They don’t, which is why the OP is complaining.
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Sorry haven’t read all the replies (oh how I hate that phrase, but here I am using it)
Dressage at any level is not for the faint of heart, because scoring 10’s at any movement, let alone all of them is unrealistic for mere mortals.
For youngsters, and ancient people coming in, it can be hard to accept that 6 is pretty good, 7 is great. It can also be hard to accept that it is a journey, with a long term goal in mind, kids should be taught that their score sheet, and the invaluable comments from the judges, become their lesson plan for the future.
While the marks should be reflective of what the judges see, it’s the comments that can make or break the competitor. For instance, a somewhat notorious judge here, gave an adult, in her first show a really low score for her 20m circle, with the comment “neither 20m or a circle” in the same class a kiddy was advised “try to make your circle bigger for better scores”
I get what the op is saying, but at the same time, I don’t think the test directives need changing, the playing field is level for all.
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Why would anyone expect the judge to know – or care – that it’s the person’s first show? I think the comment is fine. Maybe a little blunt, but otherwise fine.
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@SillyHorse And there was me wondering if I should put that in my post, but was figuring that I had to much info already.
No of course the judge does not know or care if it’s an adults first show , and this judge was kind of notorious for her comments, I genuinely believed that she had commented “horrid” on a test of mine, until as a team we deciphered that she actually had said HURRIED”, not great handwriting from the scribe.
The point I thought was important, a child is very obvious, and she tempered her comments accordingly.
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I’m wondering what kind of coaching these people are getting. Do the coaches hold their hand the entire time for every lesson?
Once I see that the skillset is there, ie - they can do what I’m asking if I’m coaching every single step of the circle, then I start cutting back on the coaching and letting the mistakes happen, and asking afterwards “what went wrong?” to try and encourage independent thought. Or ask the student on approach to a 20m circle “ok, what do we need to remember?” expecting an answer like “ride each quarter, use my inside leg, and keep my eyes up.”
I get that sometimes people panic, but an instructor should be setting their students up to be able to do things without non-stop hand holding.
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This comment would make me laugh, because if I got this comment, it would be true, and I would have known that my circle was neither 20 meters nor a circle. It would be more helpful to write, “Ride each quarter, and you might end up with a circle,” but it’s a show, not a clinic.
I don’t see anything wrong with the comment. I’ll repeat that it sounds like some people need to be taught how to compete, which includes accepting failure with grace.
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As a judge we’re told not to coach so we can’t tell you how to make it better. We can just tell you what we see. I might say 16 M oval or circles shouldn’t have corners. I can’t tell you to ride each quarter and you might end up with a circle. That would be considered coaching.
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Yeah, I know. That’s why I mentioned that it’s a show, not a clinic.
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I don’t think she was complaining about the comment, simply pointing out the (appropriate) difference in wording for the adult and the junior with the same error, and that it could be done.
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Thank goodness! I have attended a few schooling shows over the years in my area where the judge gave a lesson at the end of the test and put the whole show behind which was totally unfair to the people who were warmed up and ready to go in.
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We had a judge who did this, and it drove people crazy. She was a good judge, but couldn’t resist doing some teaching at the end of almost every test.
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Thank you, yes that was the point!
