interesting views on dressage

[milliepops]

the thing about the average age of dressage horses and wastage is not about the principles of competitive dressage IMO, it's about people making a business out of an artistic sport. In my opinion it's lazy thinking to lump it all together as one, because I struggle to see how the FEI can stop people from setting up huge breeding operations to try and dominate the sport and wanting to achieve titles etc. The only way is to just knock the whole sport on the head i think.

I don't think I would put myself in the category of blind defense of the dressage world but my issue with videos like this one, is that it's all too easy to point the finger at bad or incorrect judging, but the judges never put their POV across. I understand that on a national level there are guidelines when you start as a judge that you don't get involved with stuff on social media. there's also an expectation that one judge won't lay into another. I'd imagine the same applies to international judges. so they just can't have a right of reply.
the conversation becomes entirely one way.

It's similar on here, I've noticed over the years that where there was in the past a bigger presence of dressage riders, they've ebbed away and sometimes threads have tended to lose the conversational enquiring nature.

 

[shortstuff99]

Re the mouth thing. this article struck a chord with me the other day.
https://dressagetoday.com/theory/to...challenge-curing-a-tongue-problem-anja-beran?

I've ridden a lot of horses training for dressage as a second or later life career and they often have contact problems, and I've seen how they have settled as the work has improved. but I'd never aspire to a still mouth, quiet chewing is how you know there's something 2 way going on in the conversation rather than the horse just being totally passive.

as far as the 6yo goes, I mean, i think you can see that there's not a mouth problem stemming from crap training or tension etc. the age classes are not scored like normal set tests and when you look at the criteria I think you can see why he got a superb score, and he has that elusive "happy athlete" thing in spades. if that's not a top quality 6yo i don't know what is.


eta. i just looked up his results out of interest. 10s for trot, canter, submission and perspective and an 8 for the walk.

He did the final in absolutely heaving it down rain too and was still happy to show off, which I think says a lot.

 

[ycbm]

the thing about the average age of dressage horses and wastage is not about the principles of competitive dressage IMO, it's about people making a business out of an artistic sport. In my opinion it's lazy thinking to lump it all together as one,

They aren't separable, though, are they?

The requirement to distinguish between increasingly excellent riders and exceptional moving horses results in the breeding that creates wastage and short working lives.

If the high level competition didn't exist, neither would the drive to breed ever more extreme horses.
.

 

[milliepops]

They aren't separable, though, are they?

The requirement to distinguish between increasingly excellent riders and exceptional moving horses results in the breeding that creates wastage and short working lives.

If the high level competition didn't exist, neither would the drive to breed ever more extreme horses.
.

I do think they are separate issues. if the sport was dominated by hobby breeders then you could still have quality of horses increasing but they wouldn't be able to stand the losses individually.

 

[LegOn]

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/circ-report-20-90-percent-modern-peloton-still-doping/

Just one report but there are loads

Just to note that 'report' is just reporting people comments and opinions and it not actual facts and figures of convicted doping. Lots of terms like 'felt' and 'suggested' and 'alleged'. There is no doubt that every top athlete in any sport will try everything for marginal gains because as with dressage, or showjumping it can be down to .0000% of a second or a mark for the win. But I think cycling has come along way and the technology they use to improve has also ramped up 100 fold, since 2008, as they article is focusing on 2008 onwards - things are VERY different now in cycling.

I think in dressage and showjumping (especially the modern pentathlon) after the Olympics we run the risk of horses being ruled out on welfare grounds if things dont improve somehow. The general public opinion on horses competing in the conditions and the rules of the competitions is starting to sour and if we dont adapt, I think there is a very real risk we could be targeted for being phased out.

 

[milliepops]

I find this argument so hard to understand, in the dressage, the horses that won medals were the ones showing the lightness and harmony that we all (I think?!) want to see rewarded. the picture compared to 15 (say) years ago is totally different.

it's been hashed out on other threads but the eventing was the olympic discipline that resulted in a horse fatality this time... i don't think there's much value in pulling up one sport over another tbf. but the general public seems to enjoy horse racing in huge numbers even with the fatalities there so I personally think the whole thing about the public opinion is not particularly relevant.