Let’s Discuss: What’s the best/strangest/funniest comment you’ve ever gotten on a dressage test?
My favorites are when the judge is obviously stretching for something nice to say, like “Pretty tail!” What about you?
Photo: Sometimes, when I get back a dressage test I don’t like, I let my bunny chew it up.
- Send an email to wylie, the author of this post at wylie@horsenation.com
“your horse turns like a boat!”
Nice.
“Very explosive today!”
In the comment box next to my first ever four tempi score “many many many many problems.”
(obviously too many problems to list)
At the bottom of an eventing test “Good luck jumping.”
And also: “If your horse wasn’t scared of the bikes it might have been a nice test. Good potential”
I wish they wrote comments on cowhorse scores! The closest I’ve come is a judge calling down to me as I rode by “There were some good moments…and not so good moments…”
I had a test that said: “lovely extended trot… in the wrong direction” (apparently they rang the bell thing, but it was my first ever test and I didn’t know what it meant LOL)
My daughter’s horse was really rushing through his dressage test (of what was his first USEA rated event @ Beginner Novice level last year) At the end of the judges various comments…which included lots of variations regarding ‘slowing down’ etc — they probably wanted to try to leave her with something positive so they put an asterisk at the bottom and wrote “BET HORSE REALLY LOVES CROSS COUNTRY “
“Nice Braids”….. mane was roached
“Nice show of trust in your horse after being so bad”….. bucking around entire 20m canter circle then allowed stretch for stretchy circle
“Glad it didn’t get any worse that that”….. after some impressive rearing and spooking
I use to ride a grullo, the judge wrote gorllia
I got one that said “B does not stand for buck” We were supposed to do a 15m circle at B and just as my horse passed the letter he did a massive buck, then proceeded to canter a perfect circle as if nothing happened.
These are hilarious!!!!!!
I went to a horse trial with a friend and after her horse jumped out of the dressage ring, the comment was “nice jumper”
“Don’t let a horse being silly ruin your position.” — this was when I was riding a great but ornery little mare who wants to stick her nose 20 feet out front and pull like a train. The comment made me feel a little better after our comically bad test. Mare seemed to think that dressage was a timed event.
From a horse I catch-rode at an event: “Horse does not appear to even UNDERSTAND the aids.”
And, my later Intermediate level horse’s first dressage test, after he bucked his way out of the ring: “Horse probably not safe for cross country.”
Caitrin, at least his back was up!!!
I had a horse named Leapin’ Lizzie. When she finished her first dressage test ever, the judge and I were both laughing and he said “that’s what you get for naming her that.”
I was poplar place this past spring and all the judge wrote on the bottom was “Your horse is to happy!” He still scored well but still not sure what she meant by that or how I was suppose to fix that? Lol
From the illustrious Bill Woods:
“Horse appears to have swallowed cavaletti.” (no bend through body)
“Horse would be useful on submarine as periscope.” (For horse in giraffes clothing)
From the great Gen. Jack Burton:
“Too bad we are no longer a military sport, gunfire would have been useful in convincing horse to proceed (working trot after halt at X).”
And from judges whose names I no longer recall:
“Lovely piaffe, too bad it was supposed to be free walk.”
“Horse must be part Lipizzaner, as his airs above the ground are so natural!”
“You are sitting on a time bomb.”
“Bet he’s great over fences…or atleast he better be!”
got some good ones this winter! “unfortunately entertaining”…”handstands not required”…”horse could use a shot of bourbon” and after getting bucked off and having horse gallop away “check safety for cross-country”
I had a judge write “Do you know the meaning of the word ’round?’”…. Ouch.
After bucking his way down the long side in lengthened canter the judge wrote “too bold in canter!”
Judges final note on horses first dressage test was simply “nice try”. Got a big fat zero on the final halt. We never did completely stop! But that mare sure could jump!
As it was hailing on me, and my horse LOST it due to the hail pinging off the truck, the judge wrote “nice test, under the circumstances.”
