I did this at So Pines! Watched someone start to go towards the dressage ring, saying to my husband, they know to take those bell boots off, right? They’re going to take the bell boots off. Oh not they’re not taking the bell boots off. I called out to the person with the horse/rider and she was able to get their attention before the dressage judge rang the bell to start.
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That person owes you a drink!!!
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What happened that Elisa’s score dropped? She was tied with Alexandra Knowles. I really liked Lee’s test - it had a sense of freedom and enjoyment.
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showing the same for me as her?
So weird, now mine’s back the the same! It had her in 6th with a 36.something for a few minutes. Whew. Weird.
They have been changing all day, its really weird!
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aww they’re talking about Shiraz. I love Shiraz so so much, miss watching him.
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Thanks @Xctrygirl!
Wow he’s a beauty – and has that cute little pony head that E2 tends to throw (E1 varies as to the heads he produces but EBay definitely has an “E head” and looks like the sire), and the nice neck that the E boys are known for.
Nice mover and (um) rather “keen” O/F!
I look forward to watching him this weekend.
Is it just me or are the judges being surprisingly stingy? 
Colleen‘s test was just lovely, too bad about the halt/rein back. SIGH I was holding my breath hoping she would crack 30, but unfortunately that one movement really detracted from her score.
Tomorrow will be interesting!
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No, only for the jumping phases!
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It is not just you. There were a few comments about it, including from Colleen Rutledge who said (paraphrasing) that if judges were going to be stingy, she hoped they were stingy for the remainder of the day.
There were a few tests I thought deserved better, and then a few tests I thought wow, really, they got that score? But – I am a smurf.
I have wondered before what it would be like if judges did not know the breed, the rider, or the horse… But of course it’s such a small world I think they would recognize some. There are times I think scores are inflated because of who is riding them.
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One of the judges will be at Badminton next week. Wonder how he will score there? Granted bigger names but I thought several riders,(Colleen fer instance,) got robbed.
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Yes, I saw that (and thought “indeed!”), and it will be interesting to see what scores the heavy hitters will be able to coax out of the judges tomorrow. I wonder whether the big cheese will get more love? I guess we’ll see!
(There is one judge in Area 2 who is surprisingly and consistently ungenerous with scores across-the-board; she also is extremely parsimonious with comments, especially positive ones. You never get a positive comment even when you lay down a good test; she is pretty famous for this. Obviously she is not “everyone’s favorite“, though of course she is consistent in her scoring, at least. You can always tell which division/s she’s judged when you look up the results 
)
Definitely was surprised to see so many scores in the mid to upper 30s for tests that seemed to me that they should have been farther apart in the scoring, and I agree with you as far as the “halo effect” is concerned.
Micky (et al), I hope you can impress those judges on Friday and make them feel more benevolent!
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It makes me sad that I either have to get up before dawn or pay $12.50 to watch. :(. Surely Land Rover could afford a free live stream that allows for replays. This move to pay for TV (live stream) is so disheartening. 
I have to disagree with you about paying for it I have to pay for badminton this year and and I don’t mind doing that because it’s going to it’s going to be a good contest I’ve been watching it for free but I’m willing to pay for it because I want to see it and if you’re just not in the country you’re just not in the country
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The scores seem harsh because of how the test is scored and all the mistakes made. There a tonne of scores in the changes and a not clean change is an automatic 4, so that’s 12 or 16 out of possibly 30/40 for just a few movements if you mess up all the changes.
If you mean big cheese MJ he will likely deserve any score he gets, let’s be serious. To understand scores you have to look at the movements and what the value is and how much they count towards the overall picture. Bad halts, rein backs or lead changes were very costly.
What I love it how close all the scores are. They are super tight and that will make sure that dressage matters but not enough for it to be a dressage competition.
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I think the scores were overall pretty fair. Some nice tests had just a few mistakes that were score killers. A couple of 4s will wreak havoc on an otherwise solid test. Those changes especially…lots of mistakes there and a few front to back changes means you just got a few 4s. Lots of problems in the halt - reinback - canter which are scorekillers too, that’s 3 separate movements.
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Did you ever think that it might be an affordability problem? Or an access problem? Perhaps if you have so much money you could donate to USEFTV for those of us unable to pay for these events?
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I want to win, but never like that. I am always looking out for people where I can. Maybe no one saw it, I know when I’m up I can be intensely focused on my ride, and not dying in the warm up lol
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Relating to the boots and warm up thing, I was a dressage steward at Hunt Club Farms’ recognized HT last year, and on the way to her ring, a rider (with her trainer and her family walking along with her) came past me - I noticed that she had left on all of her horse’s protective boots. Apparently I was the only one who noticed!
She had already had the bit/equipment check, so thought she was good to go. Not sure whether or not I should say something, I decided to help her out, sidled up to her and said “you might want to take off your horse’s boots” - to which she (and her trainer) responded with horror and gratitude, saying “OMG THANK YOU!!”
I told her that she was most welcome, and that I hoped that someone would do this for me if the situation were reversed. 
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It’s a choice you are making to view it live. You could wait and see it for free or most of it, on YouTube.
If one’s budget is so tight that 12 dollars a day is a make or break, there are bigger issues in hand than Land Rover’s being stingey or not.
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