various thoughts on judging, assessing the use of force, and the FEI's ability to adhere to the standards already in place

Arlene shared this quote in yesterday's comments:

What the horse does under compulsion...is done without understanding...and there is no beauty in it.

- Xenophon

Xenophon's statement perfectly frames our shift from yesterday's post and comments to today's, which has to do with stewards having clear criteria to follow when monitoring warm-ups, and which also connects to what comes after the warm-up: the ride itself.


Maire wrote:

How is a steward to decide if aggressive force is used? What about horses that have such force used at home and therefore have learned to submit to LDR? That cannot be judged. Dressage judging is subjective and I think that the steward judging of warm up rides will also have to be subjective. What is aggression? Is it a braced position on the part of the rider? Is it obvious signs of discomfort such as swishing tale, excessive sweating and these signs could also be argued the other way?

Maire has described the difficulty in very exact terms, asking what I believe are the critical questions the FEI's working group has to address.

Particularly important, I think, is the possibility that aggressive force used at home leads to learned helplessness and submission on the part of the horse, who then offers little resistance in the warm-up arena. How can a steward address that?


Dougie wrote:

I think the definition of LDR needs to be expanded into a really simple "If you see this (description of look/behaviour by horse and/or rider) this is what you should do."

That level of clarity would help everyone develop a much higher level of common understanding of what is/isn't acceptable & people would then start to self-analyse & change their behaviours, coz they know they won't be allowed to do what they've previously done.

From such small acorns, great oaks grow.

Dougie has come to what is needed - absolute clarity, with very specific criteria that become second-nature as they are implemented.

Which brings me to something I was thinking about last night as I read over the comments: in many sports, there are elements of subjectivity in judging, and to some degree we have to accept that if we use humans to judge. Having very clear criteria make it less subjective and easier to achieve consistency across many rides.

However, I'm going to say something here that might seem as if I'm leaning in the other direction. I feel that at the upper levels of the equine sport, the judging can get so technical and so focused on the movements and the extravagance of gait, that common sense is tossed out the window.

The image of a horse with muzzle to chest, or even muzzle behind the vertical, noseband cranked tight, curb rein nearly horizontal, mouth gagging open, eyes either fearful or worried or more disturbing, simply resigned, tail swishing, spurs active, tremendous sweat and foam and saliva - how hard is it to see and to judge that this is not correct, not good, and unworthy of reward? Many of the upper level rides that are winning seem to have completely skipped both rhythm and relaxation.

Instead of looking only at movement, or how far and high the front legs extend, how about telling the stewards and the judges to simply look at the horse's face? Look at the horse's back. At the tail. Is there a happy, relaxed demeanor? Is there a lovely soft swing through the back? Is the tail making that beautiful S-shaped swing at the trot? Are the hind legs tracking properly?

These are things I look for when my daughter rides her 12.2h pony in our modest backyard arena. Why can't these basic, standard signs of rhythm and relaxation be used at the upper levels, where they are even more important?

I remind you of the standards that I downloaded months ago from the FEI's website:

Chapter I Dressage
Article 401 OBJECT AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DRESSAGE
The object of dressage is the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education. As a result, it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with the rider.

These qualities are revealed by:
• The freedom and regularity of the paces.
• The harmony, lightness and ease of the movements.
• The lightness of the forehand and the engagement of the
hindquarters, originating from a lively impulsion.
• The acceptance of the bit, with submissiveness/throughness
(Durchlässigkeit) without any tension or resistance.

2. The horse thus gives the impression of doing, of its own accord, what is required. Confident and attentive, submitting generously to the control of the athlete, remaining absolutely straight in any movement on a straight line and bending accordingly when moving on curved lines.

3. The walk is regular, free and unconstrained. The trot is free, supple, regular and active. The canter is united, light and balanced. The hindquarters are never inactive or sluggish. The horse responds to the slightest indication of the athlete and thereby gives life and spirit to all the rest of its body.

4. By virtue of a lively impulsion and the suppleness of the joints, free from the paralysing effects of resistance, the horse obeys willingly and without hesitation and responds to the various aids calmly and with precision, displaying a natural and harmonious balance both physically and mentally.

