Disappointing weekend....someone help me snap out of it and move on?!

kc100

kc100

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Giant horse and I had qualified for the 2nd round of Trailblazers following our 65% Novice debut about a month ago. I'd had a lesson the week before the 2nd rounds with our new trainer who had commented on how stiff the big man is so lots of work on suppling him up with 10m circles in walk and trot - canter is his best pace so doesn't need as much work.

He warmed up really well, he'd had his massage pad on before the comp so I was hoping he'd go well - and he really did, it was one of his best ever tests. He normally tries to canter in his medium trots but he did them perfectly, we even had strangers commenting on how nice the test was! It wasn't flawless of course, the trot - walk for 2-5 strides - trot could have been better as the walk was slightly joggy, and the halt wasn't square; but that was about as bad as it got! He was a superstar, so proud of him and came out feeling really pleased. It definitely felt better than our first Novice where we got 65%, so I was hoping to at least match it or at least better the score.

So imagine my surprise when I found out we got 60.71%!! 2 weeks ago we went out to practice the same test at the same venue doing Trailblazers 1st rounds (even though I'd already qualified) and I lost my stirrup twice, he broke from canter to trot when I was wobbling around, and he cantered in his medium trot. We got 60.71% for that one and it was awful compared to what he did on Saturday!

I'm so disappointed, I know I've only been out competing 5 times and its still a learning curve, but can anyone give me a slap and tell me to snap out of it? I almost feel like there is no point carrying on, all of the judges comments (this time around) were that he was tight in his back and needs to be more supple which I already know - but is it fair to a 14 (nearly 15) year old horse to be asking him to try and become super supple when he is getting on a bit? He's never going to be as supple as the other horses out there competing, so are we always going to be destined to get 60% and never do much better?

I did some judge stalking after the competition to see why there were such variances in the marks (I know its unaff so it comes with the territory) - all 3 judges for my recent competitions are BD registered. The one who was judging when I qualified with 65% is a grade 5 so should be trustworthy, the one who gave me 60.71% when I lost my stirrup twice is a trainee so perhaps she was being a bit kind and I should have gotten a much lower score? The one from the 2nd round is also grade 5 so again I would have expected his scores to be similar to those of the other grade 5 judge from the 1st round, but they are way out! Do you think with it being a second round (if you were in the top 6 you got through to national finals) the judges can be harsher? Everyone in the class did all say he was marking harshly, another girl at my yard was there and she consistently scores 67-68%, she said her horse had done the best dressage test of his life and she only came out with 64%.

I just feel so demoralised after that, he'd gone so well and all we got was a measly 60%. I know I should be thinking with the 'what doesnt kill you makes you stronger' attitude but I'm honestly wondering if he is a BD grade 5 judge then that's maybe the best we are going to do? How much more supple can a nearly 15 year old ex hunter be? If anyone has any tips on getting him more supple that would be most appreciated!

Rant over, thanks to anyone who made it this far!
 
Ahh it's always dissapointing when you think you've done well and then the scores make you want to cry!

The only thing I can say to you is to forget about it, and just use it is motivation to prove them wrong! I always find I train so much harder after a bad competition, just to prove to those watching that I'm better than they may have seen!

Just keep your head up, and do it for the love of the sport! We all have off days, but just remember how well you did the first time and keep going! :)
 
any discipline which relies on people's opinion will always live you on a high or down in the dumps! You've got to take the rough with the smooth and as mentioned use the worse days to spur you on to do better it next time :) everyone will have days like this but don't let it put you off stay focus and be pleased with your own performance there may be a day when you think you did awfully and didn't deserve anything and you actually end up with a better score lol! Onwards and upwards! :D
 
Keep your chin up and put it down to a learning exeprience. 5 times out competiting is still early days.

I went to the 2nd round trailblazers in my area for Dressage a couple of weeks back and missed out on the 2nd rounds by 1 mark! The score was a contrast also from when we orginally qualified, it was 6% less! I was kicking myself and was dissapointed for a good few days. But it was only the 2nd time that my horse and I had been out actually competing. So I learnt of different things i should have done in the warm up / test etc. So once i get it right before hand the horse should get it right in the test.

As for the age thing. when the judge sees your horse in the test they do not know the back ground of the horse. They just judge on what they see there and then, and yes you do get varied judges at any unaffiliated comp. I mean my horse is 5 and i got comments such as needs to take more weight behind in canter, something which we are woking on. It annoyed me that we lost marks for this, I just wanted to go shake the judge and say the horse is only 5!! LOL. But they are right, there were other older horses there that were furthur with their training so marked them also on what they saw.

