Dressage judges please - "quietly ridden"??

[FestiveSpirit]

If you are a dressage judge and you use this phrase, could you tell me what you mean please? I keep getting it on my comments (collective mark for riding is usually 6 or 7

) and I am never sure whether it means 'sat there like a drip and didnt kick enough' or 'didnt stress when her horse decided it couldnt do right canter under any circumstances'

Thanks

 

[monica987]

I also take it as a compliment! You want to be quiet

 

[Ferdinase514]

Tactful

 

[_April_]

I get that a lot too Splotchy aswell as 'tactfully ridden".

I just assumed it was an ok comment to get

although one time I also got - "now GO to work on nice horse" LOL so maybe for me it means nice enough but could be more assertive... and the horse deserves more!

 

[Bounty]

I always used to get 'tactfully ridden' with Boo.... which to me meant that good at preventing her from spilling over. I always longed to get 'effectively ridden' instead though, as it would have meant she was compliant and rideable, rather than threatening to explode!

 

[FestiveSpirit]

I will conclude it is a compliment then, since Bob is tense and nervous every time we compete (although getting loads better

) so I suppose I am being told 'well done on not letting him boil over'

I agree Bounty, 'effectively ridden' would be so much better

 

[horseywelsh]

yes i get that a lot and never thought of it as a bad thing . . . now i'm wondering.

sometimes get nicely or well ridden too

once got well tried on a very naughty pony, hahahahaaaaaa

 

[horseywelsh]

the judge was right though the pony was v,naughty!!!

 

[measles]

Don't shoot me down but when judging at RC level I've used it (and had it used for my own riding) to mean "rider did nothing too badly wrong but wasn't outstanding either and I can't think of anything else to say to fill up the box". I've written for lots of BD tests and has always meant the same thing to those judges.

Tactfully ridden is different IMO and means usually the horse has been tense or difficult in some way and the rider has not made matters worse and done their best to contain it.

 

[sarah23]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't shoot me down but when judging at RC level I've used it (and had it used for my own riding) to mean "rider did nothing too badly wrong but wasn't outstanding either and I can't think of anything else to say to fill up the box". I've written for lots of BD tests and has always meant the same thing to those judges.

Tactfully ridden is different IMO and means usually the horse has been tense or difficult in some way and the rider has not made matters worse and done their best to contain it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well my horse had a very off day (we will call it that) when she missed behave i did not react just pushed on with the test (called her a cow and everything else when we left the arena)

. The judges comments were: horse very naughty today very quietly ridden well done.

 

[FestiveSpirit]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't shoot me down but when judging at RC level I've used it (and had it used for my own riding) to mean "rider did nothing too badly wrong but wasn't outstanding either and I can't think of anything else to say to fill up the box". I've written for lots of BD tests and has always meant the same thing to those judges.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL

(makes mental note never to enter when Measles is judging then....

)

I can never understand judges who say stuff just to fill the box

Like the one last weekend who said "movement 13 showed me what this horse is really capable of..." and then gave me a 6 for movement 13

Odd that she had given me 7's for other movements

 

[Faro]

I'm no dressage judge, but I've always taken the term "quietly ridden" to mean that the rider is not exaggerated in his/her movements/aids - i.e. gentle rein aids (not strong tugs or pulls), gentle leg aids (no pony club kicks), rider fairly still (i.e. hands/legs not swinging about all over the place) that sort of thing.

 

[FestiveSpirit]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm no dressage judge, but I've always taken the term "quietly ridden" to mean that the rider is not exaggerated in his/her movements/aids - i.e. gentle rein aids (not strong tugs or pulls), gentle leg aids (no pony club kicks), rider fairly still (i.e. hands/legs not swinging about all over the place) that sort of thing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you Faro, that was the sort of thing I was hoping for LOL

 

[JLav]

If i use this term when judging then it is always meant as a compliment and most other judges I know would say the same.

If I thought the rider was not quite effective enough then I would say so and not hide it in some cryptic comment.


Without meaning to sound rude to Measles no trained judge should be trying to find comments to 'fill the space'!!!

Although some less experienced judges sometimes struggle with the summing up it is usually the other way round ie how to condense everything they want to say in a couple of precise and to the point sentances.