Lottie and Everdale latest test wins, God help us rewarding this disgrace.

[angel7]

As title really, dont know if I missed a thread on this.
If this is a winning test I despair. Grand Prix FEI 6th leg at Mechelen.
Behind the vertical 90% of the time, blue lolling tongue, mouth grinding and snapping, incredible tension, pained expression on the horses face, this is unwatchable.
WHY are the judges rewarding this horror show??

 

[pistolpete]

It’s a mystery to me too but then modern dressage is anathema! There should be points deducted for swishy tails. Points added for work with a more relaxed frame. The tension is unbearable to watch. I know nothing about dressage but I know I don’t want to watch it!

 

[Spotherisk]

Not seen it, don’t want to, I really don’t enjoy watching her (or many others) riding.

I cannot understand why such deeply uncomfortable horses are overlooked and rewarded.

 

[ycbm]

The mouth was terrible, wasn't it? And he stopped as soon as she dropped the contact at the end, it was all tension from the work he was being asked to do. I don't understand why a mouth that unsteady isn't being heavily marked down, surely a horse doing that, even at one stage lolling his tongue right out, shouldn't be winning?
.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Really starting to think that competitive dressage is the cruellest of all horse sports.

 

[ponynutz]

Was it her who had her training “methods” exposed by an undercover journalist?

 

[shortstuff99]

His neck conformation is very poor which makes the tightness look even worse. It has also been passed to Imhotep who also has a poor neck I feel.

 

[shortstuff99]

Was it her who had her training “methods” exposed by an undercover journalist?

No that was Helgstrand.

 

[Ambers Echo]

That’s very uncomfortable viewing.

 

[ycbm]

That’s very uncomfortable viewing.

It's uncomfortable watching it in isolation, just for itself, isn't it? But when you put it together with the fact that the test won at elite level internationally, you have to wonder what has gone wrong with dressage.
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[Identityincrisis]

His neck conformation is very poor which makes the tightness look even worse. It has also been passed to Imhotep who also has a poor neck I feel.

What is it about his neck conformation that is poor? I don’t think I have my eye in enough to see what you see

 

[shortstuff99]

What is it about his neck conformation that is poor? I don’t think I have my eye in enough to see what you see

It is very high set and quite short so always over arches if that makes sense.

 

[Ambers Echo]

It's uncomfortable watching it in isolation, just for itself, isn't it? But when you put it together with the fact that the test won at elite level internationally, you have to wonder what has gone wrong with dressage.
.

Yep. It just makes no sense to me that a lolling blue tongue is not absolutely hammered in the scores.

 

[shortstuff99]

Yep. It just makes no sense to me that a lolling blue tongue is not absolutely hammered in the scores.

I watched the regionals at Arena UK today and there were a few lame horses, especially showing in a bad walk rhythm that were still scoring 7s

 

[GypsGal1718]

The World Cup of pain face! Fei is a total joke and I cannot believe people would do this to their horses.

 

[SEL]

That was worse to watch than I was expecting actually.

I knew I'd see the spidery legs and BTV but the horse just looked so incredibly unhappy. Tension I understand but this was worse than that.

 

[pistolpete]

FEI endurance is sadly lacking too. There’s some serious cruelty in our sports.

 

[GypsGal1718]

And just the gaping mouth in general let alone all the other signs he showed, and don’t even get me started on the rouge I have already ranted about that once today!

 

[dottylottie]

i saw a side by side comparison of lottie fry and lewis carrier - miles and miles apart, and it’s a shame that lewis’s way of riding isn’t praised enough, but lovely to see that he’s said the judges told him he needs a more collected frame and he said he’s going to continue to ride them as he does!

a really lovely test to watch from lewis, i’ve never liked any videos i’ve seen of charlotte riding.

 

[splashgirl45]

I have always liked watching dressage but I’m very disappointed in the judging these days. I love to watch harmony and I don’t see harmony in that test. My favourite is Briolinca and Gareth Hughes, looks smooth, harmonious and the horse looks comfortable, she isn’t as flashy but I thought dressage is supposed to be marked in the correctness of the way of going etc so why isn’t Gareth winning? It’s because the judges can’t seem to see beyond the flashy movers and seem unable to see the overbent, tenseness in those horses. I can’t see it changing anytime soon sadly

 

[pistolpete]

I’d love to see bit less or snaffles. No spurs would be nice too! Never going to happen!

