Report - What is it with Dressage Judges

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StaceyTanglewood

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Well what a weekend - on Saturday we had our hay baled and after thinking we would only get about 500 we ended up with 1072 !!! so was there till 12am on Saturday stacking hay - oh what fun !!

Then Sunday we went off to Stilebridge there was an accident on the motorway so we called and they said we could go in last !!! Got there and had 15 mins to get ready and warm up so we did and we had in total about 6 mins to warm up - he has never been to this venue either and it was the harder test !! He actually did very well considering and i think the score was about 55% which to be honest was fair and the comments were all about lack of attention etc which im not surprised !!

So then we did novice 32 the easier test he went in and was a superstar (well i thought so) he only had his back done a week ago so we havent done much canter then my other friend went in and her horse was playing up and she came out a bit dissapointed but said it was her fault as she didnt ride him the day before !!

So when we saw the marks we got about 58% and my friend got 64% ????????? im not saying we did better than her but i actually think the judge was blind ???

She said he was completely hollow in canter where he worked better in this one than the first and there was no mention of hollowness ??? I really wish i could of videod it !!!

Does this happen a lot in dressage - id forgotten why i loved show jumping so much !!!

Sorry for the rant !! x
 
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Have to agree give me show jumping any day a pole stays up or falls down - end of story. The main thing is you were pleased and know he went well.

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Thanks yea i was really pleased but it just really annoys me !! exactly if you have a stop, a pole down then thats it - its is never that the judge doesnt like the look of your horse !!
 
i do know how you feel its fristrating at times.
at MK the other week somewhere where i expected to get marked down( went round the short side to canter across the diagonal and i cut the corner rqather than riding into it and losing balance on thatr rein, then she had a bit of a awkward moment at the other end), i got a 7 and no comments, then where i did nothing wrong on my 15m circles(i have them on video) it says they were the wrong sixe:S even though you could see where evryone else had been on the grass and i wasnt exactly away from that line, and my instrcutor said they were the right side 2. I got 4 coments on my whole sheet 2 of them being for the circles and that was it! i really do wonder if they watch properly sometimes!
 
Was it the same judge judging both tests and did you speak to the judge?

Only that I know that Stilebridge do tend to use BD listed judges rather than someone's friends daughter, so it may have been useful to have a chat with them after the class to see why they thought the test was different to how you felt it was.

Oh and showjumping - I've seen many a competitor have a fence down and been given a clear because the judge hasn't noticed ...
 
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Was it the same judge judging both tests and did you speak to the judge?

Only that I know that Stilebridge do tend to use BD listed judges rather than someone's friends daughter, so it may have been useful to have a chat with them after the class to see why they thought the test was different to how you felt it was.

Oh and showjumping - I've seen many a competitor have a fence down and been given a clear because the judge hasn't noticed ...

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No it was 2 different judges - the first judge told us well done and was really positive on the score sheet im just guessing the second one didnt like him or wasnt watching !!

Yes i know they use good judges which is why we go to places like that and oldencraig instead of the small shows !!

And with Showjumping that only happens at the small local events - im sure you wouldnt be getting that at affiliated level or people would definately be complaining !!
 
I don't do unaffiliated and believe me, it does happen at affiliated venues ! I can think of one venue when I've seen it happen very frequently which is quite poor when you think there are two judges in there, and in one ring they are high up you'd think could see the whole arena ... Quite often the photographer or next person in has to attract their attention and point out the fence/fences that were knocked down.

I don't bother complaining - sometimes because I am not actually competing in the class/ring at the time and if the person that has a fence isn't honest enough to own up then I'm not going to get into an argument with judges about whether or not they went clear.

Don't know what to say about the dressage. Chalk it up to experience I guess.
 
Thats dressage for you! It can be so frustrating at times. I know I often get frustrated when I get a bad score when I think my horse has done a nice test. I have to say though that a lot of judges around me have a reputation for marking low. It must just be us Yorkshire people that are crap.
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Thats dressage for you! It can be so frustrating at times. I know I often get frustrated when I get a bad score when I think my horse has done a nice test. I have to say though that a lot of judges around me have a reputation for marking low. It must just be us Yorkshire people that are crap.
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Oh im sure that is not true - i dont think i would be so annoyed if my other friend hadnt of done so well when she clearly came out thinking it went awful and to be honest he didnt go as well as he has done at other venues !!

I guess its all experience - he got the same mark in this one as a test the other week where he reared went disunited and was a little **** ????
 
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well done - sometimes judging is eratic, its just one of those things im afraid
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Thanks i guess i just have to be pleased that he went in and did what we asked x
 
I think it is all about getting to know your Judges, how they mark; some are generous, others not so etc... the more you do you will find out who does what. I remember getting a high score once and thinking... umm.. surely not... then I was told that Judge was very generous always! Next time out.. sure enough another Judge my mark was much lower! Video your tests if you can because again, you can watch it and be critical yourself and have someone else watch it too...then make up your own minds!!
 
