DECEMBER 2002 - DRESSAGE VISIONS

Dressage Visions
Australia hasn’t qualified a dressage team for the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Australian riders are established 62-65% riders. It’s imperative that (a) we qualify and compete at Athens and (b) we move our dressage scores into the high 60s and early 70s.
Certainly after the WEG in Spain, there was an amount of doom and gloom about our dressage performance and a non-qualification for Athens.
It was interesting talking to Australia’s chef d’equipe in Jerez, Rob Hanna, who had a very different perspective of the performance, saying that the big score at Sydney was Kristy Oatley-Nist with 68.16% The next Aussie scores were around the 64% mark. In actual fact the two 64% scores in Spain were higher than those scored in Sydney, which was probably remarkable enough, allowing for the fact that there was no ‘hometown advantage’ or goodwill. Now had Kristy been in the team at the WEG, I think everybody accepts that it is highly likely that she would again have produced an equivalent or better score than she produced at Sydney.
This being the case, then the performance in Spain by the Australian team could be argued to be better than the Sydney performance. And yes indeed, those scores would have qualified Australia for the Athens Olympics. I think people need to remember that this frontline is nothing short of a war zone, and that it is really tough, and, quite frankly, what do you expect? It never ceases to amaze me the armchair critics who are so quick to recoil as soon as the going gets tough.
At the recent National Dressage Championships, the suggestion was floated that we shouldn’t even try for Athens, but rather select some younger riders &/or younger horses and channel all our resources into producing them for a brighter future. I can’t emphasise strongly enough what a loser’s approach this is. Firstly the frontlines are, and will continue to be, extremely savage and depressing. It is an arena for seasoned gladiators. To take young riders into this arena would be like feeding the lambs to the wolves. There are many examples of this pristine, innocent philosophy being activated and not once has a positive result been forthcoming. These examples exist in Australia, both today, and in recent history, in different fields, different clubs and different states.
Of course this philosophy was floated in the 80’s when Australian eventers were moving out of obscurity towards their triple gold medal status. In 1989, five up-and-coming young Aussie eventers were taken on a tour to the Northern Hemisphere. Their selections were over the heads of more seasoned, better performed riders. Every single horse was injured, terminally as far as an ongoing event career was concerned, and not one of the riders still competes today. It shattered some of our most brilliant young riders and horses.
Australia really does have to roll up her sleeves and dig in and hold that eventing frontline.
So how do we move forward in the world of dressage?
Firstly, nobody, just nobody can afford to take a backward step. The territory we hold now has been hard won, believe me! We do however need to have a plan. We need to rally all Australians who are in a position to contribute and make it a team effort.
At the moment, I think the only plan in existence is the National Coach’s plan, which has to be submitted every four years as part of the job application. Currently, Clemens Dierks is our National Coach and as far as I know, his four year plan, rarely – if ever – sees the light of day. Personally, I suspect this job application is very unlikely to be in step with where we are today.
At the Nationals there was a high performance panel meeting which included Clemens, and as I understand it, Clemens was cross-questioned rather closely regarding his involvement with the NZ rider, Kallista Field, and his horse dealing activities whilst on tour with the Australian team. This all sounds quite sinister, however I have to say that after six weeks away from home, paying my weekly staff wages at home and not going under financially, has got me doing backflips. Even though most of my expenses were met by the EFA and the Australian Institute of Sport (for which I am eternally grateful), my loss of income is a very serious matter. So I am personally quite sympathetic to individuals trying to generate some sort of income whilst on tour. There is, nevertheless, a limit and first priority must always be to the best possible Australian performance at the competition around which the tour is aimed.
The question as to whether Clemens is the right man for the job is also, in my opinion, the wrong question right now. The first step is the big picture, the plan, then to build the infrastructure and the means to achieving the big picture will by themselves sort out questions like the ones above.
Nevertheless, here are a couple of my thoughts on just few specifics.
Believe it or not, I think the riders are training at a seriously cranked up pace, and are making all possible headway. There is a very serious interaction between all of our leading Australian riders and also between those riders and international riders and trainers. In particular, Mary Hanna, Ricky MacMillan and Kristy Oatley-Nist have developed very strong international connections and are spending embarrassing amounts of personal money pursuing this particular aspect of our development. There is very serious pain and sacrifice going on here.
