FEI Clinic "On the Horse" September 14 - 15, 1996 Susan Caskey Coach, Acorn Vaulters Region IV

I attended the FEI Judges Seminar "On the Horse" given by Jeff Moore and Adrienne Stang, both FEI judges. This seminar went over the proposed guidelines for the new FEI rules governing the horse. These rules will take effect for the FEI starting in 1997. The AVA/ASHA will also be incorporating a few new rules for 1997 to be consistent with the FEI. The main change to the AVA/ASHA rules will be the addition of the horse score to the current scoring system. There will be a score for the horse in both Kur and Compulsory rounds that will become part of the vaulter's average score for that round (i.e. for compulsories there will be 8 scores making up the average: 7 for the vaulter [the 6 compulsories and the mount] and 1 for the horse). This score will be added to the scoring system of both the AVA/ASHA and the FEI in hopes of improving the training and quality of the vaulting horses. This is a necessary step if vaulting is to become a more accepted horse discipline.

Some of the other rules that the FEI will be adding will not be included in the 1997 AVA/ASHA rules. The rules pertaining to the required size of the circle the horse is on, the horse usage, and the attachment of equipment will not change.

The horse score will be made up of several parts. The exact makeup of this score has not been determined by either the FEI or the AVA/ASHA, but here is a rough outline of what this score will likely be made up of based on the seminar:

• Purity of Gait
  3 or 4 beat
  lateral movement
  united or disunited canter
  
• Quality of Gait
  scope
  range
  spread
  elasticity
  
• Rhythm
• Tempo
• Impulsion
• Carriage & Position
• Straightness, Bend, Alignment

All of these items have many meanings and different methods to categorize them. Please see the attached glossary of terms for the United States Dressage Federation (USDF).

Since it will be impossible for a judge to give an accurate score for the horse and judge the vaulting at the same time with this huge list of criteria, the criteria needed to be categorized into a few general headings. The headings needed cover all the criteria, while being simple to understand and score. This was an almost impossible task, but after many discussions, the following categories were created: Gaits, Harmony, Submission, and Lunging Stuff. Using these four headings, the judges should be able to give a fair and consistent score to the horse.

Gaits Purity of Gait Rhythm Soundness

Harmony Carriage & Position Lightness in hand

Submission Tempo Impulsion Carriage & Position Balance Bend, Alignment, Straightness Vertical over Legs Contact Acception of aids Lightness in Hand

Lunging Stuff Impulsion Out on Circle Use of Aides

There is a great deal of overlap, but it was nearly impossible to break all the important factors of the horse's movement and temprament into definite groups.

At this clinic, we also looked at several horses and discussed what was good and bad about the movement of each horse based on the horse's physical abilities. The fact is that almost no vaulting horse is a high level dressage horse or has the ability to become one. This is not a bad thing, just something that needs to be looked at in the scoring of these animals. Therefore, the judge should base the score on how well the horse is doing for its individual ability. This is not going to be easy for the judge or the lunger/trainer.

Because of this, the score breakdown may not be based on a percentage, but more of a yes-he-did-it or no-he-didn't ranking. E.g., Did the horse canter correctly? Yes. Did the horse behave? Yes ... The more Yes's in each category, the higher the score will be. This was not decided on 100%, but seemed to be liked by most of the people and should make the judging far simpler.

Over the next year, this score will hopefully mature into something more tangible, but until this score has been put into use and tested, it will be hard to define the exact points the horse will be judged on.

There was also discussion about how the FEI makes rules and some of the future plans they have regarding vaulting. I won't go into the making of rules, because it would frustrate all of you, but I have included the Futuristic Thinking handout I received from Adrienne Stang. I also have included the USDF Glossary of Terms which will make the above terms mean something.

That pretty much covers it. Please let me know if you have any questions.