L Program: Formulating Comments

I think one of the hardest things for me so far with judging is formulating comments. In the program, we've been told what not to do quite a bit, so when I come up with something, I know immediately that it's wrong with what I said and there's a ton of hesitation on my part. It's just something that's going to take time. Watching tests and pausing them on youtube is helping me a lot!

So dappled right now! I hope we get another
year of dapples before he gets too light

Here's what I'm dealing with. Guidelines say that comments should...

- be concise (aka don't make your scribe hate you)

- address the basics first (any rhythm problems? no, what about suppleness or balance problems? connection problems? straightness problems?)

- then address criteria of the movement (shoulder-in actually a leg yield? geometry is off?)

- then any modifiers (spooking? tripping?)

- not cause any problematic riding ("rounder" might make the rider pull, instead say "must stretch to contact" same thing with "more bend" vs "horse must yield to inside leg")

- match the score ("great cadence, 5" is not good, neither is "rhythm unclear, 9")

My coworker brought her puppy into work with her and now
she's my puppy 

All of that sounds fine, if you're allowed to ask the rider to wait a second. And you're not.

So in my brain is reeling like "okay rhythm is good, suppleness needs work, maybe that's why the horse is lacking balance? wait what size is this damn circle woman! also where are those haunches flinging around to, okay focus, suppleness is the problem, but also she's pulling hard on the inside rein, how do I make her increase suppleness without making her pull on him more?"

It's freaking difficult! What I'm finding is that I have certain priorities that I need to get in line. I tend to see connection problems first and when I'm live/too close to the horse, I tend to ignore both geometry and hind legs staying close together.

So far, with each movement, this is the list I'm going through. I think for now, I'm going to watch a movement, pause, then go through this list:

1) How is the rhythm? Are the steps clear? What do I think of the quality of the gait? Do I think the rider is helping the horse or is there something the rider is doing that is hindering the gait? Is the tempo too fast where it's disrupting the rhythm? Is a lack of energy causing the horse to be earthbound and therefore ruining the gait?

2) How is the suppleness and balance? Is the horse bending properly? Are they laterally and longitudinally balanced? Is there something that the rider is doing or not doing that is affecting this?

3) How is the connection? Is the horse stretching evenly to both reins? Is the rider allowing for that? Is the horse on the contact in a way that suggests correct training? Is the neck long and the horse's weight shifted back according to the level?

4) How is the impulsion (in impulsion-containing movements)? Does the horse show enough of a moment of suspension (also included in rhythm)?

5) How is the straightness? Is the horse aligned properly on the figure? Does the horse push evenly with both hind legs? Do the haunches track properly behind the shoulders? Does the outside front leg adduct to the midline?

6) What are the criteria for the movement the rider is performing? Are there geometry mistakes? Is the rider capturing the essence of the movement? Do the quality of the gaits and rhythm remain in the movement itself? Does the rider prevent the horse from performing the movement correctly?

7) In the secondary parts of the movement (prior to and directly after the movement, corners, etc), are there any issues? Does the horse lose balance in the corner? Does the rider pull the horse into or out of the movement? Does the horse bobble in the transitions between the movements?

8) Are there any modifiers? Did the horse spook at something or trip? Did the rider lose their stirrup, drop their rein, sneeze, etc?

Then at the same time, we're supposed to be coming up with collectives, gah!

I think the biggest thing for me right now is speeding up how quickly I get through that list. Very quickly like

Rhythm - fine, energy good, tempo quick
Suppleness - lacking laterally, cause lack of balance
Contact - not into outside rein
Impulsion - running past
Straightness - falling inward
Criteria - circle not round
Modifiers - none

5 - "horse must stretch to outside rein to improve lateral balance" (and even then maybe my scribe would kill me)


Needless to say, I'll be practicing a lot. We're already in works talking about doing a fix-a-test clinic because I'm not comfortable judging an official schooling show until I graduate. But I can easily practice judging, then chat with the rider about what I saw, then do it again. I've also informed Kate that I'll be showing up randomly during her students' test riding practice to judge them. And I'm obviously practicing on Youtube.

Even though it's a bit daunting, just like everything, practice makes perfect! I'll figure it out eventually. Until then, I'm just glad that Youtube has a pause button.