Alexsandra
"Sandy" Howard
has a long and successful equestrian career including representing
the USA in international dressage competitions (Olympic and World
Championships) on three European tours. Her outstanding
California-bred Thoroughbred gelding Bull
Market
was one of the powerhouses of US dressage during the 70's and 80's
and helped to get dressage freestyle started in this country with
electrifying performances at Devon, Knoll Farm and IEO York.
She
developed the horses Maxel,
William,
and Leverage
to FEI levels before they moved onto rewarding careers as
schoolmasters for other riders.
On
her next FEI horse, the imported Swedish stallion Pilgrim,
she continued to claim many state and national titles including the
national Freestyle Championship with her well-known musical ride to
The
Stripper.
On offspring of Pilgrim, she has competed in combined driving and
dressage. She is currently developing 3 horses: Euro
Pro Iko (ISR
by Ideal)
at
PSG ant I-1, Hacedero
(Trak
by Hailo)
is schooling I-2 and Rondo
(DWB
by Kennedy)
will
be showing 2nd and 4rd level this year. She also recently bought a
promising youngster in Germany Dash.
An
"S" level judge, Sandy regularly conducts "L"
judge learning programs as a USDF
Faculty member in addition to regular judging duties. In 1990,
intrigued by the questions posed during a CDS Annual Meeting
lecture, she began a very rewarding collaboration with Mary
Wanless
on developing an advanced understanding of the biomechanics of the
effective dressage seat. She clinics around the States incorporating
this revolutionary approach with traditional dressage training
teaching riders of all levels.
A judge’s
perspective on the Form and Function of the Riders seat
The score co-efficient of 3 accorded to
“Rider’s Position and Seat, Correctness and Effect of the Aids”
makes it the most heavily weighted of the collective marks. Since
“Gaits”, ‘Impulsion’, and ‘Submission’ carry a
co-efficient of 2 it means that mathematically the riders position
and influence count for 33% of the basics that are evaluated in that
portion of a dressage score sheet labeled “Collective Marks”.
That may seem strange to many
competitors who find that their score sheets are full of comments
such as “needs uphill balance”, “shoulder-in angle varies” or
even “above the bit” that it seems to read as if the horse was in
the ring alone. The rider is mentioned only if she is very
asymmetrical, bouncing badly or using her hands incorrectly or
abusively. Seldom are the basic skills of the rider mentioned
specifically regardless of whether those skills are highly developed
or lacking.
Why does that seem to be the case?
Surprisingly, one of the reasons is because the effectiveness of the
rider in creating a ride that will score well is assumed in the way
the score sheet is organized. To understand this fully one must
think about the relationship of the scores given to the movements of
the test and those given in Collective Marks.
Rider is addressed specifically only in
the Collective Marks. Submission, impulsion and gaits, the other
Collective Marks, are strongly implied as components in most of the
movement scores throughout a test. However, all of these elements
are directly or indirectly influenced by the rider’s skill and
technique and reflect the training process that constitutes horse’s
daily work You might consider this the “function” aspect of the
rider score.
Let’s consider “Submission”
first. The consideration that a judge gives to submission reflects
directly upon the rider. The horse is submissive (or not) to the
rider’s aids. If the horse is not submissive the judge must ask
“Are the aids correct?” This reflects directly on the rider. Is
the horse getting good consistent information about the requirements
of the test that he is supposed to perform? Is the rider’s
position and timing encouraging an uphill and obedient performance?
Is the rider’s intention clear and meaningful to the horse without
being rough or abusive?
Taken in this context a judge’s
comment “shoulder-in needs more angle” is a direct reflection
upon the rider. The rider directs the horse’s performance. If the
shoulder-in is not performed correctly in most cases it is the
responsibility of the rider and not the fault of the horse.
This is also true of judge’s comments
concerning balance and connection. Comments such as “needs uphill
balance” or “should stretch to contact” while on the surface
seeming to address the horse alone are really a note to the rider
that her timing or the quality of her connection to the bit need
improving. In most cases a judge holds the horse responsible only
for shying, bucking, rearing and being distracted and tense because
of the surroundings. Correct movements, good connection, ease,
straightness and a balance commensurate with the level come from
training and the rider’s technique.
There is also an implied assumption in
the score sheet is that the rider is the trainer of the horse which
is not always the case. Hopefully, if the rider is not the trainer
she is going to benefit from the work that the trainer has done to
make the horse ready to perform. The judge, without knowing whether
the current rider is responsible for the horse’s daily routine, is
attempting to evaluate the training of the horse based on his
performance of the test under that rider. If the horse gives
evidence of calm acceptance and clear understanding of the rider’s
aids and those aids promote fluency and ease as the horse correctly
performs the requirements of the test the rider is given the credit
and a high score for submission.
Impulsion is created by the rider
through the horse’s submission to aids that ask for more energy
that is not manifested as speed. Some horses have more natural
elasticity, suppleness and engagement, all components of impulsion,
than others. But all horses must learn to channel the “desire to
move forward” into more vertical thrust and balance through
understanding of and submission to the aid system.
