I heard that this bit may be dinged in the show ring. Comments?
It depends on the length of the upper cheeks. The rule book is your friend:
The upper cheek of a hanging cheek (baucher) snaffle (measured from the top of the mouthpiece to the top of the upper cheek) may not exceed seven centimeters.
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Bits don’t get “dinged” in dressage. They’re either legal or illegal.
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thanks
Just thought I would ask.
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But the rules are so convoluted, and so unevenly enforced and frequently changed, that “may get dinged” is actually not an unreasonable description of the acceptability of some bits.
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yeah, that was my angle. I know they are legal and I know all about the centimeter thing. This trainer was so black and white about this bit that it peaked my curiosity. I recently bought a new saddle and the lady through her bridle in too. I tried the baucher and my fussy TB seemed to really like it.
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A judge is never going to deduct marks for your bit. The steward is going to check it after your test and will either accept it or not.
I guess we could imagine a scenario where a rider enters at A in something like a Tom Thumb western shanked bit and the judge would probably ring them out. The test would not continue with adjustments to the marks.
ETA I think the steward would stop the rider in the warm up if they saw it first.
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I agree that the judge is never going to “decuct marks” for you bit.
BUT the judge has the ultimate authority on the legality of the bit, and could declare it illegal, even if the steward said it was legal.
There have been several times that I had a question about the legality of a particular piece of tack, and the TD told me to check with the judge during her break.
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A judge is not going to deduct marks if you have a d ring instead of a loose ring or something else. What matters is legal or not legal. Yes, the baucher rules are not ideal and need to be clarified.
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