Any lateral work and circles is good for suppling so keep at it and your horse will get there.
 
The one thing you learn about dressage is that once you know you are on the right lines and trust your trainer, believe in yourself and your horses ability. There are judges out there that seem intent on destroying confidence so you have to grow as skin and move on.
Enjoy your horse and the good feel when he is giving it to you :-)
 
I qualified for trailblazer 2nd rounds with a 66% then got a really harsh judge for the2nd round, i got 56% in prelim and 59% in Novice! I was mortified but as it was the same for the whole class it wasnt so bad. Winner of novice 2nd round was on 61% so i did at least qualify for the finals!

As my trainer says, look at the sheet take the bits that you feel are fair and then move on!
 
dianchi said:
I qualified for trailblazer 2nd rounds with a 66% then got a really harsh judge for the2nd round, i got 56% in prelim and 59% in Novice! I was mortified but as it was the same for the whole class it wasnt so bad. Winner of novice 2nd round was on 61% so i did at least qualify for the finals!

As my trainer says, look at the sheet take the bits that you feel are fair and then move on!
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I qualified for the 2nd rounds with my old horse a few years ago. First test I got something like 68% and he'd gone (I felt) like a donkey). Second test, different judge, he went really well, much better than the first test but I got 58%. That's just dressage for you!
 
kc100 said:
I'm so disappointed, I know I've only been out competing 5 times and its still a learning curve, but can anyone give me a slap and tell me to snap out of it? I almost feel like there is no point carrying on, all of the judges comments (this time around) were that he was tight in his back and needs to be more supple which I already know - but is it fair to a 14 (nearly 15) year old horse to be asking him to try and become super supple when he is getting on a bit? He's never going to be as supple as the other horses out there competing, so are we always going to be destined to get 60% and never do much better?

The horse I was riding in the same class as you is an 18 year old ex show jumper, who has only in the last year and a bit turned her hand to dressage. Another horse in the same class is 23 (nearly 24) years of age, and I'm pretty sure the little chestnut pony in the class is well into his twenties at the very least. At 14, your horse should not be written off as an older horse who is not capable.
No, you're not destined to get 60% and not much better.

I did some judge stalking after the competition to see why there were such variances in the marks (I know its unaff so it comes with the territory) - all 3 judges for my recent competitions are BD registered. The one who was judging when I qualified with 65% is a grade 5 so should be trustworthy, the one who gave me 60.71% when I lost my stirrup twice is a trainee so perhaps she was being a bit kind and I should have gotten a much lower score? The one from the 2nd round is also grade 5 so again I would have expected his scores to be similar to those of the other grade 5 judge from the 1st round, but they are way out! Do you think with it being a second round (if you were in the top 6 you got through to national finals) the judges can be harsher? Everyone in the class did all say he was marking harshly, another girl at my yard was there and she consistently scores 67-68%, she said her horse had done the best dressage test of his life and she only came out with 64%.

I'm going to go against the grain here from what the other people you have spoken to have said...
Richard Baldwin is a very, very fair judge, when judging both BD and unaff.
At the end of the day, he goes to the scores room to check how he has marked, see the range he has got and how consistent he has been. I found that with my sheets, all of his comments were really constructive and personally, I found it really nice to have a comment acknowledging how difficult the horse I was riding can be. He is judging at the finals, and I don't think he would have been invited to if he wasn't a good judge...
Neither of my tests (nov & elem) were brilliant, and although I was disappointed with the marks, looking down the sheet at the moves, everything was justified and comments about it true. FWIW, I got 59.something% in the Novice and 53.something% in the elem, and although a little deflated with the marks, I am pleased with some of the work Ky did, and realised that this time last year, we couldn't do a straight center line or have any contact without a hissy fit.

I just feel so demoralised after that, he'd gone so well and all we got was a measly 60%. I know I should be thinking with the 'what doesnt kill you makes you stronger' attitude but I'm honestly wondering if he is a BD grade 5 judge then that's maybe the best we are going to do? How much more supple can a nearly 15 year old ex hunter be? If anyone has any tips on getting him more supple that would be most appreciated!

