all the judges I know) don't pay very much attention to the finer details of what the horse or rider is wearing. It is all about how the horse is performing the movements for me.
 
No point in using the flash unnecessarily, I have always done dressage in a plain flat hunter noseband :p.

the other bling, up to you!
 
Cortez said:
To be perfectly honest I (and all the judges I know) don't pay very much attention to the finer details of what the horse or rider is wearing. It is all about how the horse is performing the movements for me.
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Ditto, put your horse in what ever it is most comfortable in within the rules and ditto for you! :)
 
I'm writing there on Saturday so will listen to what judges say. I'm a fan of understated eleganc . Things should match or be in tonal shades, if there's bling then it should be on an area that deserves to be highlighted like a pretty head or a well sat rider and every thing should be clean and well place .
 
I judge and can't say I notice that kind of thing I do notice very scruffy turn out ie no hair net, dirty numnahs, but not the sort of things you mention it's all about the way of going not the tack. good luck x
 
thank you ALL for taking the time to reply, I think the hunter bridle just suits him better, he's a large chunky lad and I have hatched a plan!!

Showing gear for the warm up class, then if it gets drenched I have a spare hacking set and will use our hacking/hunter gear for the class, the jacket is less tight LOL
 
Last time I did dressage we were in full (native pony) show gear so tweed, canary breeches, hunter bridle, show saddle etc. Looked absolutely fine. :)
 
At unaf, I've had "beautifully presented" in the comments which I guess is turnout and his general appearance. He did look awesome that day though, went all out with hoof polish, baby oil and miniscule plaits and it all kinda came together. Our turnout is a bit hit and miss, and I don't plait if I can possibly get away with it :p I think judges aren't allowed to be swayed by turnout, but it can't hurt!

I go without a flash, even though the pest would probably score better with one! I think it's because I'm not mega competetive, but I am a perfectionist, so I want to be honest with myself about his way of going and the flash masks an issue. In a championship though, you want to have that competitive edge! Does he go better without the flash, or just the same?
 
Ditto what the others have said - go with what suits him and whatever you prefer. The judges are more likely to be hit and miss with pink bling to be honest over hunter gear, I know a lot of the older judges who come to my venue grumble a lot about bling, they often dont like to see it (the younger judges dont mind so much) - so you are probably safer avoiding bling! Having said that they never mark you based on what you are wearing, as long as the tack and your clothing etc is within BD rules then they cant say anything about your outfit.

Looking smart, clean and tidy is the best thing you can do; dressage is all about the picture, your collectives include the harmony between horse and rider and whilst your outfit/the horse's tack is a small thing, it does add a bit to the overall picture of you and the horse, and a smart horse and rider will always look more harmonious than an untidy combination. So get your hair neatly tied back into a hairnet (nothing worse than hair falling out from under the hat!), tack clean, saddle pad clean, horse nicely groomed, your boots cleaned and then you'll be good to go.

And dont worry about the noseband - if your horse doesnt open its mouth then there is no need for a flash and dressage judges dont mind what noseband you are using, as long as its within BD rules and the horse isnt opening its mouth. Drop nosebands and flashes are typically used because they stop the mouth from opening, and that is marked down in dressage as a sign of resistance - so if you dont need the drop or flash then clearly your horse has been trained correctly, is showing no resistance so its better (in my opinion anyway) to have a simple noseband as it shows correct training and no reliance on a gadget to keep the mouth closed.

Good luck!
 
I wear tweed with a tie and a navy velvet hat and have had some very positive comments about our turnout. For dressage I use a padded drop and white dressage square rather than full showing gear but at least one successful combination I often compete against show on the same day and just change from pelham to snaffle outside the ring. They always do well and look amazing.
 
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