I think there is name recognition grading going on. Although I thought her test was terrific. I have an eventer’s eye however, and bow to the superior eye of a dressage person.
5’11"
Yes.
I’m no expert (and there’s no way I ever have to worry about riding piaffe lol) but it confuses me too. Her piaffes are super athletic, so balanced, and rhythmic like a metronome. But to me they look totally horizontal, like a passage on the spot. I thought the defining feature of piaffe was the “sit,” and that the front legs should come off the ground more than the back legs do? Hoping an actual expert will weigh in here.
That being said, I much prefer Bella Rose’s piaffe to the horses who seem to stand on their front legs and bounce the hind end up and down, though. And 10 is excellent, not perfect.
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This is my impression, too. I feel like I have seen some STUNNING piaffe in these games, and Werth is still outscoring them, and I agree this is where politics come in. She’s the big name.
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Individual score sheets;
The test; https://inside.fei.org/system/files/GP_Freestyle09_update%202017.pdf
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Overall, very respectable scores. I wonder if the lack of spectators and atmosphere aided the horses concentration.
Yes - it flashed by my eye that he was noticeably shorter w/ right hind in extended trot. rewatched later and thought i was seeing it in other parts of the trot.Not huge but NQR
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Watching Bella Rose, I agree she may not sit as much as some but she maintains as very clear rhythm. Some of the others I felt got a bit shuffly. But so excited for Charlotte and Gio, can’t wait to see him develop in the next few years!
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@BigMama1 and @allikat819 The above, plus Bella Rose Does. Not. Pedestal. Ever. Those front legs remain vertical and don’t get in underneath her at all, not once. You could build something square and straight using those front legs as your plumb line.
editing to add, that not pedestaling with those front legs is probably an even better indication of how much those haunches are carrying than you might think. A horse that is really well crouched down behind but with the front legs behind the vertical (underneath the mass of the horse) is carrying too much weight in front and not carrying as much as it appears on those hind legs. You can actually experiment with this by getting on your hands and tiptoes. Bend your knees and keep your arms vertical. Popping from one foot to the other is HARD. Now lean way forward so your hands are underneath your lower chest/belly, keep your legs as bent as they were in the first exercise. Now try popping from one foot to the other. So much easier because your arms (aka the front legs of the horse) are now holding your weight so your legs (aka the hindlegs of the horse) don’t have to hold as much weight.
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She may not be a beauty like some of the others but hey - she just won two GOLD MEDALS!
I would say that more than makes up for her “lack of looks.”
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You don’t ride the head.
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I came here just to say how much I loved him using “Safety Dance” 
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Can anyone direct the less adventurous of us to video of the individual Kurs? Please?
You dont, but the conformation is ugly.
What do you find ugly in Dalera’s conformation? I mean, I look at her and think, yeah, in a perfect world, this or that could be changed a bit, but I don’t actually find her full on ugly conformationally, so I’m curious what you see when you look at her!
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Although her exterior rather reminds me more of an eventer than an upper level dressage horse, she manages to get the job done in spectacular fashion at the very highest levels of international dressage. 
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Looking at Dalera, she’s definitely one of those horses where if you saw them just standing in a stall, you might walk by. Her head is plain, she has a bit of a belly (don’t we all), and her neck isn’t beautiful swan neck, and there’s something a bit strange about her throatlatch. She’s the definition of a plain brown wrapper. But, lordy, when Jessica puts her together, those things fade.
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My interestingly bizarre cable guide now claims Equestrian is on from 1:45 to 3:45 p.m. Central on NBC Sports this afternoon.
Does anyone know what the music Sabine rode to was? It sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it.