5. In all the work, even at the halt, the horse must be “on the bit”. A horse is said to be “on the bit” when the neck is more or less raised and arched according to the stage of training and the extension or collection of the pace,
accepting the bridle with a light and consistent soft submissive contact. The
head should remain in a steady position, as a rule slightly in front of the vertical, with a supple poll as the highest point of the neck, and no resistance should be offered to the athlete.

6. Cadence is shown in trot and canter and is the result of the proper harmony that a horse shows when it moves with well-marked regularity, impulsion and balance. Cadence must be maintained in all the different trot or canter exercises and in all the variations of these paces.

7. The regularity of the paces is fundamental to dressage.

I believe all judges should go through remedial training in 2010 to review the EXISTING standards. From the FEI level all the way down to local schooling shows. As recently as last summer, my daughter received a comment from a judge that said "shorten the reins and get your pony on the bit." This was in an intro level class.

If you were a 12-year old girl, what message would you take from that comment? In my opinion the ongoing focus on getting horses "on the bit" contributes mightily to the image of holding the horses' heads in a "frame" rather than learning to get horses correctly "on the aids" and moving with rhythm and relaxation, the first two steps of the training scale. Contact shouldn't be in the picture until the first two are achieved.

Even at a local schooling show, the winner of the show was an adult professional rider, who rode the entire test with her big warmblood's nose several inches behind the vertical. At intro level.

As recently as this week my daughter and I received an email from our local Pony Club, in which dressage was described as a discipline in which being "on the bit" was the most important thing. Again, what does this say to our young riders? The bit, the reins, the hands, the horse's head are the focus. Not the hindquarters, not the rider's seat, not the horse's entire body being in relaxation before any contact is attempted.

Part of why I am so adamant about the rollkur issue is that I feel if we correct the riding and the treatment of the horses at the TOP, those effects will ripple all the way down to the schooling arenas and shows and backyard arenas, where little girls and boys will learn to ride their ponies with kindness and correctness. Isn't that why the standards are in place? Shouldn't the riders at the top be examples of those same standards?

As far as I'm concerned, the FEI cleaning things up at the top has the potential to help create better riders and happier ponies and horses all over the world, which is the number one reason why it is so important that they take this seriously and do what needs to be done in as straightforward a manner as they can.

I've gone off on a slight rampage here, so feel free to rein me back in (no rollkur, please!) and share your thoughts.

*******

I wanted to add Malina's comment that just came through on yesterday's post:

Billie,

Thank you again for the opportunity to converse with you and your readers.

In order to ensure practical results in less than two months, the working group had to be kept small. It is important to note however that the working group will be consulting widely outside of its membership.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Jacques Van Daele, FEI Honorary Steward General for Dressage, is on the working group. He has served at hundreds of FEI events from the lowest to the highest level over many years and is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced stewards working with the FEI. John Roche, who is FEI’s director for stewarding, is also a working group member.

The FEI has put in place a new education programme for stewards. All stewards officiating at international events will have to go through this programme in order to gain the best possible understanding of FEI rules and regulations and to be in a position to perform their tasks in the most informed and efficient way.

I hope that this information is of interest.

All the best,

Malina


Thanks, Malina - that is indeed interesting information and I'm very happy to hear about the stewards officiating at international events going through an education programme.

Will the education programme be available for use by stewards officiating at lower level events? I would hope that all stewards could have access to it and would be encouraged to take part.

And further, will the material covered by the programme be available for the general public? I personally would be extremely interested in the information. It might be just the thing to push me into volunteering for stewarding positions in local competition - they always seem to need extra help.

I guess I'll go first! my thoughts on stewards

Although there have been many visitors here since I put up yesterday's post, there have been no comments, which has surprised, and I admit, disappointed me.

But today is a new day, and I invite you once again to join in. If you prefer that your comment stay in the comment section only, say that. I'll respect your wishes.

On with a few things I've been pondering.

I went back just now and reviewed the FEI's announcement about the newly-formed working group:

The composition of the FEI working group tasked with expanding current guidelines for Stewards to facilitate clear implementation of the policy on warm-up techniques following on from last week’s round-table conference on hyperflexion/Rollkur has been finalised today.