I hurry also to assure you that those of us training on the homefront are also throwing everything – our lives and our souls – at the ongoing development. Our horses have improved and are continuing to improve unbelievably.
Australians seem to be fascinated by performance genetics and as a result, we with our little little population of people breeding dressage horses in comparison to those in the Northern Hemisphere, actually import more frozen semen than any other country in the world. One doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out that sooner or later we are going to be producing horses at least equal to the best in the world. It is very important that we recognize that a very, very good horse is an essential part of the ingredients needed to achieve medal status at international competitions.
When I say medal status, I refer to nothing less than gold medals, initially in a team situation, and it’s really important that we go after nothing less. Statements like this of course make the rest of the world roar with laughter, however in the early 80s, the eventers made similar statements about our home based gold medal ambitions and the world laughed… loud. Today, nobody is laughing. Australian dressage riders are to go out after gold medals. One of the biggest single moves we can make right now is to encourage the Australian dressage judges to embrace the campaign.
When in Holland, the Dutch riders, under Dutch judges, can score over 80%. When in Germany the German judges will similarly score the German riders. When in the USA, the American judges score their riders in the high 70s. When in Australia, the Australian judges will nearly always score the Aussie riders lower than any international judge. This is just crazy. Why do they do this?
Well because an Australian judge pursues a personal opinion as opposed to being a team player. They pursue perfection – and very noble that is too – however, no matter who you are, and how many gold medals you win, the FEI definitions and perfection are ultimately unachievable. They are, of course, to be aspired to, but having the courage to aspire to such a great height and perhaps fall somewhat short, is, in my opinion, much more noble than the judge who explains to the world why somebody’s performance was actually flawed or less than perfect. Once a rider starts to score high percentages, other judges become more relaxed and uninhibited in enjoying a performance and acknowledging how good it is.
Conversely a rider who has a reputation for lesser marks will always be judged by people focussing on their weaknesses and thus justifying a lesser score. There is always something exciting to be enjoyed in every test. Great scores are always, always, pre-empted by great expectations. This must be the calling of the Australian judges. In their hands lie the responsibility to lift the expectations for the Australian riders. This is a significant move that the Australian dressage scene has to make. Australian dressage judges have to come on board as Australian team players. They are entirely responsible to single handedly lift the Australian expectations and help us to show the world. When the international judges are here, the Australian score must be higher from the local judges than from the visiting judge. Just as the American judges would give higher scores in the USA, the Dutch judges higher in Holland and the German judges higher in Germany.
I think we are probably looking for our Grand Prix judges to lift their scores by 4-6% for our current tests.
Certainly after my test in Spain, I spoke to a lot of international judges and riders and ventured to ask, after seeing the video, why I didn’t score 70+ for Stilton’s test. Amazingly, there was general consensus that the test was indeed a 70+ performance, however everybody pointed out in one way or another that (a) one cannot score that sort of mark without reasonable pre-expectations and (b) had the test been a fluke, then a score like that would be hugely embarrassing to the judges in retrospect.
So that brings me to the next point, which is one of confidence. Ricky MacMillan, especially perceives this as a huge obstacle which needs tackling – the international dressage community does currently view the Australians as ‘exotic’ (Ricky’s terminology).
The eventers dealt with this by videoing their tests at major Australian competitions where one of the judges was an international judge. The international judge was always selected as a guest, after research indicated that the individual was likely to judge at an upcoming WEG or Olympics (Good example of team tactics between Event Riders and competition organizers). Immediately after the dressage phase was over, the 5 or 6 elite listed event riders are invited to review their test, with the test sheets, with the international judge. This has proven to be immensely successful. In the beginning the international judges certainly did give the Australian riders conservative marks, however upon seeing the video, that judge would acknowledge that the flying change, or whatever movement that was being scrutinised, was indeed straight and through from behind. These judges became aware that the Australian eventers took their dressage very seriously, were knowledgeable, and were also very interested in any contribution the judges themselves might like to suggest.
As a result the Australian eventer does now score the occasional 10 in competition like the World Championships in Spain. The international judges have confidence in our eventers, and there is an expectation that the Australian team will be in the lead after the dressage, as it was at the Sydney Olympics, or it will be very close. This is absolutely a reproduceable phenomena for our dressage riders.
