Isabel Wessels and Andrew Gardner took centre stage at this year’s International Eventing Forum to present a session entitled ‘The Judge's View.’ Both Isabel and Andrew are 5 star international dressage judges and provided a special insight into the minds of those dishing out the points in the first phase of eventing. The session began with the two judges discussing what they look for when judging. We were then treated to three separate dressage tests, moving up the grades from 1*. Andrew and Isabel gave their thoughts on each test, indicating what marks they would have given each movement before working through some exercises to improve where the riders went wrong.
Isabel Wessels and Andrew Gardner
As the theme of the forum was ‘Raise Your Game,’ both Isabel and Andrew discussed how one can go about this within a dressage test. “For me the best route for ‘raising the game’ is to be honest with the system of training and have conviction to be on your lines,” Andrew said. “I think that basic principles don’t change and we have to be very careful not to ever reinvent them.”
Isabel agreed with Andrew. “I think for me the dimension from the riding, training, coaching point of view follows really well into what you said. It’s simple, everything is based on the way of going,” she said. “The horse goes easily from one pace to the next, one movement to the next, there’s a flow, a harmony, an ease, lightness.”
Andrew talked of the times when riders would look at who is judging and adjust their style or gear based on what their preferences were. “It is not the judge’s prerogative to have whims,” he explained. “The judge’s prerogative has to be the same as the rider and trainer. Be honest to a classically correct and technically correct performance.”
“You have to just judge what you see,” Isabel says
Isabel extended on this point. “I always have a little saying when I do judging seminars: Try to find what is good about something,” she emphasised. “I think it is important that everybody tries to look for the positives and not just at the negative things. That will immediately give everything a rather uplifting sense rather than pulling down on the things that are not on track as yet.” It is obvious from the judges’ box which riders have the view that the glass is half empty and those who have the view that glass is half full.
The first rider out was Charlotte Bacon riding Billy Buzz. Charlotte rode a 1* test as Isabel stood on the long side at E and Andrew stood on the short side at A. Isabel commented on the different positions of the judges. “The short side is very much the exactness and the straightness on the centre line, the transitions and bending. The long side it is more about the profile, balance and carriage.”
Charlotte performed an accurate and even test. “I think that as judges we need to recognise that a lot of aspects of this test are quite difficult,” Andrew said. Whilst the combination of movements are not easy and she rode well, Charlotte would not have scored 10 out of 10 for every element.
Isabel was also complimentary but highlighted room for improvement. “For me on the long side, there was quite a big difference between the left and the right side in the canter,” she said. Each movement on the left would have received a higher mark because of the difference in straightness.
Charlotte Bacon and Billy Buzz
Isabel also noted that Charlotte’s horse did not react very well off the leg and this had an impact on her leg yields in the test. To improve this Isabel had Charlotte trot in a circle, getting her horse to move forwards off the leg and back. The horse’s reaction was to curl up and dive down rather than move forward off the leg.
It is important to be brave and make the horse move and react to the leg. This applies to all movements, including the leg yield and medium and lengthening work. “I’ve noticed that a lot of event riders are very brave when they go cross country but in the dressage arena they’re not quite as brave,” Isabel joked as she asked for more forward movement. Andrew backed up this point, pointing out the importance of strong signals. “If you niggle the horse and keep working all the time, the reaction is for the horse to close down a little bit and become less sensitive and a bit more brittle,” he said.
The second demonstration rider was Emily King riding Mr. Hiho. Emily rode a 2* test (see video below) and again, the judges acknowledged the difficulty of the movements. “If the horse copes with the requirements of the test then you’re getting a big tick from the start,” Andrew said.
Emily King works on her walk pirouettes
The judges were very impressed with how Emily rode the test, her horse was in front of the aids the whole time and they performed all of the movements with confidence. The importance of making the most of what you can do well was also highlighted. “You’ve got to put the judges in a position where all they can only do is give you a full mark,” Andrew said.
However no test is ever perfect and both judges pointed out that improvements could be made in the medium trot and the walk pirouettes. It is important to teach the horse to keep its weight on the two hind legs as it performs the medium trot.
To improve the walk pirouettes, Isabel had Emily repeat the movement. “The hind feet must step forward in the direction of his ears,” she said. It is important not to let the pirouette be too small. You must use a nice fluid turning aid, using little aids and not letting the walk stick. “Don’t put too much emphasis on the quarters because then he slightly jack knifes,” Isabel explained.
“You have to show your horse to its best ability because we are on your side, we want to give you good marks,” Isabel says.
The final part of the presentation was aided by Izzy Taylor who rode a 3* test (see video below). This was a challenging test with little time between the changes in movements. The judges were impressed with Izzy’s test but noted that her horse could be softer and more supporting with the hind leg.
“Just a notch up and you’ve got that extra bit that you need to end up in the top three as opposed to the top ten,” Isabel encouraged. As Isabel was on the long side, she noted that Izzy’s counter canter serpentines were not quite accurate. “The whole point of the counter canter is that it develops balance and straightness,” she explained.
It is vital that you use your corners to set yourself up for the oncoming movement. Particularly when setting up for a medium trot across the diagonal. “Try to keep on your mind the rhythm and the feel that every stride is the same,” Isabel encouraged. “You must never let him take over, every step is yours.”
Izzy Taylor rides the 3* test
Many thanks to Sam Clark and the Professional Riders Organisation for the use of these videos
