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Showing posts from October, 2022

What Judges Owe The Competitors

It's not the judges' fault there is no open option to offer advice My attendance at a recent show that was a non-dressage event revealed to me the reality of what showing and competition is for most equestrians. Although I competed in multiple disciplines in my youth I had simply forgotten how things worked outside of our lettered arena. This reveal was the seemingly outdated system of merely issuing points for qualifiers for future competition and placement of 1-6 and nothing further.   In dressage test sheets offer comprehensive help In dressage we are fortunate that every score for every aspect is defined in our tests, and that beside each score the judge offers a comment or two. Sometimes positive, often negative (but hopefully always constructive) critical comments. At the end of the test sheet there are collective remarks that further help the competitor understand the errors of their ways, areas where improvements can be made and offer praise where it is due. We are so l