dressage with harmony please read

[Amanda Seater]

and help make this happen.
This is from Alternative dressage:

I have had another email from Marthe Kiley Worthington - and she seems to be progressing with her aim to get a Dressage for Harmony (rather than restraint or pressure) competition off the ground. Now she needs our help...

She has been reinvited to Switzerland's National Stud by the chief Equestrian Suisse vets, and has discussed the possibilities for the competition for Harmony rather than by restriction.

She now also has a place for the competition in North France, Compeigne, where the mayor is very keen on running the competition at Grand Prix level (and may be some lower ones too). AND she has someone who has volunteered to work on trying to raise the prizemoney from equine welfare organisations.

The next stage is that those primarily involved (the suisse vets, the mayor, MKW, a couple of judges) will get together to finalise the rules etc.

They also need a couple of Grand Prix experienced competitors and perhaps a trainer or two of grand prix competitors. The person would have to travel to North France at his own expense (none of them are doing this for money or even for expenses).

Do you have any suggestions?

This may not be ideal, but it is a start. And it is all we have, and therefore the BEST that we have.

PLEASE get in touch with me and pass this on to anyone you think could be interested.
[e-mail]

[highlanderpony2002]

I would be great if we could get this going at grass roots level too with higher marks in the ordinary tests for harmony as opposed to force I guess you would have to put in place a training and qualification for judges though

[pip]

Doesn't Sylvia Loch organise something similar in this country?

[jennyb]

She does indeed but it hasn't taken off. The trouble is it can seem critical and contradictory of "normal" competition dressage to try to do something like this. Surely her efforts would be better spent changing things within the FEI? And who can argue that harmony and kind training is being rewarded now, with Carl and Charlotte flying the flag and winning the medals for GB?

I agree with HP, the real issue is at grass roots. I was warming Gazdag up for a medium test at Vale View yesterday and shared the warm up arena with a lady on a big black flashy horse. Her trainer was there warming her up and I was utterly dismayed to overhear his comments - "Tight reins!" "Kick him forward!" and so on. There was also a lot of sniggering from their entourage, as I warmed up my little grey hairy horse on a loose rein - not sure if the sniggering was at me or not!

That said, I have said before on here and will say again that most of the BD competitors I come across are lovely and really care for their horses, and you do see a lot of nice riding. So I think it would be more valuable to infiltrate the masses and change things from within. Most GP competitors I know do not see much wrong with the sport and would see this as a fluffy idea.....

[Deleted]

Anyone in sussex keep an eye out for a dressage series that some friends of mine are trying to set up at the Moore Racehorse Trust. They run monthly charity shows and want to add dressage but aren't willing to have competitors rewarded for yanking and pulling or strapping their horses down as it goes against every principle the Trust is founded on.

They've got three or four classical trainers and they're working on a scoring criteria that includes giving credit for thibngs like nosebands that allow the horse to open their mouth or using no noseband and relaxed horses with gentle riders etc

[jennyb]

How do they get round it with other disciplines Michelle? As it happens across the board, showing, SJ, everything really. I wholeheartedly support a change to make such treatment unacceptable but sadly so far any such initiatives haven't been well supported. I do feel a change from "within" the BD ranks though..... :-)

[Deleted]

Well they run showing classes and SJ. In the showing they'll only use judges who are of a similar ethos to the charity. The SJ isn't as easy, there isn't any marking/ scoring based on the horsemanship as it's obviously clear rounds and marked on time etc but on the day I volunteeered we did throw a couple of people out of the ring for riding unsound horses that they protested they were allowed to compete elsewhere because it was "just arthritis"

I think the decision about dressage is due to the fact that it's the core aim of any dressage is to have a relaxed horse who responds willingly and if you have to have their mouth strapped shut or have to boot them for every step of trot etc it's a pretty clear sign that they're not all that relaxed and willing!

I think mostly, it's a case of making sure the relaxation and willingness that is supposed to be scored in dressage generally is really rewarded but trying to make it more visible with the nosebands etc. I think the aim isn't to disqualify dressage riders who don't have a "classical" trainer, it's to try to plant the seeds of thought with more competitors that relaxation and willingness is really fundamental.

[jennyb]

That's really nice to hear re the showing and SJ. Good on them.

Dressage is more difficult but you could just add extra rules as you see fit re tack and horsemanship and so on. You don't have to necessarily run unaffil dressage comps under BD rules. I'd be very interested to hear how popular it is and what the local feedback is.

I must admit I do think the tack rules are bonkers in some respects. Gazdag goes quite happily without a noseband but I have to have one for BD. I cannot understand why tight flashes are allowed. A gaping mouth is a sign of evasion, whatever the root cause, so why not make it visible instead of allowing it to be masked?!

[jill]

The problem with alternatives is that it remains a niche and the mainstream continue with their abuse of horses. I agree with Jennyb and I am a great believer in if you can't beat 'em join 'em. What is the BD system for changing rules etc - is it democratic, done by committee, what? Infiltration is the best way to go so long as their systems allow and they don't operate a closed shop.

[holi]

michelle I met the girls at a show at Plumpton recently and offered help if they got a show off the ground - let me know if you hear anything please?

[holi]

this whole thing has been going on for so long. I joined the 'alternative' movement of Sylvia Loch years ago but it never went anywhere. I've banged on about it for years and my old instructor gave up judging dressage as she wanted classes to reward correct training and relaxation not outline and actually people stopped asking her to judge. She sadly also gave up teaching as was broke - well people wanted her at first but when they realised it wasn't a quick fix no-one stayed with her. Heather's tried, Mary Wanless has tried - we are slowly moving but I can't see things changing especially as the money now involved is getting bigger. I know it sounds pessimistic but if you think just one friend has taken 13 years to be persuaded to get rid of a flash and another has taken on ideas purely on buying a spanish horse (well they are classical lol) and they are not bad people- just had BHS etc for years and years. So, if you add in money.........