I would have LOVED to have gotten over 60%. Pull your socks up and stop moping.
Grade five judges are only up to Novice, but I'm not really sure how your comment about the grade of the judge and how well you are going to do correlate? You said yourself you have only been out five times, and to have qualified for the second rounds is a pretty good achievement anyway.

A nearly 15 year old can be supple. He just needs the correct work and exercises to benefit him as an individual to build it up.
Get yourself a good instructor and a physio out to him to see if he has any areas of tension/tightness etc which need sorting.
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What you also have to remember is that Swallowfield is one of the few Trailblazer centers for this area so it is very competitive, especially when you factor in the beloved Swalf liveries :p . Apparently at High Cross EC a couple of weeks back, there were only 8 entries for the novice second round, so much less competitive and a much higher chance of qualifying!

Honestly, comparing your day to mine, I don't think you have much to worry or moan about. :p

If you can come away from the competition and say...
1) Your horse didn't come off the lorry sweating her tits off
2) You didn't end up with ears up your nostrils in a canter/trot transition, to then proceed bouncing on the spot
3) Your horse wasn't screaming the place down calling for her travel buddy
4) Halt at X didn't involve your horse stepping backwards several times, swinging quarters and raising their head to salute the judge
And 5) Regardless of your mark, you are pleased with how your horse has performed and you can say to yourself "Actually, you know what, we have progressed and myself and others have seen some improvement", then I think that is the best way to judge yourself at a competition. Yes, you may be disappointed with the mark, but dressage is a tough old game.

Also, for further consolation to you, in my elementary class there were 7 riders inc. me, and I know at least 5 of them compete at BD at this level scoring 65%+ consistently. Now for a competition aimed at people who do not want to affiliate and all of whom took the qualifying spots, THAT is something to be disappointed and miffed about. :(

Chin up, you and your horse have got plenty more years left in you yet.
 
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Thanks RiderLizzie, I definitely needed to hear that!

After looking at Richard's comments on my sheet they were very much fair and I agreed with all of them, so clearly it was the other judge who gave me 60.71% for my stirrup-less disaster who was feeling very generous with her scores that day, rather than it being Richard who is a bad judge. I just got the feeling from a lot of people there that day that he was being a bit tough with his marks, a lot of the moves where he gave me 6 they'd normally (with other BD grade 5 judges) be a 7 - he did give me 7 for my riding though so he wins some points there :p

The only thing I felt with his comments though is that they were not really constructive and there wasnt much I could take away from it, but then again you cant always blame the judge for the comments as the writer needs to be decent to keep up! All he said (over and over again) was 'tight', he didnt mention any positives throughout the sheet until the end when the best he could manage was 'three correct paces'!

I know I need to be happy with my 60%, I need to man up lol :D Its just been hard for me knowing that in the 1st round with another judge (not the trainee, this was a grade 5 BD judge like Richard) I got 65% for the test and this one felt better than that - but as other's have said, that's dressage for you!

We do have a trainer (and a second visiting trainer who is coming over from Spain to give a lesson this weekend so hopefully he'll get me back in the mood again) and he has regular physio, plus a back massager - so I know he is getting all the best care he can hence why I'm starting to question is he just not a supple horse and never will be?

At least your horse goes on the lorry :D we have to hack 1.4 miles there as the big lump has taken a sudden dislike to his lorry and wont get on it no matter what you try! I was just thankful that the downpour stopped in time for our hack down there, otherwise you would have spotted a drowned rat sat on top of a giant soggy horse in the warm up ring!

I cant believe all those affiliated riders in the elem, that is pretty disgusting really. There does seem to be a big case in unaff competitions of those who love winning and wont let anybody else have a chance - at my 2nd ever competition at Solihull RC when I was doing prelims I was so chuffed with getting 66.6% but that didnt even come close to getting in the top 6, there were people getting 75% and upwards - I just thought for gods sake stop hogging the rosettes and move up a level so someone else can have a go!

Thank you for the kick up the backside though :) much needed, will get back on him tomorrow with renewed enthusiasm and we will have a supple old boy soon! And if that fails I'll be going to High Cross EC (shuffles off to google it) next time to make myself feel better!
 
kc100 said:
We do have a trainer (and a second visiting trainer who is coming over from Spain to give a lesson this weekend so hopefully he'll get me back in the mood again) and he has regular physio, plus a back massager - so I know he is getting all the best care he can hence why I'm starting to question is he just not a supple horse and never will be?