As announced after last week’s conference in Lausanne, the working group will be chaired by Dressage Committee Chair Frank Kemperman. Group members are Richard Davison (GBR), Rider/Trainer; John P. Roche (IRL), FEI Director Jumping/Stewarding; Jacques Van Daele (BEL), FEI Honorary Dressage Steward General/Judge; Wolfram Wittig (GER), Trainer; and Trond Asmyr (NOR), FEI Dressage Director/Judge. The working group will also draw on the expertise of a number of other specialists, including but not limited to the participants of the round-table conference*. The working group aims to have the guidelines completed by the end of March 2010.

The guidelines produced by the group will be communicated directly to Stewards and also to riders and trainers. The working group is expected to put forward further proposals for the education of Stewards to ensure that FEI rules are strictly adhered to and that the welfare of the horse is maintained at all times.


Since the group aims to expand the current guidelines for stewards, and to facilitate clear implementation of the policies by stewards, I feel we should see at least a few regular stewards in the group. The actual front line personnel who will need to understand and implement these new guidelines.

The use of specialists is key, but we need the actual front line stewards in the room in order to make this truly useful and relevant.

The input of these people would, in my opinion, be invaluable to the working group. They will have real stories to tell about what it's like to steward, including the problems they face in dealing with upper level riders and trainers, who may not be amenable to intervention from staff they see as peripheral and unimportant.

In order to empower the stewards, we have to hear what they have to say. What better way than putting them in the working group?

It's also a necessary way to insure that the clarification of guidelines is indeed clear. As the guidelines are developed, and the actual language put into place, the working stewards will be right there to say "yes, that's very useful," or "that's confusing - how do I apply that?"

Or "that is clear but it won't work in action and here's why."

I haven't served as a dressage steward, but have volunteered as a cross country jump judge, and have personally dealt with a rider who I needed to flag to stop the course. The rider ignored me and kept galloping on, creating a potentially dangerous situation, as there was a horse down two jumps further in. Guess who got chastised for not stopping the rider? ME. I was out flagging as hard as I could, and there was no way the rider didn't see me. There was no penalty to the rider for ignoring my flag.

Bear in mind this was a recognized event, but nothing like the upper levels of the sport. The standards should be implemented from the lower levels and remain consistent all the way up. That way riders learn the ropes early on, and one of the most important "ropes" to learn is that one has to respect the stewards and judges.

In my opinion, the stewards' directions should be considered law, and if a rider or that rider's trainer ignores or argues with the steward, there should be automatic disqualification.

If the rider and/or trainer want to file a complaint, let it be done in writing, to the head of the show/venue.

The stewards won't stand up to riders and their trainers if they know they will be argued with, intimidated, and then not backed up by the judges.

Imagine the impact on the world of dressage if the steward in the warm-up arena had been empowered to approach Kittel and say UNACCEPTABLE.

And empowered to disqualify him from competition if he did not get off Scandic, examine his tongue and the bridle, correct the noseband, and release him from the rollkur position for the rest of the warm-up.

Epona TV would have captured that on video and we would have all been cheering instead of outraged.

Actually, that's what I hope to see in 2010. Someone capturing an empowered steward on videotape and sharing it with the world. The guidelines in action, successfully implemented, and the welfare of the horse being put before the rider's competition goals and the trainer's ego.

To me, that's a perfect example of the FEI in action, doing its job.

I welcome comments on anything I've written today, as well as any other thoughts you have.

Malina stopped by several times yesterday and has already been by this morning. She is listening. Do we have anything to say?

Let's talk with the FEI, across the virtual table, all week long

For one week, I'm going to transform camera-obscura into an open forum for communicating with the FEI, trusting that while Malina may not be able to respond to every comment, she will be reading and absorbing what we have to say.

For anyone who doesn't know, Malina is Malina Gueorguiev, Communications Manager for the FEI and she has been a regular visitor here for a number of months.

WHAT TO DO: If you'd like to communicate with the FEI in a slightly less formal way than letter or email, this is your chance. Put your message in a comment. It will be remain in the comment section as usual, but what I plan to do, depending how many comments there are, is post some or all of the comments throughout this week as the next day's new blog post, to make the comments more visible and allow for further discussion.