And my green OTTB rescue – a judge wrote in his first ever test, “Your horse is a bully!”
Thanks… very helpful.
On a Training level event test in 2010, my horse had a bit of a rough day… throughout the test, he kept his head crooked. Instead of commenting once, the judge seemed to take pleasure in writing on pretty much every movement “Head tilted left”… “head still tilting left”… “head tilting left again” etc. At the end of the test, he had some difficulty halting – as in he pretty much tripped, sprawled 5 meters sideways, landed on his face, and then flung himself back up, nowhere near X, and stood splay-legged snorting sand out of his nose. I think the judge felt bad for us; her comment was “halt not quite square.” Bets part is, later that day, he also managed to fall chest deep into the 9 inches of water on XC. We weren’t counted as a fall, and we finished with a double clear and pulled a 7th, miraculously. I love thoroughbreds.
“where’s the Fire..?”…after her race car turn and skid-to-hault at X.
I had a judge stop me at the end as i was leaving the ring and said: “I’m not technically supposed to talk to you, but i wanted to tell you thats your horse has potential, she certainly looks the part (of an event horse). Keep plugging away!!!” Ummm…thanks i think. Funny thing that was my first event of the year and the last one too. Poor mare couldn’t stay sound
There was a horse who was obviously lame, and was ridden several times throughout the day(morning, and afternoon) at a schooling show. The judge commented on her test “Perhaps you should not continue to ride your horse if he is not sound”
And Not exactly a comment on a test but I was working as a ring steward at an event and there was a girl who was having serious trouble with being in charge of her horse- she was eliminated, and the judge actually got out of the car and helped her work through it. Not technically what they’re supposed to do, but one of my favorite judges after that.
My mare has never been particularly . . . subtle about her canter departs. After one of her most exuberant departs with a judge watching, which consisted of her launching into the air, the comment from the judge was ‘overly expressive depart’. That still cracks me up.
My horse was, shall we say, “exuberant” about being at a horse show and demonstrated some airs-above-the-ground. The judges comment at the bottom was “tactfully ridden,” which I appreciated.
At an Intercollegiate Dressage Association show where the host school provides horses for all the riders and you have 10 minutes of warm-up time to get to know the horse before riding the test, I got “Difficulties with test today, better luck next time.” The horse was super sensitive to inside leg so instead of increasing his bend and lift in my canter circle, he swapped his lead. Also, I spaced out and instead of crossing the diagonal at the trot, started down the long side to a 20m circle. Oops. But I ended up drawing the same horse the 2nd day of the show and got High Point, so I guess I learned from our “difficulties”!
I took a friend’s 17.3hh 7-year-old green draft cross to his first horse trial last summer. He’s partially blind in his left eye, and occasionally spooks because of it.
In our Dressage test, as I trotted left down the outside line towards the judge’s box, a mini van came around the corner of the barn and approached the box. The horse, with his bad eye to the inside, apparently did not notice this development. As we turned the corner to C and straightened out on the short side, he caught sight of the van appearing as if out of mid air, and spooked to the inside. I pushed as hard as I could but he was NOT going back over to the rail.
We turned up the quarter line, nice as could be, and go going forward and straight. (The resulting 5m half turn down the centerline was a little interesting.)
The judge’s mark for “Working trot rising, C-H-E-K?”
“4 – nice straightness, try to stay closer to the rail”
The horse’s owner and I laughed so hard…
At end of the test when the mare put in one monster buck as she crossed the center line for each canter circle: “Thank you for not coming off today”. And long ago, after a prelim test where you canter (gallop)down the centerline, trot at X (or not) and halt (sliding stop) at G (or the fence): Please tell me you use a stronger bit for jumping.
My very first dressage test/mini event the judge was hilarious! The judge basically told me my pony and I had a long way to go but we looked like a great pair. THEN, he told me that if he could give me the prettiest pony award he totally would.