worst comments you've had on dressage sheets

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angelish

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sorry pinched this from NL about showing classes but thought it would be a bit of fun seen as i'm not competing until a week on sunday and i'm really bored :)

so what is the worst or funniest comments you have had on dressage sheets or even comments that have been made by judges or officials when out and about

the best i can do is a full sheet of one's and two's with the comments "well sat" and "a little hurried" all the way down

with the comment on the bottom reading "very well ridden to stay in arena :rolleyes: ,lovely little horse with nice paces , high school dressage is not a required movement at prelim level"
"may do better with a longer warm up"

she was barking mad and was 13 yr old at the time and i had been warming up(trying to stay on )for approx 1 hour before the test:D

nice to know some judges do have a sense of humor :D :D
 
Our first dressage was May just gone and she wasn't at her best! got lots of comments like - running, hollow, unsteady head!! despite all this we still got 58% and a 6th place out of 12 horses :)
I have been working hard to get it right for our next show in august, shes schooling nicely now :) watch this space!
 
My favourite was "Its nice to see a horse like yours at the end of a long day as it really adds some excitment. Well done for staying in the arena and on board and not damaging our car, really lovely horse when he behaves." Tbf he had won the test before but he seemed to have a melt down between the two tests and decided bronking down the c line, general bolting and plunging was far more fun, bless him! I just burst out laughing a the end of the test and the judge did actually come and find me after and say how nice it was that I was still smiling.
 
My big IDxTB donkey got quite a lot of 'Late and Reluctant'......

My Haffie got a comment about how she seemed more interested in the cake sale going on in the entrance behind A than the transitions....dont blame her, I was eyeing up the coffee and walnut too!
 
Fave has to be from Northallerton BE OPN judge this year:

"Naughty Girl!!!... mine does that too!" :D
northallerton2003.jpg


really made me smile and restored some faith in Judges especially when sometimes you receive a sheet back without one comment and leaves you a little :confused:

also had "speedy gonzalas" from Aldon Oct 2009, "A rather 'enthusiastic' test" (Hutton CIC* this year) and "looks like your ready for XC!" from Hendersyde last year

and i wonder why im no good at dressage :p
 
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Lol.....mine always start:

"Gorgeous colour but...."

In fact i've lost count of the times i've got those exact words.... :D
In fairness though, it is the tests that say nothign at all that are the worst!!
 
Not me but a friend of mine had 'no comment..' next to one dressage movement! I can't remember what if was but I think it may have been the halt that never was...

One comment(s) for me that I remember was 'hurried' 'rushed' 'test is aimed at 4 mins..' I think I did it in about 2.5 whoops
 
"slightly over enthusiastic transition" when Pickle kindly decided to squeal and throw himself into canter right in front of the car. Lovely walk to canter though I have to say :p
 
one of Fleur's first test

Disobediant = Rearing at A coming up centre line
Disobediant again = rearing near C coming up centre line
Spooked = quick 180 degree spin so tight it resembled a pirouette when spotted a hose coiled on wall of indoor school
needs to lengthen canter stride = bouncing like tigger

Thankfully judge saw funny side as did I and it was good experience for her. Thankfully she has improved somewhat since then!

Other tests on other horses/ponies I have had:
"well sat, flying changes not required at this level" pony bronced with a series of flying changes across diagonal in a novice test!
"Well recovered, although extra circle error of course!" after horse tripped and very nearly sent me flying, had to turn 10m circle to regroup!

Edit to add

and one or Dan "glad you decided to join us finally!" after he spent over 5 mins spooking wildly at invisable monster in hedge by A, eventually got him into arena and was amazed I got him back up that end although the test was somewhat errr hurried and tense! :rolleyes:
 
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Not me (I have yet to make my illustrious dressage debut) but OH had two great comments riding the potty little mare he used to train.

One just had “Dommage!” (pity) scrawled across the bottom of the sheet and the other comment was “nice piaffe though!” - she was supposed to be have been doing a steady working trot :D
 
After a loose horse came off the XC and went through my sons dressage arena-Cuffey spent the rest of the test doing his llama impression gawping at the XC and judge wrote
''I would not take this horse XC''

On reading that my son just said ''I only came to do the XC'' and promptly jumped clear
 
My 14.2hh - worst comment (or most unhelpful) was "lovely tail plait!"

My !6.3hh - "Very well ridden, I would have retired"

ETA

Also 16.3hh has" nice changes, not needed at Prelim...

...and again...and again" Her party trick of changing across the diagonal lots of times
 
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My best for my little bay mare - 'rider should salute, not horse' as she reared and waved her new shoes at the judge at the start, and then, after bucking the whole way thru the test she wrote at the bottom 'not really in the mood today, is she!, have fun jumping!'

Same horse, another test 'slight disagreement' after she dumped me just past E.

