“Just Own It!”

Dorie Vlatten-Schmitz, USEF “S” Dressage Judge, presented a Continuing Education workshop for a great group of participants on Saturday, August 20. The atmosphere was encouraging, inviting, and educational. Everyone was able to speak and gain confidence in the judging process.

Most USDF L Participants & Graduates use too many words, making the job of the scribe difficult. Throughout the day the participants were encouraged to condense words and phrases to be clear for the rider and scribe-friendly.

Dorie told the group to “just own it”. She didn’t want participants to second guess comments and scores. She wanted an immediate assessment. The participants were expected to trust their training and first impressions. While judges strive to be accurate, it is only human that one may make mistakes from time to time. All judges continue to learn throughout their judging careers. The point of the first exercise was to go with one’s first impression and move on. It is important to keep up with the pace of the test. Judges do have to justify their scores. To participate in any USDF L or USEF Dressage Judge training program, the participant will have to be able to articulate his or her reasons.

There were many discussions, such as how important the horse’s whole body was to every part of the training pyramid. When defining or explaining words, such as “connection”, sometimes the focus tends to be on the rider’s hands and the horse’s mouth. It’s so much more than that. The participants also learned some new judging terminology from FEI Dressage Judge Stephen Clarke, such as “could spring more off the ground,” “small disturbance” and “show more uniform bend”.

Understanding and formulating collective marks are always a great topic in workshops and clinics. Dorie provided an explanation of the difference between impulsion and submission, although she’s not a fan of the word submission. One way is by asking the question: “Is the horse physically and mentally prepared and capable to do the movement vs does the horse want to do the movement?” She also shared how she prepares for collective scores and comments while the test in in progress. She didn’t want to see the participants judge a test and then get to the collective marks and think “now what?”

Participants reviewed judging terminology and discussed what the rider may think as a results of the words. It was clear even in our group that words had different interpretations. The risk with some of the judging terminology is that it can be misinterpretations by the rider. For example a comment “needs more energy/impulsion” could result in the rider chasing the horse. The group brainstormed to come up with other ways to say the same thing, such as saying sluggish and sleepy instead of the lengthy alternative. A judge tries to avoid saying anything that may results in the rider blaming or punishing the horse. What a judge says should not contribute to a horse’s training going in the wrong direction. Another phrase which created discussion, was “above the bit.” Some participants had different variations of what that meant and what the criteria was for using it. In addition, the participants discussed “irregular steps”. The group defined what rhythm meant, discussed what lateral or a lateral tendency was, and noted what could instead be a balance issue.

The participants gained a lot of confidence and education in the workshop. I like the phrase “just own it” and can apply that to my life and riding as well!  Thanks to Dorie Vlatten-Schmitz for providing an educational day. We all wish the current group of L Participants good luck in their upcoming testing.