Laura Tomlinson: ‘Double bridles should be a choice across all grands prix or at none’

Laura Tomlinson shares her thoughts on proposed rule changes in FEI dressage and looks ahead to an exciting summer of sport

First, I want to congratulate Becky Moody on her fantastic performances in Aachen. I was so impressed with Jagerbomb’s progress since last season. His athleticism and ability to be so off the floor in the trot and canter work, while remaining in a beautiful frame, were truly worthy of their high scores.

Though the tension at the start of the test may have cost them at times, it was clear that Jagerbomb was not carrying negative tension. He was just excited to be getting on with the job – a noteworthy difference.

It makes for exciting stuff, with the European Dressage Championships ahead. Our three highest-scoring pairs could well make for a gold medal-winning team if all deliver on the day – and maybe even collect more than one individual medal.

Carl Hester has enjoyed a consistent season with Fame; Lottie Fry and Glamourdale have had some breathtaking performances and can deliver when it counts; and Becky, with Jagerbomb, is gathering momentum and confidence with each step.

There are other strong teams. Germany, despite missing Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, has high-scorers. The Belgians can’t be discounted with their new champions of Aachen – Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus – and Denmark could also be dangerous, assuming Mount St John Freestyle is back on her A game with Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour.

It’s all to play for, but our team could absolutely do it.

Double bridle debate

Meanwhile, the FEI is back on the case, trying to bring in more rule changes as it grapples with social licence. The double bridle debate returns.

One proposed change is to allow the use of snaffle bridles up to CDI3* (news, 17 July). It’s a double-edged sword, as many people will argue that it puts pressure on riders to compete in a snaffle because it’s deemed kinder. Lots of our practice shows – particularly domestic ones – are at CDI3*, and my concern as a competitor is that we end up needing to use a snaffle at that level to please the critics.

That means when stepping up to CDI4* and CDI5*, where the double bridle would still be mandatory, the horses are not as prepared. I feel it should either be a choice across all grand prix levels or at none.

Paperless judging

The FEI also seems keen to trial paperless judging, where the whole test sheet is open to be viewed by anyone online. Currently, each mark is visible, but not the comments. This would be to aid transparency, and although a rider could request that their sheet stay private under the proposed change, that would seem suspect.

Surely it would influence what and how much judges say, as they know that every word will be scrutinised? It may put them off giving constructive feedback, given that they have only seconds to comment; it’s high pressure knowing each word will be dissected publicly rather than just by the rider.

The upside is that it would become harder to reward well-known riders with high marks when there are obvious issues in the neck or mouth. It may help focus attention on fairer marking, rather than being more forgiving of some riders than others for the same faults.

Marks can vary for several reasons, as they reflect both individual elements and the overall picture – but if a horse visibly opens its mouth, a comment is expected. Critics may then ask: if the comment is there, why does the score still remain high in some cases and not in others?

This leads into another proposed rule change: adding movements to assess suppleness and correct training. But who the “group of specialists” that decides on this should be, and how they will choose which movements to include and how to score them, remains to be seen.

A well-qualified judge should already be able to recognise these things from how the horse goes through the grand prix.

For example, does the horse relax in walk, and halt and rein-back in a straight line in diagonal pairs? Is the horse comfortable and relaxed in the frame, showing correct paces, a swinging back and the other elements in the judges’ manual?

Are we overcomplicating things, or would some movements that highlight “correctness” help to bring training and judging back on track? Time will tell.

● Do you think new rule changes will improve judging? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

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