 

[splashgirl45]

i saw a side by side comparison of lottie fry and lewis carrier - miles and miles apart, and it’s a shame that lewis’s way of riding isn’t praised enough, but lovely to see that he’s said the judges told him he needs a more collected frame and he said he’s going to continue to ride them as he does!

a really lovely test to watch from lewis, i’ve never liked any videos i’ve seen of charlotte riding.

That video showed the best parts of Lewis’s test, I will admit I enjoyed his much more than others but he does go above the bit in parts of the test and this was marked quite harshly IMO, if a judge is going to mark above the bit down then they need to mark overbent down as well as they don’t seem to .. if Lewis wants to get higher scores he needs to listen to the criticism and not be bolshy about it.. if he watches his own video he should be able to see where he has lost marks and he will then get placed higher. I doubt he will beat the charlottes as they are both overmarked , again IMO

 

[CanteringCarrot]

IMO, if a judge is going to mark above the bit down then they need to mark overbent down as well as they don’t seem to .

This.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I don't watch dressage as I find it boring as hell, but I think I've found the video in question, it doesn't help when you get comments like this "All that negativity is causing less and less people wanting to even participate in a dressage it's so hard to even get to that level not to mention competing! I will always admire all top riders from across different disciplines. These are years of hard work, tears and commitment "

There are several calling it out, but it's like people aren't possibly able to criticise pros because we aren't at that level

Was it me or was her leg moving a lot? I don't watch dressage so wouldn't know if that's the norm

Do we think name has a bearing on the judges - almost unconscious bias?


Tbh at this point I have more arguments against horse "sport" than for

 

[Dave's Mam]

I don't watch dressage as I find it boring as hell, but I think I've found the video in question, it doesn't help when you get comments like this "All that negativity is causing less and less people wanting to even participate in a dressage it's so hard to even get to that level not to mention competing! I will always admire all top riders from across different disciplines. These are years of hard work, tears and commitment "

There are several calling it out, but it's like people aren't possibly able to criticise pros because we aren't at that level

Was it me or was her leg moving a lot? I don't watch dressage so wouldn't know if that's the norm

Do we think name has a bearing on the judges - almost unconscious bias?


Tbh at this point I have more arguments against horse "sport" than for

Can you put a link?

 

[Squeak]

I haven't watched much dressage recently so hadn't really seen Lottie and Everdale. I just had a quick google and I'm really surprised by how bad it is. It's very sad and worrying that it's being marked so highly and rewarded. You really have to wonder about the direction that dressage is taking. I already find the direction that dressage breeding is/ has taken worrying too.

 

[SEL]

Can you put a link?

Stick dressage Mechelen and Everdale into Google.

I knew what I was expecting to see and thought this was just another thread on over expressive dressage horses in a tight frame - but actually it wasn't pleasant to watch.

There was a lot more leg and hand from Lottie too which made me wonder if the horse was struggling.

 

[scats]

I don’t know if it’s his neck conformation but Everdale never looks like he’s working over his back. It’s easier to see in the extended trot- his back stays straight and rigid and his legs just move, like there’s a disconnect.
He looked like he needed a couple more inches of rein in that test to get his neck out and his chin off his chest.

I don’t think his general conformation helps his cause, but the mouth was busy and the lolling tongue should be a sign to the judges that that’s not a horse settled and happy in his work.

Unfortunately I think this is the way dressage has gone and I honestly can’t see it changing.

 

[SEL]

I don’t know if it’s his neck conformation but Everdale never looks like he’s working over his back. It’s easier to see in the extended trot- his back stays straight and rigid and his legs just move, like there’s a disconnect.
He looked like he needed a couple more inches of rein in that test to get his neck out and his chin off his chest.

I don’t think his general conformation helps his cause, but the mouth was busy and the lolling tongue should be a sign to the judges that that’s not a horse settled and happy in his work.

Unfortunately I think this is the way dressage has gone and I honestly can’t see it changing.

I saw the extended trot and thought the same. His legs extended but the rest of him stayed the same - it looked mechanical.

 

[meleeka]

I don’t know enough to comment about the test, but this would be bad enough if it were an Area Festival. The fact this has been judged as the best in the world is pretty astounding. If this is what people should aspire to be, then the sport is doomed.