Dressage Report, should I give up?

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Fancy forming an 'eventers who've opted out of dressage' club?

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Sounds like a very good plan!
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Have you got any footage of your test? Or of you riding?
If you could post something that would be better, that way we can see how you and your horse goes which would give us some indication of where you're going wrong?
Don't give up though - dressage is very frustrating but worth it in the long run!
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Kate x
 
I'd bet that in the test you think was better it was lacking impulsion through out which kept your scores at the 5 /6 mark.
In that previous test did you score higher than a 5/6 for the bits where he was behaving then a lot lower for his hi-jinks?
I'm purely gessing that's whats happened. Or it could be that the judge judged up for you previously because they thought you handled the situation so well.
So many possibilities I'm afraid.
 
it's one person's opinion, and the most important person today, at this level, after all that's happened, was YOU, and you thought he went much better and was a really good boy for you, so that's what matters the most.
some judges are exceptional, some are good, some are average, and some are so crap they shouldn't be there. you have to try to take it with a pinch of salt and be happy with your horse's huge improvement, honestly. considering i was expecting to read that you'd had a huge drama, if the worst thing about today (except for houdinism in the morning) was a crap mark, then you've had A GREAT DAY!!!
 
Keep going - the good thing about eventing is once you have done your test just the fun bits to go!
Dressage drives me barmy I have given up trying to understand it!
 
That's great thank you for posting that - My first opinion is that your horse isn't really bending through his body - he's not round your inside leg on his turns so I'd work on developing his suppleness - using shoulder-fore/leg yielding, decreasing and increasing your circles etc this will help with the suppleness issues - the second thing I noticed was that he's on his forehand - so he's not balancing himself, he's using you as what we term as "a fifth leg" -n so practise lots of half halts and transitions - He's also not going forward with impulsion (like Ali mentioned) - Once he's going forward in a more balanced manner his head will be more consistant and steady and it'll be easier for you - but those are definitely the things that I'd work on! Lovely horse though - he's worth persevering with definitely!
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Kate x
 
Dressage judges always take pity on me! I just ride around laughing at how bad we are, then give them a nice grin as i salute, then they feel bad for being mean! I always get comments like "look likes he enjoys his work" "lively, quietly ridden" (pony enjoys dressage in the wrong way!).
I think too many judges stay in a safe zone of 5/6, esp. in the lower end. I have ridden some tests that were truely shocking and still got 5/6 (although i did get a 3 for one bit!!).
The one thing that always bothers me is the rider marks, i dont think im that bad a rider (would like to see someone else keep my pony in the ring in canter!) but i never get more than 6, everyone i know gets 6, it must be a universal mark!!!
 
i agree a lot of tests i have got 6's all the way down...literally i mean there must be some difference unless i ride a perfectly consistant test which is very unlikely!
 
I do a bit of dressage judging at unaffiliated shows, but have spent a lot of time training with a listed judge. She told me that for any marks 6 or below, a comment should be made. Also, the rider mark must reflect the scores, so even if the rider was fantastic but the horse went like a camel, the rider mark would be lower to reflect the overall marks of the test.

I always try and put nice positive comments...rather than Well Done! at the end...sometimes it can be difficult to however!!
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However, it does bug when other judges dont follow that.
I got 76% one day...7's, 8's and even a 9....and the judge gave me a 6 for my riding! What bit did I do wrong I wonder. It was especially annoying that she gave an 8 to a girl who did the whole of the trot work on the wrong diagonal!!!

oh well, thats dressage for you.
 
You're definitely heading in the right direction - it's frustrating though when you're both trying so hard - sadlly we've all been there!
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I usually get comments like "what a lovely horse, will be a great prospect for the future" (when she's no youngster
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LOL!!!) Tells you what type of behaviour H can produce at competitions! haha!
Kate x
 
Hey come on - give yourself a break. The horse is young, and this was what, his second or third outing?

It's taken me two years to get consistently over 60% on my horse, and BE we don't manage that 90% of the time!

Dressage takes a boringly long time to get right sadly - if you want instant results, you have to buy a produced horse, and even then it's not guaranteed.

Haven't read replies as being nagged to do dinner, so apologies if I'm repeating other people!
 
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Also, the rider mark must reflect the scores, so even if the rider was fantastic but the horse went like a camel, the rider mark would be lower to reflect the overall marks of the test.

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I dont agree. The collectives over all have to reflect the marks, but if the rider did well but the horse was naughty you could justify giving the rider a 7 and the submission a 5 rather than two 5's, if you see what i mean
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I do agree that anything below a 6 should definitely have a comment.
 
I do agree in that respect, but basically if the rider simply looked nice and the horse went averagely, then I would mark the rider in line with the test marks.
I agree, if the horse broncked around the test and they rode calmy and sensitively, I would mark them higher in that situation. I probably didnt make myself very clear.
 
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Dressage takes a boringly long time to get right sadly - if you want instant results, you have to buy a produced horse, and even then it's not guaranteed.


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Absolutely!
I am riding a horse who is over 20 and done DR all her life but it's still hit and miss.
We tend to be either too slow and just 'nice' or overshooting the impulsion - finding the right balance is so, so hard!
I have got myself on as many flat lessons as I can afford as it's not the horse it's me. She can definitely do it but won't try unless you make her (or are at a posh venue where she turns it on).
All my comments are 'nice horse now make her WORK' lol.

Stick at it MH, it's taken me well over a year to get results on an experienced (albeit stubborn bisom) oldie.
You are so brave and determined, you should be proud
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Don't give up! I usually look to see where I finished overall in the class and what the winner finished on. Some judges mark higher than others whether listed or unlisted so you might get the same mark from a different judge for a better test. Why not try a different venue, somewhere a bit more low key? Also might be worth having a lesson with a judge on riding a test so you get the idea of what they do and don't like, it is so easy to lose marks for small things that look not so good from the judges view point, one thing that I notice a lot is people riding circles as squares.
 
Dont give up, I'm going to be out of riding for upto a year, so when I get back to my dressage, my seat/confidence and legs are going to be crap, but, I will never give up.........

And I dont plait, if I do it the night before he rubs them out and I'm a bed person, so like a lay in.....sods law alway says my times are at the crack of dawn
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