When a judge makes a comment such as
“lacks sufficient energy” or “inactive hind legs” they want
the rider showing better ability to motivate the horse to perform as
a willing partner in a lively dance.
Let’s say the judge is looking at a
rider who presents her horse at a slow inactive trot. It appears
that she may be doing this because it makes it easier for her to sit
and feel more comfortable about control of speed. Of course the judge
has no way of knowing for sure that this is the case, but it is clear
that it is not the horse that is at fault though the comments may
address his performance rather than hers.
The judge is quite clear that the fault
lies with the rider – specifically in her aids (or lack thereof) to
create sufficient impulsion. Let’s also assume that the above
rider was sitting in a chair seat with her torso behind the vertical
and lacking in any isometric tone. Even though a comment concerning
her lack of correct alignment would be perfectly appropriate, the
lack of impulsion needs to be addressed as something that needs her
attention.
Creating impulsion is one of the
rider’s jobs. She needs to be effective enough get the horse to
perform with good energy and deal with that energy constructively
which in this case may mean that she must learn to sit the more
active trot. Usually extensive comments about the rider’s position
are reserved for evaluation in Collective Marks or Further Remarks
but in this case the judge might comment on the rider’s lack of
tone and connect this to the lack of impulsion in the horse.
The score for Gaits is strongly linked
to that for Impulsion. A horse being ridden with enough impulsion to
move through his back to the bit will be showing himself with a great
deal of the elasticity, amplitude, joint articulation and suppleness
of the back available to him. His gaits will most likely receive a
generous score due to his being ridden with impulsion and that
directly reflects on the rider’s skills.
So you can see that most of the
comments that a judge will make both in the individual test movements
and in the Collective and Further Remarks are aimed at the rider’s
influence. In a sense the consideration of the rider is not just 33%
of the score but closer to 70% or 80%.
There is probably reluctance on the
part of most judges to come down too heavily on poor riding even
though they realize that the rider is cause and the horse’s
performance effect in a test. They know that our sport requires high
degrees of fitness, experience, sensitivity and athleticism and that
not all competitors meet the highest standard. And they know that
the rider and not the horse will read the judges comments! Judges
are not congenitally nasty people! They do not wish to be unpopular
or ruin a competitors showing experience.
Fortunately a greater understanding of
rider biomechanics is beginning to help both judges and competitors
put comments about rider influence in a positive perspective. The
judges vocabulary and options for addressing a rider are expanding
and clarity about rider timing and influence as it relates to
position and muscle tone allows for increasing specificity, making
their comments more valuable to competitors.
For instance, vertical alignment has
always been a goal for serious dressage riders. The shoulder, hip,
heel injunction comes to us from the most traditional sources. Now
we are beginning to understand why it is so important for correct
timing of the aids and balance of the horse.
The isometric tone of the torso and
thigh is critical to the rider’s stability. Isometric muscle use
means that opposing muscle groups act together to position or
stabilize a part of the body. Some isometric tone is necessary to
keep the torso vertical as the movement of the horse underneath the
rider acts to destabilize her. Also the balance of the aids that the
rider uses to push the horse with extensor muscles (located in the
back of the body) while using the flexor muscles (located at the
front of the body) to maintain verticality of the torso over the
sitting surface and control of hip joint motion is isometric.
The position and use of the torso and
seat is an aid system as specific and available to the horse as those
aids given by hands and legs. Verticality or correct alignment of the
rider’s body is key to organizing this balanced isometric muscle
use. It also helps the rider use her aids in a timing that
encourages the horse’s development of self-carriage. An upper
level horse in self-carriage is using his muscles more isometrically
than a young horse at lower levels. He is responding to the rider’s
balanced isometric muscle use, verticality, and timing and matching
it with his own to generate more vertical energy as well as to
perform the various movements required in the more difficult tests.
The judge may only mention that the
rider should sit in the vertical. There is a limited amount of time
and space for comments. But the whole cascade of positive results
should that occur (and negative events should it not) are clear to a
judge who is hoping to help the rider to the positive side of the
equation.
As judges and competitors become more
familiar with the vocabulary for correct and incorrect use of the
rider’s body there will undoubtedly be more comments directed to
the rider’s skill level and technique. This should make it clear
to the competitor the changes in her position and seat that need to
be addressed so that her influence on the horse is both efficient and
effective. All judges want rider’s to improve future performances
helped by their comments on the test they judge today. They do not
want the horse to bear the brunt of the blame for a low score when
better rider position and technique is the issue.
Form in riding is directly related to
function. Whether the judge of your test is addressing how you
function as a rider by commenting on your form or timing, on correct
execution of a movement, submission or impulsion you need to be aware
that it all boils down to your skills and technique. The better you
ride the quicker your horse responds to training and the more
talented he seems. It all starts with good riding.