National Championships
Superhubby and I whiled away a day while we wait for Jazz's surgery by going to the National Dressage Championships at Stoneleigh near Coventry. To get to these championships, horses must have won or been placed very high (second I think) at regional competitions. They qualify for the regionals, I believe, by winning or being placed at local affiliated competitions. So they are, theoretically, the best horse/rider combinations in the country.
We watched the Elementary, the Prix St George and the Intermediare II (Jean I think level 3, 7 and 9 for you?) I was disappointed. If they were the best the whole country can produce, then I don't think that they are good enough. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing all that much WRONG with them, it's just that if they were top 30 or 40 in the country, I had expected something so much better. Now I understand why we still can't win Internationally.
I was particularly disappointed with the canter pirouettes in the two higher classes. The overwhelming majority were stilted, jumping or lumbering around the circle, and really not pleasant to look at. I saw only two horses do them with ease. In all the levels, so many horses looked like they'd done so much arena work that they were totally drilled and almost lifeless, although technically nearly foot perfect. Just as many were violently swishing their tails, giving the game away about how they really felt about it even though they were performing as requested.
As we left, we felt that we had expected to see excellence and sparkle and what we saw was competence and concentrated practice. It was so different from the Young Horse Championships that I wonder what happens in training as the horses get older? Or are the new young horses just better? I'm confused by what I saw today.
C
posted by cptrayes @ 6:27 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Elementary might be our 3rd or 4th level, but once you get beyond that, Prix St. George, Intermediare I & II, and The Grand Prix are all the FEI tests and the exact same levels. Toby and PJ competed up to Intermediare I.
The "joi de vivre" for dressage does get lost too often. That's why I retired Toby at I1. It was just getting to hard for him physcially. Too much drilling makes many horses sour and dull. And, I'd wager a lot of the horses you saw were sore somewhere--muscles and/or joints.
It is sad to see that. But you see it with the Olympic horses as well. That's why famous horses like Alerich, Brentina, and Goldstern stood out. They always looked relaxed and happy in their performances.
It's also why so few horses measure up to true international standards. First the horse has to have the physical talent, then the mental strength, and then a trainer who knows how to work both of them--and of course, no soundness issues. It's hard to get all the pieces of the formula in place.
// so many horses looked like they'd done so much arena work that they were totally drilled and almost lifeless, although technically nearly foot perfect.//
Thats what I just found with Emma, I justed posted in my blog about it.
I couldn't work out why I was so bored riding this stunning horse. She has won a lot at novice level in this area and I have to say that he is nicely schooled.
She has been drilled to lifelessness, the work has none of her own spark and exuberance left in it. I was bored because she wasn't putting anything into it, just going through the movements.
Its all nice until a point, where she finds something more interesting and doesn't listen to anything you say.
I want to wake her up again and let her ut her own shine into it. I think if she finds the work fun again she will stop her spooking.
//As we left, we felt that we had expected to see excellence and sparkle and what we saw was competence and concentrated practice.//
Thats exactly it.
That's it Jean. No "joi de vivre". Even the correct stuff wasn't a thrill to watch,and surely top 40 in the country should be a thrill to see????
It'll be interesting to see if you can get it back Anna, once a horse has lost it.
Jean do you have Medium, Advanced Medium and Advanced in between Elementary and Prix St George?
C
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