Love judges with a sense of humour :)
 
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I was calling the test a couple of years ago for my daughter Sophie on our TB, and she never heard me say C serpentine 3 loops and went large, so I yelled SERPENTINE and it ended up as one huge so-called loop and two titchy ones, and all the judge put was "serpentine mal dessiné" (badly executed serpentine) whereas if it had been me I would have put "made a right rollocks of the serpentine"!!!!
 
my friend on her 20 yr old 'been there done that' horse who liked to take the mickey once got the comment 'lovely green horse will be more setted after more experience' hahahaha

worst/unhelpful comment is my best ever eventing test to date (31/69%) were no comments as every movement was above a 6 and the final comment just said 'head a little set'.....????????
 
"try to give and retake reins even more gently to avoid lift off"

And master of understatement "halt a little late" we'd finished with horses chest on the car front bumper and nose on the windscreen snorting and misting it up, the writer had fled.

Yes both with the same mare ;)
 
In every test i have done with my girl i get " a little bit excited and tense today". Those are honestly those exacts words! My horse is 17 so bear in mind i burst out laughing when i saw the comment " nicely schooled for a youngster but you need to sort out a few problems before this horse picks up these bad habbits later in life" haha. I was quite pround of having such a "schooled" veteran though!!!
 
final comment at my first event with my gelding was "Seems to be anticipating the XC a bit too early!"

Worst test ever with my mare was when there was blummin tape flapping around off trees surrounding the arena, and all down the test where comments of "Well sat", "airs above ground not necessary in this movement", "passage not necessary in this test" and "beautiful extended canter - if only this wasn't a pre-novice"! The final comment was "Who knew there were black lipizzaners"!!! The judge is a friend of the family so luckily i took the joke well :p


ETA: I just remember one from last season with my gelding - the flies were really bothering him and he was kicking out and head tossing intermittently throughout the test, so the final comment included "see me if you'd like a reccomendation for a great fly spray" !
 
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dressage movement score went something like this;
2- offf c-line, spooky
2 - wrong bend - spooky
1 - movement not accomplished
2 - spooky, jumping is not required
3 - pony not listening, above the bit, tense
3 - wrong bend, above the bit

ect.. ect...
Until at the end I got this;
Its clear that the shadows are monsters today. Your horse is very naughty so well sat, but in future you should have retired and tried another day.

The slats from the indoor school walls were allowing some light in - in rows into the arena, and Meg thought it was terrifying, maybe I should have retired, but once I started I wanted to try to work her through it - but it seemed I failed!!
Quite laughable really!! - I got 33% - a record!!
 
Some great comments! I can't think of any individual comments (although I'm sure many judges have been tempted to write far worse on our sheets than has been listed above! :o ) but I have had "nice big horse" on one test and then "lovely wee horse" on the other, both when riding the same 15.2...! ;)

langside- that sheet is very good! Looks like there were similar comments through it too!
 
Bizarrely
'Horse and rider both rather over focused and both breathing a little fast'
Not entirely sure what was meant by that.
 
marmalade76 said:
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I used to get lot of 'tactfully ridden', whatever that means? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Had that one a few times. Also have had ' I have much admiration for you' after being thrown off in the first test and in the second test (on the same day and same judge) nearly being chucked off too - but managing to stay on to the end.
 
At a local dressage champs running three arenas the horse in the 3rd arena dumped its rider and proceeded to buck and fart around in arena one and two, K was in 1 with B who behaved but got a little excited at having another horse join him mid test! Judge in arena 2 stopped the test, K stopped but was told to continue by her judge. Her mark was pretty woeful which we expected but when we got the sheet she had gone top to bottom with 6's without comment, given her an error of course for stopping and added a comment at the bottom to say "A little Tense today":p We did wonder if the judge had even noticed the loose horse join her in the arena :rolleyes:
 
PC ode with current pony - "lovely movement outside the arena terribly sorry about pitch invasion!, maybe next time we could see her dressage test" we were invaded by a flock of sheep and although we can hack past artic lorries and double deckers, sheep are terrifying to my girl, have to say did give up slighlty after the sheep entered! :D
on my last horse - "lovely clear round, beautifully sat" test was in one of those arenas with the raised white boards and flower pots, great skinny fences to my horse followed by a fly buck after everyone he jumped at each corner. bless him all he had done before we got him was hunt, he was just looking for the jumps lol
 
My best, and most apt, was simply "Bolted!!!", underlined about 3 times (apparently my light squeeze to ask for medium canter was misinterpreted - thank got it was 20x60 so I managed to stop before leaving the arena!!

After a test on a different day I bumped into the judge and she commented on how spooky the horse had been (quite the norm with my boy!) and I pointed out that there were evidently monsters living under the markers. And the boards. And the flowers. And in the judges box. To which she replied "not half as many mosters as there will be when I bring my mare out tomorrow!".

So nice to find a kindred spirit - especially when said person is the judge!!!

Agree with all the above though - soooooo nice to have a judge with a sense of humour, so any judges reading, take heed!! And, not that it seems any of you need reminding, but a GSOH in the rider is a wonderful thing too!!!!
 
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