milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
Bit late getting in this morning, had to make the most of a brief dry spell to catch up on poo picking!
BD convention, anyone watching?
- Thread starter milliepops
- Start date
eggs
Well-Known Member
Currently watching the elementary horse but missed the novice horse. Will dip in and out
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
it's a bit weird compared to being there in person and at first I was a bit turned off about it being another wall to wall stunning WB show but actually i'm finding it quite interesting watching Phoebe's horse and how he's a bit dopey in his reactions.
it's definitely something i relate to, the horse making out like it's going, when you make a transition to extended trot or canter, but then you find it's faded away before you have gone the distance
it's definitely something i relate to, the horse making out like it's going, when you make a transition to extended trot or canter, but then you find it's faded away before you have gone the distance
eggs
Well-Known Member
very interesting for me as although my horse is definitely not as good a mover he is rather 'dopey' in his reactions too
nikicb
Well-Known Member
It will be my evening viewing over the next week or so - looking forward to it, although it won't have quite the same feeling as being able to immerse myself for a weekend. x
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
the remark about energising the hindleg but really needing to ride the neck through with this medium horse is something that also really resonates, it's exactly what I'm having to work on at the moment
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
......and here we go, the old H&C gremlins again
nikicb
Well-Known Member
......and here we go, the old H&C gremlins again
A power cut.....
daydreamer
Well-Known Member
I watched the novice horse and then one of the later ones who was doing half pass/canter pirouettes etc. It isn't something I would ever go to in person and I did feel a bit put off at first by seeing the big flashy warmbloods but in the end I enjoyed it. The bits I saw just seemed to be about getting the basic principles in place and actually the exercises themselves seemed very straightforward and easy to adapt to my (pretty rubbish) level. I'm looking forward to watching it all over the next few weeks.
oldie48
Well-Known Member
I have watched most of today's programme but it was the medium level horse that I enjoyed most of all. Amateur rider on a nice horse. I loved the expression "polite rider on a polite horse" but wasn't it great to see such a huge improvement in such a short time and the lovely smile on the rider's face said it all. Energising the horse whilst keeping the neck soft and supple is exactly what my sharer has been working on and wow, what a difference. No more "lazy" horse, she's pinging along. Ferdi's not a trainer for the egotistical rider but every horse improved and the "have more ambition" "it's the horses job to maintain the pace" tbh I think I paraphrased that last comment, applied to every horse really. I'd love to have the 4 year old Novice horse, not for me to ride (obviously) but I just thought she was such a lovely willing talented mare. Looking forward to tomorrow.the remark about energising the hindleg but really needing to ride the neck through with this medium horse is something that also really resonates, it's exactly what I'm having to work on at the moment
daffy44
Well-Known Member
I only managed to watch the afternoon sessions, (I will watch the morning ones on catch up), I loved the sessions I saw, and I thought Ferdi's training was fantastic. I think Daydreamer such a relevant point about it being all about the basics, its so true, it doesnt matter what level you are riding at, correct basics are always key, and the thing you never stop working on. I always think its a shame when people feel these sort of events are not for them, because it is for everyone, you can adapt most exercises to suit different levels, and the basics matter to everyone.
As an aside, I also absolutely loved the psg mare, she was gorgeous!
As an aside, I also absolutely loved the psg mare, she was gorgeous!
ew0855
Well-Known Member
Just got home from work and trying to watch but not working - really disapointing
milliepops
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These days I can see the flaws in the WB demo horses but I remember feeling alienated when I first started going.
The year they did "dressage for all" with a variety of types was a real highlight for me.
The year they did "dressage for all" with a variety of types was a real highlight for me.
oldie48
Well-Known Member
Agree, the novice and elementary horses were to my mind, very much pro's horses in terms of quality (and price) and as most grass roots riders never progress above medium/adv med I'd like to have seen horses that were more typical of those that grassroots riders ride. Definitely get that the basic training is the same regardless but some of the challenges of not having a horse that is built so up hill etc and made for the job would have been appreciated. Looking forward to today's content.
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
just watching the discussion about the AM horse which is really interesting, the spectator scores being quite a lot lower than what the judges have given. it's so interesting hearing how the judges give the higher scores than the people watching. So often there are discussions on here about whether a horse and rider have been given higher scores than they deserved, or marks that didn't seem to take into account their mistakes or weaknesses, and people get very disgruntled about things. I think that discussion needed to be made public because it was so helpful to understand.
bouncing_ball
Well-Known Member
It is only live, or play back available from next day. So Saturday should now be available for replay for the next 90 days, but Sunday wont be available for replay before tomorrow.
oldie48
Well-Known Member
TBH I thought the marking was generally on the high side, particularly for the women and rather more realistic for Darren, but what do I know? The beautiful grey gets some amazing scores and tbh I thought the audience score for Sarah's horse was fair but would pro riders be prepared to do this sort of event if they get pulled to pieces in public, probably not! I wish they had used more amateur riders, especially for the lower levels though.
Leandy
Well-Known Member
I've been to many conventions over the years and it does seem they suffer from exactly this (plus the sensitivities of the owners of the horses the pros are riding). I love so see the quality of horses and work shown (which does in my view help in explaining why many "ordinary" horses have trouble obtaining the high marks - they just inherently don't compare well to the maximum level of performance that can be achieved) but trainers are it seems to me very reluctant to identify faults clearly in public which would add more value to the sessions for us mere mortals. It is still very educational though to see the improvements in the way of going nevertheless and from that one can draw one's own conclusions. I've only managed to see the novice horse session from the first day so far. Yes lovely horse etc but noone seems to mention the clear lack of consistency in the contact and head and neck carriage which I'm pretty sure would be marked down in competition even at novice level. It's fine for a 4 year old to be like that but it didn't seem to be mentioned that it is not ideal. Perhaps I missed it somewhere but that jumped out to me.
daffy44
Well-Known Member
I thought Ferdi did mention it, and said that it was just down to lack of strength etc that is normal for a 4yr old, his sessions were all about the training, not the test rising, its sundays sessions that concentrated on test riding, so it wasnt a real issue for the horse on saturday. Ferdi was all about the training and progression of the horse, so he didnt dwell on the lack of consistency, just accepted it as a consequence of the horses age, and one that would be resolved over time as the horses strength and confidence increases.
Just how I saw it, I may be wrong.