Some things take time, especially if the foundations were not initially there. Have a look at some dressage books and see what they say about suppleing exercises.

At least your horse goes on the lorry :D we have to hack 1.4 miles there as the big lump has taken a sudden dislike to his lorry and wont get on it no matter what you try! I was just thankful that the downpour stopped in time for our hack down there, otherwise you would have spotted a drowned rat sat on top of a giant soggy horse in the warm up ring!

A hack there for us would probably be good actually, wear the little madam out :p Getting on the lorry is debatable. Thankfully we are now getting into warmer weather so the chances of you getting wet on your hack are slim :)
Thinking back, were you stood chatting to somebody with a blue trailer for a bit before you left?

Thank you for the kick up the backside though :)
No problem :D
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If you are entering any of the Summer league stuff, drop me a PM and if I am also competing I will look out for you and say hello! :)
 
The hack is brilliant for wearing them out, giant horse still relives his time out hunting when he goes into canter and likes to fly around at 100mph so the hack tends to stop that - although he does have to cross the scary canal bridge so has a good old gawp at the barges below him :D

It was indeed me chatting to the lady with the blue trailer, she's at the same yard as me but her horse actually gets onto the trailer so she doesnt have to plod there and back like some of us!

I'm thinking about the summer league, although if this weekend was anything to go by I doubt I'll be troubling anyone with any points! Have you done the summer league before? Do you know how busy the classes tend to get? I'm sure I will drag myself back out again soon so I will definitely PM you and I'll stop to say hi :)
 
:O Are you...me?

I literally just came on here to write a very similar post to this! I can completely empathise with feeling like you're going to be stuck in that same rut forever - although I've done considerably more than 5 competitions and still don't seem to be getting anywhere!! :D The most frustrating thing is, Saffy is going loads better than she used to, yet we're getting similar marks. They vary so much too, like you say. I guess it's just not an exact science and we have to focus on the positives and use the negatives to try and improve. Or something like that.. :)
 
kc100 said:
I'm thinking about the summer league, although if this weekend was anything to go by I doubt I'll be troubling anyone with any points! Have you done the summer league before? Do you know how busy the classes tend to get? I'm sure I will drag myself back out again soon so I will definitely PM you and I'll stop to say hi :)
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Never done it before, but last year I think it was quite popular.
I was thinking of just entering the Adv Med and having been the only one in the class, coming first at such a superior level :cool: :p

Hopefully see you around, I will be aboard the noisy black mare :o :D
 
RiderLizzie said:
Never done it before, but last year I think it was quite popular.
I was thinking of just entering the Adv Med and having been the only one in the class, coming first at such a superior level :cool: :p

Hopefully see you around, I will be aboard the noisy black mare :o :D
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Lets do the Adv Med together, we can take it in turns to get first and second place :) I think it would be the lowest scoring winning Adv Med ever, with most moves 'not shown' and plenty of 0's! I'd love to see the judges face if that happened, priceless!

AbFab - read RiderLizze's post and hopefully that will give you a kick up the bum too! I've seen some of your threads and Saffy looks lovely, you should be proud of what you have achieved together. Plus you have come second in an elementary before (have been noseying at your old posts!) so have a lovely rosette for that, I've never done any better than a 5th place rosette and the only reason I got that was because there was only 5 in the class! Haha! I'd love a 2nd place regardless of what the score is, so you are already miles ahead of me and the giant horse!

It is frustrating when we don't have ready-made, dressage superstar, pretty warmbloods; we have made our lives much harder by choosing dressage when we don't have the fancy warmbloods to get us those lovely high marks - but I guess it will be all the more rewarding for us when we finally do win something or get a high score. Our bog ponies and gangly giant hunters will one day get a mark they deserve, we just have to keep trying and keep believing :)

I wish someone would introduce a dressage class for non-warmbloods, like the retrained racehorse section they could have a 'bog ponies and other random breeds' class so we could actually compete against others who have to work 10 times harder in their classes and come out as red faced and out of breath as I do :p
 
Try not to let it get you down. Some judges just are harsh and you need to try and not take the mark too much to heart, just be pleased with your performance.

Having said that, have you ever considered doing some writing for judges? It's a real eye opener to scores - you'll see that some tests which are quite different still score the same, because there still wasn't quite enough to push the 6s up to 7s for example. I really encourage you to go and do some writing, you can see how close it sometimes is and also how easy it can be to pick up the marks if you know what to work on.

