“This horse considers the 2’9″ oxer to be pretty small for him, so he demonstrates he wants to jump higher! He is very good with his legs but restricted with his face…”

“Overall we agree that you do an excellent job and are impressed with your presentation in the show pen. You present a good picture, fit your horse well, and seem to be a good match in terms of experience. We are particularly impressed with your patience, taking time during back up and standing in between spins…”

“This is a beautiful example of a very athletic horse who jumps in very good style. Skippy uses his legs well and has a beautiful expression. He shows plenty of scope to make this 3’6″ oxer look small and easy…”

“This is an interesting photo because I think Malachi has more scope than he is demonstrating here. He has pushed off perfectly behind from a good distance to this solid roll top obstacle…”

“Piper has left the ground pushing off perfectly with both hind feet. He is very slightly uneven with his knees. He has such a relaxed and pleasant expression, I doubt very much any judge will notice the unevenness…”

“What a fabulous picture! This looks like an English hunting print to hang on your wall. I just keep looking at you two and smiling! Kali’s knees are up by her jaw and her nose is down to her fetlocks. She is slightly “reachy” with the lower legs, so it is possible you were a bit slow off the ground. Hard to tell, but you may have been a bit long. It is clear that Kali respected the solid stone wall. I love her relaxed expression…”

“This horse is a terrific jumper with his legs up beautifully. He appears to have plenty of scope to jump across this oxer effortlessly. In fact, I have the feeling it is almost too easy for him as he has a “ho hum” expression and does not really lower his neck much…”

“First thing I notice is the extremely long distance to this small oxer. Ali has reached the top of her arc but her toes have not yet cleared the front rail. Amanda needs to ride to a closer distance. Ali’s legs are up well and she tries hard. She is a bit flat with her neck and back, partly due to the very long distance and partly due to Amanda’s short left hand release. You can see the bit pulled well back in Ali’s mouth. Ali has a very focused expression…”

This horse would like to be a good mover and I think with a few simple fixes would improve dramatically. Juno lacks engagement from behind. You can see that her right hind foot only reaches even with 1/2 way up the belly. When engaged, that foot will just about reach a point even with the girth. Even so, she still reaches forward pretty well with her shoulder. This tells me when engaged she will have a good trot!

That was a somewhat unusual course, in that it had almost no oxers! That’s not your fault, you can only do what you are asked….and you and your horse DID IT GREAT! I loved your even pace throughout that kind of long course…

First I have to tell you that I am a huge Thoroughbred fan. There is nothing with more heart! I am sure he is super fast across the ground and will be very tough to beat in jump offs. He appears to be well muscled and conditioned…

Laura Maynard and Panache—February 17, 2012 From: Judge Carol Dean-Porter Laura, your horse is a bit frisky but I never mind a bit of playfulness. They are not machines! He has a wonderful natural rhythm and jumps in nice form.…