I am not one to attend many clinics, in fact, I have probably attended fewer than ten clinics in my riding career.  While on Facebook one day, I saw a post advertising a clinic with George Williams in August and I decided to go for it with my horse Picasso.  I am very glad that I did as we had a great but very hot day!

To say the day was hot is a gross under exaggeration!  Everyone in the northeast was suffering.  I decided that riding in this clinic was too important to pass up, so I packed plenty of water and ice and headed down to Maryland.  By the time I arrived my truck temperature read 102, and P was a little sweaty in the trailer.  I was already frustrated because my truck electric and my trailer electric were not speaking to one another and desperately needed couples therapy.  Still, I wanted this opportunity, so off we went to the ring we went.  By now P was momentarily dry and we entered the arena to begin our warm up.

To give you quick background on my horse, I have owned Picasso “P” since he was a weanling. He is currently showing Fourth Level and schooling Prix St. George. He can be quite opinionated on most things and is known around the barn as the playful one that bites, a lot! George had us begin by working on some transitions and clarifying my outside half halt.  Balance and thoroughness have always been challenging for us.  Both of us feel that we know exactly what we are doing at any given time and the other is just totally clueless.  How humbling it is to find out that a tiny change in the placement of an aid that your home instructor has told you on a regular basis could make such a difference!  As an instructor, I know the feeling, but we all know instructors make the worst students.  Suddenly, P was balanced and my abs that I usually consider to be strong were burning with the fire of a thousand suns.

As we took a short break I noticed P was having a very hard time catching his breath and had not really started to sweat. We took a 15 minutes to sponge him off and walk him so that he could get back to a normal rate so that I did not go into motherly over protective mode.

Onward to flying changes!  To preface this; I have spent three years begging, pleading, cursing, crying, reassessing, cursing, animal communicating and finally cursing to get a change.  One change!  As they say, one day they happen, and they did, just like that.  Out of the blue, you just go in the ring and they go “changes? Yes, I do those! But not your way, human! MY way.”  We needed some help with the right to left change, so that is what we worked on.  I have tried a few things to help make it clean, but nothing has worked yet.  I showed George the change to give him an idea of what we need help on, at least I thought that is how it went.  What I actually did was let P get strung out and charge through the bridle, while I throw my body in hopes of getting something that looks like a change.  So, we now have something to work on.  Some rebalancing and the magic touch of changing the hand I carry my whip in and suddenly the elusive change was there, no problem (insert eye-rolling emoji here).

Onward to half steps!  These were for fun and done after another long walk break while George explained the importance of carrying myself over my core better.  I know it is my downfall and it is the only way I am going to improve my horse. Now I am even MORE committed because of how well P responded to my balance (again instructors being the worst students). I had been dabbling in half steps for a while unassisted by a handler with a whip.  That in turn made P a bit too spicy.  P finally accepted that George was not there to beat the skin off his body and he learned to sit on his hind end!  He actually carried himself!  He is a 1500 pound horse after all, so this was just a really awesome experience.  The trot work after was so amazing I cannot wait to ride it again.

So in the end it is me, not P, that needs to straighten up to fly right.  I just needed to spend the money, a two hour drive in the truck with no lights or brakes, and ride with the President of the USDF to FINALLY get that lesson to sink in.  I will merge the rider I was to the rider I want to be.  George is amazingly patient (even in the heat!) and so positive. Thank you to DVCTA for the sponsorship, I would absolutely do it all over again but perhaps without the heat and maybe with brakes…

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Continuing Education in Freestyle Judging Program

by Angelia D. Bean

On March 19 and 20th, 2016, the Delaware Valley Combined Training Association (DVCTA) hosted the USDF Continuing Education in Freestyle Judging Program. Saturday was filled with a classroom discussion held at New Bolton Center, and Sunday was comprised of live freestyle rides at Ardara Sporthorses. Presenters were Klassic Kur Freestyle Designer Terry Ciotti Gallo and FEI 4* and USEF “S” Judge Lois Yukins. The audience consisted of 12 Participants, made up of L-graduates and USEF-licensed Dressage Judges, approximately 25 auditors and 11 demonstration riders.

Yukins began the day by describing the path to creating the USDF Continuing Education in Freestyle Judging Program. Her description began with “a box of stuff” that was handed around the L faculty, but no one could sort out how best add the information into the already-densely-packed L Program itself. Yukins approached Gallo about the problem, who utilized her enthusiasm for freestyles and background in gymnastics judging to turn the “box of stuff” into this well-thought-out program.

With that introduction, Gallo began Saturday’s lecture. She started by defining the purpose of the event—to eliminate the “touchy-feely” element of filling in the “artistic impression” side of a freestyle score sheet, which often intimidates judges. The silence coming from the participants illustrated her point. Terry solved that problem by tossing Easter eggs filled with candy to everyone who contributed to the discussion.

Participation came more easily as Gallo outlined the specific criteria judges are to use to evaluate each category of the freestyle performance, augmented by video of good examples and poor examples. By putting the evaluation into familiar judging methodology of “Basics + Criteria +/- Modifiers = Score,” she created a comfortable format for judges to begin their evaluations.