Unfortunately tightness in the back will drive down your marks. I agree it's hard when you're on a horse who isn't built for it, or one that is older and stiff etc. I used to have the same issue with my previous horse who was long in the back. I bet you can still improve though, and you can also try and pick up marks on things like accuracy etc. where people on flashier horses that are also hot may struggle because they have a lot on their hands (I'm now one of those!).

Also sometimes a test can look very different to how it feels - do you ever get someone to video you? I always get video'd and I find it really useful to review the video while looking at the sheet.
 
you dont need a super flashy warmblood.........having sat and watched numerous classes at the winters, the horses doing consistantly well wernt always the uber movers, but the ones that flowed from movement to movement like silk, that were soft in the hand and relaxed over the back, and accurate with clear transitions.

if they were an uber mover as well the marks shot up, but some very flashy horses were trounced by more normal movers due to training.

mine and NMT's ex racers regularly beat horses that can trot for a 9, because they are spooky and tight and crap in the contact.

you need to know where to pick up marks and where to back off and not push to give the impression of effortless easy riding and a confident horse.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
you dont need a super flashy warmblood.........having sat and watched numerous classes at the winters, the horses doing consistantly well wernt always the uber movers, but the ones that flowed from movement to movement like silk, that were soft in the hand and relaxed over the back, and accurate with clear transitions.

if they were an uber mover as well the marks shot up, but some very flashy horses were trounced by more normal movers due to training.

mine and NMT's ex racers regularly beat horses that can trot for a 9, because they are spooky and tight and crap in the contact.

you need to know where to pick up marks and where to back off and not push to give the impression of effortless easy riding and a confident horse.
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PS totally agree with this I dressage wrote at Inter 1 this weekend and the horse that still carried on in the hail without any change got good marks for being very good anyway but being a total saint in the horrible weather. But the massive moving WB's didnt nessarily do as well as they were spooky or the hind didnt match the front in the extensions.
 
Rather than worry about the actual numbers, I tend to look at the overall result and my score in compression to the placings. If the judge is a harsh then everyone will probably have lower than normal marks. I like to be within a couple % of the winner. I rarely won but I can hold my own!
 
Sometimes you just have to chin up and move on. It's hard, but you have to take the comments and try and improve on them- the judge marked what they saw, after all. If you can get your test videoed it can really help- a few weeks ago, Al and Reg did what we considered a very nice test for a prelim level. Scored 60% and came last ina class of quite variable standard. Looking back at the video, Al could see that Reg was rushed in places and lacked bend- makes it easier to swallow. It was still harsh marking, and the comments didn't tally with the marks, but objectively we could see why they scored less than they thought.

Reg is never going to be a big mover, or tremendously flashy. He's a big horse, at 17hh, but he's a 13yo ex-racer with a long racing past behind him. It's taken 3 years of hard, and quite often seemingly purposeless (in that it got them nowhere, slowly, for quite a while) work to get to where they are now, scoring low 30s.
 
Thanks everyone - you have made me feel loads better!

I think our problem is that all the lovely warmbloods (and a lot of TB's in my area too!) are all lovely and free through the back as well as having the flashy movements, so we are up against it!

We have been filmed before, not on this particular occasion but I've got a good idea of where we are going right and where we are going wrong. All the judges I've had always comment "3 correct paces" and he is more often than not forward enough as well, its just the freedom through the back and suppleness as the main issue. Circles and movements that require bend are not great due to the lack of suppleness, but again my instructor is all over it and we are trying our best to stop him from being so stiff.

As Prince33Sp4rkle said, its always the ones that are relaxed through the back and flow through the movements that get the best marks - and we are just not there unfortunately.

I hope it is just more work and time needed (I have to keep telling myself we've only been out 5 times and before that he pretty much had a year off from being ridden completely due to his owner's injury) - I do wonder how much more a 14 year old can improve in terms of suppleness but I'm hoping with a lot of work we'll get there.

As an aside - I ride him 4 times per week as he is only a share but his owner doesn't ride him, do you think it would benefit him to ride him more often? I'm trying to encourage his owner just to get him out hacking on the days I dont have him but I think he's reluctant to get back on board at the moment! Does riding more frequently really help with stiffness in a horse? I'd only be able to do another 1 or maybe 2 days per week (think my boyfriend would kill me if I did 7 days a week with the horse!) so would that be enough to make a difference?

