Off the top of my head-
Not forward - a western style jog instead of a working trot; breaking, or almost breaking into a walk
Lack of submission - repeatedly jigging when supposed to be walking
Uneven tempo
No contact
Bad geometry -circles not round, lines not straight
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This seems to be the case. I was so proud of my horse and myself when we got our first-ever 9, until I saw the video which was taken from B and my horse’s hind legs where nowhere near even 
I felt like I got away with something there.
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At a schooling show, Intro level, even in our rather strict region I think most of these offenses would get a 5 except if as you say it’s repeatedly within the movement.
My horse is generally only a 6.5/7 mover, and has broken gait (from walk to a jig, or trot to canter) at Training level at recognized shows and as long as it’s corrected we can still get a 5 or even 5.5.
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irregular gait or other issues with soundness
poor reaction to any bit contact more than one incident
lines not straight due to lack of willingness to forward or hyper reactivity to riders leg
falling in on corners and circles showing stiffness and lack of leg response.
I have found schooling show judges to be , overall, very tolerant and forgiving. ENcouraging comments and sometimes one on one.
In rated shows it is not the judges job to teach or coach the rider via the score sheet. The comments are to state the reason for the score given. Above the line for the movement in question, below the line overall qualities
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so…i’m not entirely sure how to interpret this comment:
“COMMENT:
Horses should be ridden on a light but steady contact,
with the exception of the free walk in which the horse is
allowed complete freedom to stretch neck forward and
downward.”
When i allow my mare complete freedom she will put her nose down to the ground and look like a bloodhound tracking. (she will trot like this if i let her too lol…she’s not without her quirks like i said LOL) I can ride her forward and she will blow and march along --and on the rail she stays straight. Haven’t tried her on the diagonal, but i will ask my coach if we can try it next lesson. I’m thinking without some rein contact, some control of her head, i’m not sure just my legs are gonna keep her on a straight line for that diagonal H-X-F
Your coach will be a great help, and there are a lot of YouTube options. Not to mention usdf videos on offer.
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oh. i just thought you folks on here might know what they mean. I think my REAL question isn’t how to ride her straight across the diagonal, but rather, do they really mean “complete freedom” or not really exactly complete freedom.
If she’s truly marching along, she won’t put her head to the ground. I say this as the owner of one who will gladly give herself a sand-stache if allowed to mosey.
If she still tries, I would personally put my leg on her a little to encourage her to come up some.
Your trainer knows you best, just practice and find what works for you!
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Watching it done well will educate you better than the written word.
If she’s plowing a row she is not being ridden forward.
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But actually, @eightpondfarm now that I’m thinking about it, I do steer with my legs (mostly just keeping my hips moving symmetrically and straight) on the free walk. I don’t want to upset my horse’s stretch zen by taking ahold of his/her face for anything but a dire emergency.
You can ride the free walk on either a long rein (light contact that follows but doesn’t restrict the stretch) or loose rein (no contact). But either way, you should steer primarily with your seat and legs and eyes.
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It’s my experience that the judge wants to see the horse carrying the bit forward and downward, so just chucking the reins at her and letting her put her nose to the dirt doesn’t demonstrate the correct action. Remember that these things will eventually become extended gaits with a “moderate lengthening of frame” so demonstrate that your horse will carry the bit forward and downward into a true stretch and allow you to pick up the contact again without tossing their head or shortening their stride.
A lot of points are lost in free walks that are lazy or that drop the connection then have to get it back at the end of the diagonal.
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Also remember that thing may be different at a show, with the horse wanting to pick it’s head up and look around. I usually see light contact and wider hands, which can help make a “channel” to help keep the horse on the line of travel.
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When I showed Intro A at a schooling show a couple years ago, as a beginner rider, I got a 5 for my free walk with the comments “needs to be more lively and needs to show more stretch”. So the horse is expected to walk forward in a marching pace, but be encouraged to stretch its neck. From my understanding, you don’t have to completely throw the reins away, but also don’t have the requirement of maintaining contact the way you do at training level. Not sure if that helps 
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interesting. i’ve thought that why she puts her head down is because i let the reins drop. When we are doing training and if i let the reins slide out some, she moves her head/face out or down i think(?) to gain back that feel for my arms/hands. I think of the two of us (me and mare) she is the one who wants to be connected through the bit and reins more than i do. My coach encourages me to take more of her often and, i am…dunno what’s the word i want here…? reluctant. i think: WHy does she (mare)want this? What is the ‘good part’ of it to her? Tell you one thing, she doesn’t lean her shoulder onto the rein because there’s no there-there with me. If my arms are elastic, they are a very stretched-out elastic band lol. Contact is one of the biggest things i’m being trained by these two (coach and mare).
That’s just it. Taking a more steady contact is part of the training so teaching the horse to follow the hand - if you move hands forward the neck comes out and down so they are pressing forward towards the bit is where you want to end up.
The mare wants a more steady connection because that is secure for her. Dropping off the end of it and not being on the other end of the communication is more difficult for the horse than finding a place where they are in balance and working into a steady connection.
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Agree. Confidence, security, leadership.
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ok. so, on the free walk part …she will go as low as the bit is, she follows the bit. So, if i understands things you guys are all saying here…
I need to give her enough to let her head drop…maybe to her knee-level? (and keep her marching on with a bit of lower leg pressure). Then just collect rein back at the end of the stretchy walk and go on. With her, it’s never a matter of resistance to the bit, it is more how much of her do i let out. (if that makes any sense)
…meanwhile, i will continue to take lessons and try to be taught how-to do all-the-things on that training pyramid. :-). How to take contact with her more/better is def one-of-the-things!
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The standard for free walk and the stretch, I think anyway, is that the nose comes below the point of the shoulder. More important though is that the neck goes out and down and not that the nose just tucks in low on the chest. I prefer to keep the connection in the free walk and let the horse “take” the reins down from my hands by opening my hands to a wider position and letting some rein through my fingers, keeping the horse straight between the channel of my wider hands.
If you lose the contact entirely and are on a truly loose rein, you run the risk of losing submission points at the end when you have to gather the reins back up, versus being able to just slowly gather up the reins and make the connection stronger so you reach the end and are able to use the bend when you rejoin the rail to collect a little bit.
Use the geometry to help you by lengthening the neck using the initial bend onto the diagonal and then the bend at the end to shorten the step a little bit and recycle the energy.
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that makes sense. thanks
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