I personally am totally confident that providing I continue to produce the quality of test that Stilton put together in Spain, the international judges will acknowledge it as being a 70+ performance. I am also equally confident that there are at least another 3 or 4 Australian riders currently at Grand Prix who would enjoy similar scores if this strategy were put in place.
The Australian Dressage judges are the big players that need to become Australian Team players.
These are just a few thoughts which I think are current and need dealing with yesterday. There are lots and lots of strands in the big plan infrastructure which I haven’t touched on at all, however, the main aim right now is to get the Australian dressage team to Athens, and the big picture, I believe is within 15 years to position an Australian team to win gold at the Olympics. Yee HAA
Guy Wallace Update
By the time you read this, Guy will have been in hospital for some nine months following an accident involving a horse he was schooling in April 2002.
Just what happened is still, this day, a mystery which might be solved, as Guy’s mind, health and memory continue to improve. Certainly one thing is for sure, come Christmas, Guy’s address will still be Westmead Hospital Brain Injury Unit.
Guy is still fighting and winning battles in that unit that many people are suggesting can’t be won. Early in the 3rd week of October, Guy’s parents, Steve and Gill, were informed that the speech therapy was making little progress, and they should be prepared for the fact that he may never speak again. Guy had been, for some time, trying to whisper, and visitors would lean close to his lips, trying to hear what was being said but to no avail. There was just no voice.
On Wednesday 23rd, just a week later, Melissa Hughes was visiting Guy as she regularly has done since the beginning and was leaning close to him, trying as always to understand the whispering – it’s a bit like almost seeing a spider. Melissa encouraged him, saying, ‘Louder, Guy, louder’. Guy hiccupped and Mel couldn’t help herself and roared with laughter, then stopped in total shock, as laughing just as heartily alongside her was Guy!
"Guy, that’s your voice," she screamed. Guy stopped and stared at her in dead silence. Both Guy and Mel’s brains raced to understand the ramifications. And then, from the depths of an almost forgotten set of bellows came rocketing into the world, a croaky word, "Mel."
Melissa screamed and ran out into the corridor and grabbed the first nurse in sight. "He’s talking, he’s talking," she screamed and dragged the bemused nurse into the room. "Hello, Roy," said a straining, crackling voice, and Roy’s eyes almost popped out of his head. Melissa screamed again and ran out, grabbing nurse after nurse and hauling them into the room.
"Hello Polly, hello Nicky, hello John, hello Nicole, hello Fiona…" and so unfolded the triumph of what seemed like a lost battle.
One little bedroom in the Westmead Brain Injury Unit erupted into pandemonium. Within half an hour, the phones of family, friends and eventers, Australia wide, were criss crossing, networking the remotest corners.
Melissa immediately dialled Guy’s Dad’s number, and put the phone to Guy’s ear. The phone rang and rang and rang, then went to Message Bank, Guy waited for the beeps and then crackled down the line: "Hello Dad, I love you. I can talk."
Other developments in that little Westmead bedroom where this war is being fought, include the fitting of a Backlasis pump (I’m not quite sure if I’ve got the name quite right). This pump administers medication into the spine, helping to relax the muscles, stop cramps, and makes the physio easier.
It’s going to be a tough Christmas in that Westmead Hospital room, however we can all rest easy in the knowledge that under no circumstances – just no matter what – Guy Wallace is not going to stop fighting, and I for one am very proud to call him my very dear friend.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Heath

PS. If you want to send Guy a card this Christmas, we’ve made some up here at The Horse Magazine, featuring Melissa Hughes and her horse, Chanel No 5 at Adelaide. It would be so nice for Guy to have a room full of cards featuring Mel – and ALL the money you send goes straight into the Guy Wallace fund. The cost of making the cards has been sponsored by the grey stallion, Gwahir Zodiac, who Guy was riding before his accident. Thank you to Allan Skinner for your support! Please make out your cheque or money order to Gillian Wallace ATF Guy Wallace. We have 500 cards – so you send what you think you can afford to pay, and we’ll post the card(s) back to you. Then you can write your message and send the card to Guy. The address is C/- Brain Damage Rehabilitation Unit, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW 2145

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