I will look into writing for a judge, I work 7 days a week with the weekend mornings grooming (i.e. general dogsbody) at a professional dressage yard so doing anything other than working and riding is hard work at the moment but I would like to write for a judge as I'm sure it would be really useful to see how they mark different horses and riders doing the same tests.

Thanks again everyone!
 
kc100 said:
I think our problem is that all the lovely warmbloods (and a lot of TB's in my area too!) are all lovely and free through the back as well as having the flashy movements, so we are up against it!

Ky is a warmblood, and although she is flashy when she channels her energy into it :cool: she isn't very free through the back without a lot of work. I HATE the WB stereotype that gets laid out, just because it's a warmblood, it doesn't automatically make every single one amazing and a dressage pro. I know from my experience of this, it's far from easy being on the 'flashy WB'.

Dressage isn't about the breed of the horse, it shouldn't matter if you rock up on a shetland, a warmblood, TB, or a cob that looks like it's been dragged straight from the field without a flick of a brush. It's about how the partnership performs: the harmony, fluency and correctness of the training and how this is portrayed in the test.

I ride him 4 times per week as he is only a share but his owner doesn't ride him, do you think it would benefit him to ride him more often? I'm trying to encourage his owner just to get him out hacking on the days I dont have him but I think he's reluctant to get back on board at the moment! Does riding more frequently really help with stiffness in a horse? I'd only be able to do another 1 or maybe 2 days per week (think my boyfriend would kill me if I did 7 days a week with the horse!) so would that be enough to make a difference?

Riding more has helped Ky. She does 5-6 days work a week. Try to hack at least once, sometimes twice, other days are spent schooling and if I don't have time to ride, a short session on the pessoa in walk to get her working long and low. On the pessoa it's not just round and round in circles, I walk her about the arena and over poles etc so less strain on joints. Although saying that, it is about the quality of the work not the quantity, but if you can fit in a couple more sessions, I think it would help. Half an hour of working well is better than an hour of average work.
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See bold!
 
Havent read the whole thread, so if im repeating some stuff ignore it.

Richard is a fair and trustworthy judge, and I have to say I would trust his eye more than a trainee.

Re not giving you constructive comments, he was judging you, not training you. Have you thought about perhaps having a lesson with him, and ask him to have a look over your test riding and sheet. As you move up the levels you will find some judges write long comments, and others write very little, sometimes there just isnt much to say about it.

There are horses competing at much higher levels who are older than yours, it may just take a little time for yours to loosen up. There are various supplements that can help, and of course the correct training and routine.

Dressage sadly, is always going to objective, sometimes it will work in your favour and other times it wont. Tomorrow is another day and you are relatively new do this, so as long as you're enjoying it, keep doing it. :D

Just to add, you will always have loose supple horses in your class, but you'll find they arent always straight or are let down by poor test riding. You are going to have to scrape every mark you can by being accurate, and if it means doing nothing but centre lines for an hour until you know you will enter straight and halt square, it pulls in alot of marks!
 
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Why not volunteer to write for a judge? It is easy to do and the organizers will probably be pleased that you have offered to help. You will get a insight into how the judges minds work and what things they look for. It can be a real eye opener and may help you in your tests.
 
I've had the same thing. Did a novice a few weeks ago and horse was generally ignoring me, not really wanting to bend and broke pace a couple of times, was generally more interested in what was going on outside the arena, and yet came 4th out of 15 :confused: Then on sunday when I thought he went beautifully, same test, he came last!!


It's really hard, but in a way it motivated me to do better.
 
kc100 said:
I wish someone would introduce a dressage class for non-warmbloods, like the retrained racehorse section they could have a 'bog ponies and other random breeds' class so we could actually compete against others who have to work 10 times harder in their classes and come out as red faced and out of breath as I do :p
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Haha I'd love that! 'The Stumpy Legged Series'. We'd be draped with medals and sashes!

Prince33Sp4rkle said:
you dont need a super flashy warmblood.........having sat and watched numerous classes at the winters, the horses doing consistantly well wernt always the uber movers, but the ones that flowed from movement to movement like silk, that were soft in the hand and relaxed over the back, and accurate with clear transitions.
.
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See *this* is what I'm working on now. Saf is short backed and stumpy, so she doesn't find it easy to be a silkworm, but we're trying! Her paces are very correct. Not flashy, but consistent and rhythmical. We just need more fluidity now. It will come. I hope :)
 
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