That has just reminded me of a venue I went to at the beginning of the year. Gin reared and spooked through the entire test but we still got over 60%. The next test she was slightly better but still spooky and we ended up winning with over 65%
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Yet when she behaves herself at a different venue we get in the low 60's.
Im interested to see what marks we get at the weekend as I think she is going really well at the minute.
 
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That has just reminded me of a venue I went to at the beginning of the year. Gin reared and spooked through the entire test but we still got over 60%. The next test she was slightly better but still spooky and we ended up winning with over 65%
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Yet when she behaves herself at a different venue we get in the low 60's.
Im interested to see what marks we get at the weekend as I think she is going really well at the minute.

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Madness thats all i can say !! where you going at the weekend ?
 
OH very interesting because we are going to take my horse to Stilebridge this month to do some dr - His first outing there....
 
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OH very interesting because we are going to take my horse to Stilebridge this month to do some dr - His first outing there....

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I must say its a lovely venue for your first time out - vanessa is fantastic and everyone is really helpfull and its nice and quiet place not a lot for them to spook at !!
 
yes, it does happen a lot in dressage. i've done what i thought were dreadful tests, and been top, and done imo lovely tests, and been bottom.
i've also had a listed judge not notice that i missed out 2 x 20m canter circles, one on each rein. (the next girl in noticed, and asked me why i hadn't done them!) my boyfriend had video'd it, and so we had proof that i hadn't done them. queried with the organiser, being super-honest, cos after 2 errors of course i didn't deserve a rosette, and he checked with the judge, who got v. angry and swore that he'd seen me do them.
oh, and at a 2-star 3day event, one of the three judges couldn't tell which canter lead i was on...
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i've learnt to go primarily on how it felt, give myself a mark for that, and be very pleasantly surprised if the judge is in the same ball-park!
 
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yes, it does happen a lot in dressage. i've done what i thought were dreadful tests, and been top, and done imo lovely tests, and been bottom.
i've also had a listed judge not notice that i missed out 2 x 20m canter circles, one on each rein. (the next girl in noticed, and asked me why i hadn't done them!) my boyfriend had video'd it, and so we had proof that i hadn't done them. queried with the organiser, being super-honest, cos after 2 errors of course i didn't deserve a rosette, and he checked with the judge, who got v. angry and swore that he'd seen me do them.
oh, and at a 2-star 3day event, one of the three judges couldn't tell which canter lead i was on...
wink.gif

i've learnt to go primarily on how it felt, give myself a mark for that, and be very pleasantly surprised if the judge is in the same ball-park!

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you know what that sounds like the best idea !! im really pleased with him so i guess ive just got to be happy about that !!
 
i was there sunday,i dont think they r qualified judges there are they??i seem to get stupid comments,like "could be a nice horse IF". (Stilebridge)Its local to me so i go as much as i can as our dressage at events is rubbish. My times were 9.30 and then not till 12.10,so i said SOD IT 2 the 2nd test and came home! must say Vanessa is very helpful and is always there 2 help be my caller ,even tho she doesnt know me! Wish i knew what the judges want,as it differs at all venues/events i seem to go to! Dont think i know u??but i use to live in wingham&Adisham and SJ around this area 5-6 yrs ago?(limes &b,barn)??do u sj??? or are you dressage??
 
As a jumping judge its not as easy as you think. One of you may be writing, you get the radio going and then a competitor coming into the box when you are trying to concentrate...all this while trying to work out which horse is in the ring because the rider cant remember their number! It can happen and we are only human.
 
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As a jumping judge its not as easy as you think. One of you may be writing, you get the radio going and then a competitor coming into the box when you are trying to concentrate...all this while trying to work out which horse is in the ring because the rider cant remember their number! It can happen and we are only human.

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Of course and I appreciate that. But I can think of one venue when it does seem to happen fairly frequently - although not as much this season.
 
My friend had a 25 pen difference in her last 2 eventing dressage tests, and she felt the horse went much the same. Firs weekend, she got 24 and won the class, the next weekend she got 49!!!! We think that the second judge just likes WBs. The spread of marks in that class was 21 to 62, which is far far more than normal. Sometimes I wish that dressage was easier to understand (what the judge is looking for that is!!)

FIona
 
Carl Hester did a bit of Novice eventing a few years ago. now, he knows how a dressage test should feel, if anyone does. this was reported at the time:
he did what he thought was a very similar test on the same horse, same test even, two weeks running, and got widely divergent marks.
no wonder they call it stressage.
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