Dressage at Devon

112 10 m ▲ ▲ ©Hoofprints.com Dressage at Devon 2016 • Performance Division The Arena and the Judges The international dressage arena, such as that used for Dressage at Devon, is a rectangle measuring 20 meters wide by 60 meters long. There are five lettered markers at 12-meter intervals down each side of the arena, with another on the centerline at either end. Three more named but unmarked positions lie along the centerline, including X, which marks dead center (see arena diagram). The selection of letters used to name these locations may at first appear strange, but they are well-known to dressage riders who use them as guideposts to trace precise paths around and across the arena in tests. Riders always enter and exit at A and halt at X to salute the judge before a test. The dressage judge is always seated behind C so he can view all sides of the arena and also sight straight down the centerline. Additional judges may also preside, usually from B or E, or from M or H. Seated with the judge is a secretary, or "scribe." Dressage is judged like figure skating, with every move counting for or against horse and rider once a test has started. The judge has a scorecard for each horse on which is printed the required test. As the horse performs each segment, the judge dictates a number from 0 to 10, which the scribe records along with any comments the judge may offer to help the rider's development. The judge also assigns scores for General Impression: the horse's pace, impulsion and submission, and the rider's position, seat and use of aids. Scores are tallied and divided by the total possible, so the final score is a percentage. The final scores sometimes are misleading, in that a winning score may be only 60%, but remember that marks are applied moment by moment and the competitors are judged for every move they make during five or ten minutes in the arena. The sport of dressage traditionally has maintained high scoring standards. Marks of 9 or 10 demand near-perfection and are rare. You Be the Judge As you prepare to watch a dressage test, please remember that competitors should never be distracted by applause during a test. Wait until they have exited at A to show your appreciation. You can follow the required movements for each class using the FEI test descriptions presented on pages 108 - 110. These descriptions, like those the competitors use during the show, specify the sequence of paces the rider must perform and where in the arena to begin and end each pace. Each competitor will have a few minutes to warm up around the outside of the marked-off arena before the judge's bell signals the start of the test. Every test begins at A with an energetic ride straight down the centerline to the halt and salute at X. As the test proceeds, watch how the horse tracks on straight and curved lines. On turns and circles, does it bend its body to scribe the same path with fore and hind feet? Does the horse seem alert and happy, with gently swinging tail and ears cocked back slightly to signal the horse's mind is tuned to the rider? Or are there signs of tension and irritability - swishing tail, pinned-back ears, tossing head - that signal the horse and rider are of different minds. Watch for crisp but smooth transitions between gaits and, where extended and/or collected gaits are required, a clear change in length of stride. Look also at the rider. Does he or she have an erect but relaxed and supple carriage, moving in comfortable harmony with the horse? Are the rider's aids barely perceptible, giving the illusion the horse is performing on its own? Although the strain of competition will mark some faces, you will see others that reflect just plain fun. What you are watching today represents the culmination of years of hard work and fun, problems and successes - a relationship translated into motion.

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