So sorry about the length between posts; I’ve had health, hard drive and time issues and have barely kept up with any of my online groups and blogs.
I’ve been watching the Olympics and I’ve been disgusted with the dressage. Why are the judges rewarding shit riding? The one competitor's horse stopped and fricking reared up. It balked once more in the pattern and still ended up in the medals. And I don’t care how well Anky’s butt stays in the saddle her horses look miserable. They drip with sweat, they drool excessively and they look tense the entire ride. She does not ride classical dressage; she rides gimmick dressage and should not be rewarded for it.
This brings us back to one of the sorest topics out there: Why do judges reward crap riding, poor behavior and muscle bulk over bone structure? WTF are they thinking? Do they not realize they are setting the standard for a breed or discipline? Can they not take responsibility for how their poor choices affect the horse industry?
I picked up an Equine Chronicle recently and just about spit my drink out over all the post-legged halter horses. These horses are National, World and Congress champions and have hind legs that are straight up and down. They are built like brick shit houses, but their legs are not going to support that heavy muscle mass long term. Why are the judges placing this shit?
Against my better judgment I read the Qh Journal and almost puked over their idea of a hunter under saddle. There can be no excuse for placing the shitty headsets and poor impulsion except that the judge’s seeing eye dog was sick that day and couldn’t bark the back numbers for him to write down. Who are the judges placing this crap? What is their motivation? Is there some super secret award for placing the worst possible mover?
I don’t have access to the Paint Journal, but I do read the Appaloosa Journal and Modern Arabian Times. The AJ is nothing but dreck on the editorial front, and the ads look just like the QHJ ads; post legged, bad movers and poor judgment. The MAT had some good articles, especially the one on sport horses in hand, but the saddle seat ads are a major turn off. WTF is the deal with the heavy hands and poor posture of the riders? I don’t remember seeing that crap to this degree when I lived in Scottsdale. Why do the judges reward poor riding that makes the breed look pathetic?
I really don’t understand how the industry tolerates self-interested individuals bringing it down. I hear big breeders bitch about the BYB all the time, but really the BYB isn’t the problem when a breed, or discipline, based magazine blatantly shows how biased and stupid the judges are. I don’t even want to hear: Most judges are not that way.
It doesn’t matter if most aren’t. Enough are that way to give the entire industry a bad name. Every post-legged halter horse that walks away with a national title is a disgrace to that breed. Every low headed, poor moving, hunter under saddle makes that breed look like a joke! Every single dressage rider that works a horse into a frantic lather and still gets high marks means the judges have quit considering the horse and only consider the mechanics. It’s a disgrace, when will it end?
