There is no such thing as “truly counter flexed” or “fake counter flexed” - when the horse and the rider coming towards you on the C-line and they turn before or after and if the horse’s head looks outside of the turn - that is counter flexed. I want to see BOTH horses’ eyes on the C-line looking straigh at me, not one inside eye with the open mouth while missing a C-line by 2-4 feet 
There is no such thing as “truly counter flexed” or “fake counter flexed” - when the horse and the rider coming towards you on the C-line and they turn before or after and if the horse’s head looks outside of the turn - that is counter flexed. I want to see BOTH horses’ eyes on the C-line looking straigh at me, not one inside eye with the open mouth while missing a C-line by 2-4 feet
OK let me try to explain again…what was meant by “truly” counterflexed was to point out whether or not the horse was actually counterflexed or not versus what the judge’s comments indicate. I did not come up with the term fake counter flexed. Having been pregnant a couple of times I realize that being counterflexed is like being pregnant there is no “sort of” to it. I also understand very well what straight down the centerline is. With respect to the test in question (actually 4 tests judged by the same individual - intro level, same rider/pony pair) the pony’s head did not look outside the turn and the rider/pony did not overshoot or undershoot the C-line. What I believe in my heart of hearts is that the L graduate who was judging was trying to make a statement regarding the pony being strong in the bridle and not correctly on the aids but unfortunately the comments used gave both my child and a couple of other riders who read the test afterwards the “idea” that the beast (and their beasts) was suppose to be on the bit, bending and demonstrating the suppleness I usually don’t expect from my horses until at least 1st level. Now I can “make” this pony on the bit and still keep her engaged & through but she is far from soft, happy or relaxed. Unfortunately THAT is what often gets rewarded whether we’re talking intro or training level. I have enough miles under my belt to know that THIS is not how I want the pony trained, ridden or my daughter to get the impression that putting the pony on the muscle is the proper way to ride.
So back to the original topic - I have found that at the last two recognized shows the judges’ marks and comments were more in line with what I expect or interpret to be the goals at Intro - steady, forward, not resistant, and soft but not exactly “on the bit”. Unfortunately that is not always what I have found to be rewarded with the L graduates judging the schooling shows. Crammed and jammed even at intro seems to be more popular.
