Dressage question -spooking

ann-jen

ann-jen

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 December 2004
Messages
3,601
Location
co durham
Visit site
Hi,
I just wondered how judges view spooking in a dressage test. I've just got back from doing 2 prelim tests. My first test was in the indoor arena and went really well - in fact I think the wind rattling the roof may have helped our impulsion quite a bit LOL. We got 65%.
Our 2nd test was outdoors and in a little gap round the outside of the arena was a wheelbarrow in some very suspicious looking windy bushes. Anyway Jen either went past it bent to the outside staring at it or if I insisted on an inside bend she speeded up past it. I was expecting really rubbish marks so was very pleased to get 60%. I'm not sure we lost the 5% from the spookiness though as I felt I rode better and more accurately in the first test. I just wondered if the judge was just sympathetic to the fact it was a windy day and that quite a few horses noticed the wheelbarrow. What do you think? Should you/would you be marked down for this?
 
You cant take into account anything as a judge (conditions etc)you are there to mark what you see and the judge will have marked accordingly. As Nat says the submission mark may have been affected

Well done tho
 
For me the level at which you are riding does matter a bit and i would not be too hard on an initial spook , i would expect the rider however to be trying to do something about it the second time round the arena at this lower level. I would be more tough on it from novice onwards as in the collectives you have the words attention, and confidence and these words describe the qualities that are disrupted by tension and spooking.
The judge does have to judge what is seen and spooking that is not diffused should be marked accordingly.
 
Thanks guys thats what I thought really - I just expected a lower mark than I got - I guess I'm just a born pessimist
tongue.gif
 
Yes its a sign that your horse isnt listening to you unfortuately. I have heard judges comment that if the horse were listening to the rider it wouldnt spook.
 
were your marks for the section that included the spooky wheelbarrow a lot less than the rest? If you did well in the other sections it would have made your marks up.
 
The wheelbarrow was just before A on the short side so it probably affected all my turns down the centre line - 3 in prelim 13 but I got 2x 6s and 1x 7.There is only 1 dodgy mark of 5 for the transition to trot after the free walk which was right next to the wheelbarrow and then another 5 for transition to canter immediately afterwards where we kind of ran into canter. The rest of the test was all 6s and 7s and all 6s in the collectives.
Spooking is maybe too strong - certainly she gave it a good look and maybe because it was away from the judges car it wasn't as noticable as it felt?
 
My mare did a massive 'spook' at a comp last year (involved jumping off the ground off all 4's) & I got a 2 for that mark with the comment 'extreme disobedience' - LOL!
 
13 was the first test I did - my boy napped out of the arena area on the first run down the centre line then bucked throughout the canter phases. We only got 54%
blush.gif
The judge said he was disobediant
blush.gif
 
Hehe my worst mark was on my pony as a child and all we wanted to do is jump jump jump. We were supposed to halt and C and be immobile for 4 seconds. Pony kept fidgeting and stepping back and we ended up at about M! We scored 1!!!
I have also had tests where Jen has let out some huge bucks and they haven't been remarked upon in the test other than a comment at the end about how the horse was a little fresh that day!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top