Dressage Judging

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Helga1980

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Did our first RC ODE yesterday, M was a star and we came 6th in our class.

The dressage judge in our arena was very good however having spoken to some of the competitors from the other class I was a little confused about the scoring from that judge.

A couple of competitors were given a 0 for their collective submission mark (this was a novice RC class so possibly a little harsh if nothing else), however one of the competitors had also been given some 8's for individual movments.

My question, can a competitor logically get 8's for movements and then 0 for submission? Surely 0 is 'not performed' and if there is no submission a movement can't then score 8?
 
no, there is noway possible you could get an 8 and a 0 for submission - to perform a movement to a high standard as an 8 the horse needs to be submissive, light on the forehand and accepting the bridle...........
 
That sounds ridiculous to me. If there is '0' worth of submission then surely the competitor would be eliminated, as they would be totally out of control and not be able to perform any movements! Plus they would be unsafe to carry on and do the jumping phases if they were that out of control!
Sounds like a rubbish judge to me, especially at RC level!
 
Thanks all, I thought it was very strange but a bit new to this dressage lark so wanted to check.

It was definately a 0 as well, worst part was there were no judges comments on any of the sheets and the only comments against each movement were critisms - one of the girls from our yard had 'wrong diagonal' against every trot movement but nothing about the horse or the movement itself.

This was such a friendly introductory event and there were competitors (including children) who were gutted when they saw their marks.

There were complaints (the judge was consistent though - everybody had harsh marks) and the organiser has said they won't be using the judge again.
 
Sound like cr*p judging to me - if the mark is a 6 or above then the judge does not need to write a comment but most do, especially at RC level as people need encouragement. To give an 8 for a movement and a 0 for submission does not make sense at all
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Hey ho, well done though on your placing
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The collective marks at the bottom of the sheet must reflect the marks given for the individual movements. So if a horse is getting 6's and 7's for the individual movements then the collective marks will be 6's and maybe a 7 if there were several 7's.

I was writing one day and asked about this, as i had ridden a test and got 5's and 6's for the individual movements but was then given 3 4's and a 5 for her collective marks. The judge i was writing for said this was wrong.

Am glad they are not using that judge again
 
Mmm, sounds like my day yesterday. My youngster did his first ever dressage test at a RC show and I felt the dressage marks were rather odd. Comments such as lovely transition and movement' were given a 3. But then another comment of 'not straight down the centre line' was given a 7!

I normal BE event at the weekends so am not new to dressage tests and judges marks/comments, but given it was a RC competition, I felt they were being very harsh on people. I too saw a lot of people who were gutted with their marks.

Surely it's about encouraging people to have a go and improve....
 
Crikey I can echo just about all the sentiments above after an RC dressage show yesterday!!! Rode the more experienced of my 2 horses (who recently scored 9s for his canter despite being 22 yrs of age!!) and he did what I thought was a nice accurate prelim test certainly in comparison with others that I saw. When I got the sheet he had scored 6s,7s,& a couple of 8s for the movements but got 3 for submission, 4 for his paces & I got 4 for my riding with comment that he was a nice honest chap, trying really hard but would be a lot better if he got some assistance from the rider!!! I was just about speechless - did the judge think he did all the movements on his own??? He is a BIG 17hh TB who requires plenty driving forward and holding together so I wasn't just sitting there for the ride so to speak!!! Don't get me wrong I can accept any criticism when it's due but that really hacked me off! Needless to say we did not get placed!! Goodness knows how you must have felt with 0!!!
 
I was lucky enough not to be in their arena, think I would have been seriously annoyed if I had been judged by them and got a 0! Dressage is not our strong point but I don't see how anyone who completes a test can get a 0 for submission.

I thought it was seriously unfair that she'd done the same to the kids, yes if it a mixed junior/senior class then the judging must be consistent but to not give 9 - 12 year olds anything positive to work with is just not fair, especially not at RC level!
 
Different show then but similar results - wonder if the judge had time to drive between the two ???!!!

I rode at the show on the Sat as well which was for the really novice horses and got a good constructive dressage sheet which you could learn something by and I couldn't argue with the comments at all. Like you say - are the judges not supposed to be encouraging you?

Think I'll just chalk that one up to experience!! It was a great couple of days otherwise with a well organised event on each day and friendly people!
 
Glad to hear it was well organised. I'm doing their show on the 7th October! Only doing a couple of tests with my youngster (experience for him) and a couple of jumping classes, but treating it as a fun day out!

Are you going along to that one?
 
Unfortunately I can't make that show as I'm off to spectate at HOYS on the Thursday and don't get back until late Friday night.

However, I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Nice flat arenas with the parking overlooking all the action!! Good luck!!
 
Oh my god!! I can't get my head around the rudness of some of these people!

Lets be honest these people that are judging this are obv not listed BD judges! I would not listen to a word they say. They must just get a power kick from being horrible in there hut/car!

Thats why I think it is best to affi. Atleast you then get good judges that you can value what they say!
 
I am a BD listed judge and stories like this really upset me. There is no way a horse should gain a 0 for submission. I rarely go as low as 4 and that's when there have been serious problems.

Sounds like people who don't know what they are ding are judging
 
I am sure other judges will say this also but you cant award 0 for sumission if the creature has stayed in the arena even if it has been standing on its ears most of teh time and breakdancing the rest! The fact it has entered the arena proves that it has submitted to that direction from the rider so if that sort of mark has been given the judge was clearly a muppet, to be polite. Frankly i became a judge to help stop this sort of power crazed demeaning of the efforts of the lower level riders. frankly it makes me sick and to be fair if i didnt keep saying so in such a loud voice i might be higher than list four now!!
 
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