worst comments you've had on dressage sheets

i've lost count of the number of "tactfully ridden" comments i've received over the years...
nicest one ever was when my lovely old 2* horse came out of a long retirement aged about 18 (complete with v telling sway back) to take a friend round a PN and give her some confidence, he got ridiculously excited and did the entire test high-blowing with head and tail stuck in the air, barely keeping a lid on himself. the lovely judge (it was someone famous, I can't remember who now, might have been Angela Tucker) wrote "very happy to be back at a party" which was just perfect.
 
Oh an assortment including: very brave! well sat! inattentive (when Touchy decided to gawp at the horse in the next arena in FWLR!) I have a fair few tactfully ridden, and once when my pony was a complete cow and we had a test full of 2s and 3s the judge gave me a 9 for my riding with the comment 'still smiling graciously'.
 
Just checked mine was in the 91 test in the walk you do at the end and was "rather lacking bend" when it is all straight lines :confused: It was at Hutton but that was the same judge I had at Hexham
 
just dug it out

judge was PW so different to yours

it was BE90 test 92

movement 13,
AKEH canter right
H trot 7 lacking bend at H
C walk


she did wright "what a charming horse who tried hard" :D
"needs a little more inside bend at times"

which i agree with , cos he is charming :D and did try his best :D

he does take the mick through his shoulders though ,either falling in or out so all coments were quite right :)
 
Just stumbled across this fabulous thread...

Quite a few "tactfully ridden"s and the like...

"Naughty" when spinning and bolting/leaving the arena...

"Sweet little horse" is always a give-away that there's nothing really positive to say! :o

"Explosive canter transition": has also appeared a number of times. :o

A good one once: the judge came out of her car to thank me personally for being the only one to ride a certain movement correctly! I thought that was very sweet. :)

And then there was the verbal comment that "at least you provided entertainment",
after the pony had done one of his patented kung-fu canter transitions, narrowly missing the judge's table with a flying foot, and then during the medium canter proceeded to pi$$ off around the arena several times before I could finally pull up. That part didn't get much of a comment, beyond -2 for error of course! :D
 
henryhorn said:
Two marks off, you must not call your horse a Little ba***rd when riding a dressage test... (blushes)
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This made me lol!

I have had...
'I'm not quite sure what that was'
'I can understand your frustration'
'Well sat, wasnt sure you were going to make it'
 
The only test which actually made me laugh was one were I scored 80% in my Welsh Cobs second ever dressage test as a 4yo! It felt horrendous, I battled to keep him within the boards, he leant on me the whole time and yet was totally dead to the leg - I got off him absolutely exhausted. The score sheet was all praise including comments like "beautifully light in the hand" which made me laugh... I thought she'd got my score sheet mixed up with someone else but she came over after and said what a lovely horse he was... Funny thing is this same horse ALWAYS did well in dressage, always getting far better scores than my other horse who gives a million times easier and nicer ride. He was a stunning horse though, had the right presence I guess. I'll never understand dressage. Hate it!
 
A couple more came to mind. Not mine but friends horse got in a comment at the bottom (from a List 2 judge) 'Have you tried Ventipulmin?' the horse was a roarer!

My old mare often got - its not against the clock.

Current chap, who on the whole is a trooper got 'Oh dear, did he come with a friend today?' as he screamed his way thru a test and threw his toys out the pram ;)

And a funny one from just a few weeks ago at the RC Area qualifiers. Doing Riding test, the judge wrote 'lovely G and R in canter, shame you didn't have to do it!' I was thinking about the Elem45 I was going to do later!
 
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I got my Welsh Cob sec D last year and he was 3 when i got him :confused:
Anyways, that x-mas my stables were holding a three day event sort o thing and tbh i did fine in the indoor xc naf in the sj and then in the dressage ....:(
Well, personally i blame it on the bright, flashing santa and x-mas lights they had put in the indoor because all the way round he was squealing, bucking and shieing.... and i don't blame him that Santa was scary! But when i got the results on my dressage sheet they were basic things like "Not a great transition from trot to canter" or " Not exactly on the centre line". And after i got the results back i actually went to my mate, who also has a horse, " Is that judge blind?" <---- I was being deadly serious!

But after all that i came second in the dressage and 1st in the whole three day event thing!!

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
Henryhorn - made me chuckle!
We've had several "well done for staying calm!" s "Volcanic transition to canter!" "Lovely horse, obviously thinking more about XC today - have a nice round!"
Also had "back to the drawing board, I think" - accompanied by other quite sharp comments. At the end of the day, everyone knows when they have done a c*** test, for a start,the marks reflect it, it really isn't necessary for a judge to rub salt in the wound by being unpleasant, which some seem more than happy to be! So much better to have humourous or slightly tongue-in-cheek comments to raise a smile/chuckle/soften the blow!
 
"Surprised at sudden disobedience, was the extravagant airs above ground needed instead of a canter circle?!" It was amusing to say the least!!!!!!!!!!
 
Oh lord where do i start! With my mare i've had all sorts from 'well sat' bucked at A,bucked again at K........and so on! I've had 'aires above ground are not needed at Prelim level'. 'Well done for missing my car!'. 'Tantrum at C!.......it goes on and on with her! Gave up dressage with her as she simply HATES it and she's now going off to SJ full time. My young welsh d i'm getting out the moment got in his test today 'lovely 'welsh' trot across the diagonal but extension not needed!!! I came 4th with 61% and did our first Prelim also,3rd time he'd cantered in a school ever so i think i was slightly trying to run before we could walk but it still wasn't a bad test but he did nearly jump out the arena when asked to canter between H and C! The reader read the test wrong too which didn't help :(
 
MagicMelon said:
The only test which actually made me laugh was one were I scored 80% in my Welsh Cobs second ever dressage test as a 4yo! It felt horrendous, I battled to keep him within the boards, he leant on me the whole time and yet was totally dead to the leg - I got off him absolutely exhausted. The score sheet was all praise including comments like "beautifully light in the hand" which made me laugh... I thought she'd got my score sheet mixed up with someone else but she came over after and said what a lovely horse he was... Funny thing is this same horse ALWAYS did well in dressage, always getting far better scores than my other horse who gives a million times easier and nicer ride. He was a stunning horse though, had the right presence I guess. I'll never understand dressage. Hate it!
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I feel like that with my young welsh d,he is so hard to ride and you have to push push the whole time but he can also be strong so you have to maintain it otherwise he goes into his 'welsh' trot! he is very unbalanced so keeping within the boards is a feat in itself and although not dead to the leg he isn't quick to respond at all which is a total shock for me as i've just been used to my vvv sensitive flighty holsteiner x tb mare! However he isn't light in the hand and although the judges do love him as he's a flashy chap we have lots and lots to work on! Reading that made me feel a little bit better as i feel i'm the only one who comes out of a test with a cob absoloutely knackered and dripping!!
 
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