Gallo began with an example of how music can enhance or detract from the horse’s gaits. She played a short video clip of Steffen Peters riding Ravel in a trot half pass, and played several music clips with it. The video clip never changed, but different music made him look lighter and more elegant, while other clips made him look slightly hurried.

Using this as her segue into explaining methodology for evaluating the “Music” line on the score sheet, Gallo stressed that suitability of the music to the horse is the primary factor in evaluating the “Music” score. According to Gallo, the criterion for this mark is the suitability of the music for all three gaits. If the music is suitable, the score starts at a 7. If the music enhances all three gaits, then the score is higher. Modifiers that can push the “Music” score higher are cohesiveness, or is there a common thread in the walk, trot, canter music, and seamlessness of the editing. If music is suitable, music works together, and editing is good, it can earn an 8.0 or higher. In summary, the “Music” score is about the music selection and preparation, and is the score least affected by the technical performance.

After that, Gallo tackled the topic of “Interpretation.” The primary criterion for “Interpretation” is what Gallo called “six-point phrasing.” She defined “points of phrasing” as times when the horse’s movements changed with a musical phrase or dynamic change. A ride that shows six key “points of phrasing” should earn a 7.0 in the “Interpretation” category.

If the ride shows more than these six “points of phrasing,” the score can go higher than a 7.0. Gallo showed her personal shorthand system for counting points of phrasing, where she made tally marks for each point of music phrasing or dynamic change highlighted by the choreography.

The modifier that can push the “Interpretation” higher is if the music expresses the gait. To illustrate this, Gallo played several music clips, and asked the participants decide if it was walk music, trot music, or canter music. She stressed that the horse does not need to be “in step” with the music, but if the horse is in step, as this is a very hard thing to do in a show setting, it should be rewarded. In summary, if a ride expresses more than six points of phrasing, has music that suggests the gait, and the horse’s gaits match the footfalls most of the time, the score should be an 8.0 or higher.

The third element Gallo explained was “Degree of Difficulty.” Evaluating this criteria is pretty clear-cut—if the requirements of the freestyle match the highest test of the level in all three gaits, then the score is a 7.0. If the freestyle pattern is harder than the highest test of the level, and is performed well, then the score should go above a 7.0. However, if the choreography includes a difficult movement, but it is not performed well, then the “Degree of Difficulty” score will be reduced. This score, and the “Harmony” score, are the two scores where the strength of the horse’s basics will impact the number earned.

Next Gallo explained the requirements for the “Choreography” score. “Design Cohesiveness” is listed as the criterion for this category on the score sheet. According to Gallo, choreography that shows a clear and logical pattern that is easy to follow meets the criteria for a 7.0. If the pattern uses the entire arena well, shows equal use of right and left rein work, and has some elements used in interesting or uncommon ways, the score should be higher. This score is mostly independent of technical execution, except when the technical execution makes the choreography hard to see.

The final element Gallo covered in the lecture is “Harmony,” which relies largely on the technical execution of the freestyle. Gallo said she put this discussion last because it is comprehensive of the entire freestyle performance. To earn a high “Harmony” score, the horse needs to be calm and attentive, and the freestyle should look easy and fluid. If the horse shows some tension issues during the ride, the harmony score should be below a 7.0.

Gallo and Yukins also discussed that the FEI Freestyle sheet differs a little from the USDF Freestyle score sheet, placing “Rhythm, energy and elasticity” on the artistic side of the score sheet, whereas USDF places the equivalent score, worded as “Gaits, Impulsion and Submission,” on the technical side of the sheet.

Day two involved using live horses to allow the participants to practice their new methodology. After Gallo used a live horse to demonstrate how she selects suitable music, Yukins took the lead in discussing scores for each of the 10 demo rides.

The demo rides ranged from a training level teenager on a pinto pony to a Pas de Deux to a CDI rider’s Intermediate freestyle. Yukins began by giving a tactful evaluation of the first ride. Her comments helped each participant understand how she arrived at her numbers, and helped each demo rider understand the strengths and weaknesses of their performance. As the day progressed, she changed tactics and started asking the participant judges to do the evaluating before she revealed her score. Yukins’ gifted teaching skills created a comfortable environment for the candidates to begin to use their new skills, by teasing the high-scorers that “they’d get hired a lot” and accusing the low-scorers of “Sunday grumpies.” By the last few rides, participant’s scores were very similar to Yukins and Gallo’s marks.

After two days of education, participants came away with a clear methodology for evaluating freestyle rides.

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DVCTA would like to thank Lois Yukins and Terry Gallo for sharing their knowledge of judging freestyles with all who attended. Your style and your wit create such a positive learning environment for all involved. Many thanks to all our volunteers and to our demonstration riders without whom this weekend would not have been so productive:

Karen Anderson / Fhinland – Third Level
Lauren Annett / Savannahh – Intermediate
Tracey Basler / Bondurant – First Level
Anecia Delduco / Captain Morgan – Fourth Level
Melanie Delduco / Flacon – Fourth Level and Pas de Deux
Lauren Kramer / Mazur – First Level and Pas de Deux
Rebecca Langwost-Barlow / Chesapeake – Intermediate
Silva Martin / Aesthete – Intermediate
Jordan Osborne / Domino – Training Level
Jamie Reilley / Feinest Proof – Second Level