This is a work in progress, so bear with me if I change the structure to accommodate what actually plays out.

IMPORTANT: Please honor my guidelines: genuine and respectful communication. No one will come back to a table to talk or listen if they are treated rudely. I will not approve comments that are blatantly rude in a way that is personal to Malina or the FEI staff.

We are communicating about the use of rollkur, hyperflexion, and LDR (low deep and round), and the FEI's role in governing the use of these methods in warm-up and competition.

I especially welcome suggestions, ideas, and brainstorming with reference to creating the kind of competition atmosphere we could embrace as riders, trainers, and spectators. I'll be adding my own comment at some point this week.

Right now I'm thinking about the kind of upper level competition I would love to see and experience as a spectator. I'm thinking about the quality of life of competition horses. I'm also thinking about all the information I've read about the use of the above methods and the resulting physical and emotional/psychological damage to the horses. And I'm thinking about movement and classical dressage and dressage at its essence as a discipline that creates harmony between horse and rider, as well as healthy animals who live long, productive lives.

Between us, I am betting we come up with a good spectrum of thoughts and ideas.

I wrote last week:

It's possible to channel passion and strong belief in ideals into engaging discussion that has the potential to create change. And remember, change is a spectrum. It's a path made of small stepping stones. If every time you speak, you put one stone into a solid place on the path, you've succeeded.

Last night, as I go through the TV series West Wing for the second time, I happened to watch one of my favorite episodes, title Two Cathedrals. It's the episode where Jed Bartlet makes an important announcement to the press and the nation, loses someone important to him, and ultimately decides to run for his second term as President. There's a sequence near the end where he leaves the White House with his entourage, in the pouring rain and wind of a tropical storm, to get to the site of the press conference. Dire Straits' song Brothers In Arms is the soundtrack, and Bartlet is thinking of all the work he's done during the first term, how difficult it's going to be if he decides to run for a second term, and how much work there is left to do, work that he feels must be done.

It's an incredibly inspiring and poignant sequence, and it immediately made me think of this issue with rollkur and hyperflexion and LDR and the hearts and minds and bodies of the horses we love.

Thanks to the incredible technology at our disposal today, not only can I embed the sequence from West Wing via YouTube (you will get the overall impact but to get all the amazing subtle nuance of the sequence watch the entire episode!):



I can embed this, the video that started this latest outpouring of debate, discussion, and outrage against a training method that so dishonors the mind, body, and spirit of not only dressage, but the magnificent horse:



However hard the work of advocating, however pointless it can seem, there is good reason to continue, if only to keep the issue alive for the next generation.

I think we can do more than that. Let's talk about how.

party postponed and a moment of silence

I realized this weekend that we have two more February birthdays to celebrate, and I decided to combine the party next weekend. Redford had a special birthday tub on Friday, lots of hugs and play, and he is quite happy to be 2 years old.

The weekend was gorgeous and I spent most of it dragging, mulching, trimming tree branches, gathering and burning fallen wood, and moving stones. The front field is now on official hiatus so the spring grass can grow unimpeded by equine hooves and teeth. Tomorrow's rain is perfectly timed - now that the field is all cleaned up it needs a little rain to settle it.

*******

Linda at 7MSN and all her animal family lost Skippa Little Lyle this weekend. We here at November Hill love reading about all the 7MSN adventures and reading about Lyle brought me to tears and made me realize just how much we can come to care about animals we have never met but feel we know almost as well as the ones we live with.

All our sympathies and healing wishes are with Linda and her family in this very difficult time.

there is a birthday boy in the building

(okay, not exactly IN the building)

I have not forgotten the young donkey whose very name invokes fame and presence and whose personality matches that perfectly!

His name is Redford and he is affectionately known (by me) as Redbug. Compared to the serious and quite thoughtful Rafer Johnson, Redford is a firecracker. A spitfire. And we knew this the first day he arrived when he sailed not once, not twice, but three times over a stall wall to be with his brother-in-arms Rafer, sporting a leg cast and needing the company of another young donkey.

The party will be on Sunday, so stay tuned for photos and celebration!

Meanwhile, happy birthday, Redford. Two years old! And at least two million smiles you have brought to us since your arrival at November Hill.