What the judge is telling you

As a dressage rider it’s important to be able to decipher what judges’ comments mean. If you understand the meaning of their words, you can then plan how to improve your horse and work towards those bigger marks.

The words that will be explained here are in a positive sense. Judges will normally put “more” or “needs more” or “could show more” in front of these dressage terms. At all judges’ clinics it is imperative for them to offer positive comments. That being said, some feel that by showing all the things that are wrong, it may help to provide a positive outcome for the rider. This could well be true.

What’s important to realise is that the scale of marks from 0 to 10 have words associated with them. When a judge looks at a movement and the word “good” comes to hand, then that’s an 8! It’s always good to verbalise the word rather than the number for the movement and when the verbalisation is said, then put the mark to represent this. If a judge gives 6, then with the associated comment there are 40% of marks left to make it “excellent”. So, from the comment the reason why it was not a 10 is summarised. Judges do not have enough time to write about every good and not-so-good thing for each movement, so words to describe problems and to explain what is needed for a bigger mark are important...

Read the full article in the November 2023 issue of Equestrian Life magazine here.

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