{"id":46778,"date":"2019-08-02T15:41:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-02T05:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=46778"},"modified":"2021-10-01T15:03:07","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T05:03:07","slug":"judging-young-horse-classes-what-is-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2019\/08\/judging-young-horse-classes-what-is-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Judging Young Horse Classes, what is important?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Susie Hoevenaars and Francis Verbeek are two judges at the cutting edge of international young horse competition, share some of their thoughts on judging at a seminar for riders and judges on young horse judging.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Right from the start, the duo stressed the need for the horses to go naturally, \u201cwe must recognize the quality and natural way of going, that is most important,\u201d Susie told us.<\/p>\n

Francis suggested that we look for the horse that \u201cis really swinging over the back with a soft connection to the hands. The more easy it looks, the better it is. If you see the rider working their hands and legs, that means there is not the right balance between the rider and the horse\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cEase is what we look for, not the rider supporting the horse.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The dressage world has been celebrating the return of harmony, there is also concern that the young horse classes don\u2019t become an end in themselves, that they should lead on to Grand Prix. Or as Francis put it: \u201cWe have to ask the question is the horse able to collect in all three gaits, this is specially important for the Grand Prix horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was comforting to hear Susie stress that the basis of the young horse classes must be the training scale:<\/p>\n

\u201cRegularity is Number 1 on the training scale. The horse is not made to carry a human, it is made to run, when we sit on him, the weight goes to the front. First we need regularity so the horse can find its own balance, then we need suppleness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Yet another element of the scale was introduced, \u201cSuppleness,\u201d Susie reminded us, \u201cis so important for the back, the back is the key to suppleness \u2013 if the horse has a stiff back, how can he step under?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read more<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Young Horses, what do the judges look for?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n