AS it’s very nearly December, we can go with a Christmas analogy and state that there was no room at the inn last Saturday morning, when a packed lecture theatre greeted Germany’s Christoph Hess, presenter of this year’s Dressage Ireland Judges’ Gala at Kildalton Agricultural College.

Between the organisers and dressage enthusiasts, a record 150 people signed up in advance for the Gala, including Irish Olympian Anna Merveldt and British Dressage List 1 judge Richard Baldwin, who is now a regular visitor to these shores. The Board of Dressage Ireland was represented by Jane Whitaker.

The success of the day was due in no small way to the hard work of Bernie Webb, among whose many tasks was to organise the social media postings, the gala’s artwork and Hess’s power-point presentation, Lynne Cassidy and Donie McNamara. The facilitator between the organisers and the College was Andrew O’Dwyer, who had an excellent team looking after the day stabling for the animals used.

These mirrored those who appear before DI judges at every regional show throughout the country, as they featured a pony, a cob, an Irish Sport Horse and a number Warmbloods, with their riders performing tests from Preliminary through to FEI Grand Prix. Joan Adrain, who has returned to the DI Board this year, defied the weather to drive down from the Northern Region with her Johnson gelding Moviestar (aka Ferreo).

Jenny Heffernan and Kai de Keizer took part in the Dressage Ireland Judges' Gala at Kildalton Agricultural College

There were no negative aspects to the Gala’s theme of ‘Ethical Judging’ – as might have been expected given what has been posted on social media in recent months – rather the words ‘engaging’ and ‘positive’ were used to describe Hess’s approach to the subject.

The session in the lecture theatre was more or less devoted to coaching, while judging was the main subject in the indoor school, where four riders performed before lunch and five afterwards. During the lunch break, Vida Tansey, who is due to step down as chairman of the judges’ committee, presented certificates to those who had upgraded during the year.

Passion

Hess told those assembled that judges should be objective and fair and be able to sit and concentrate for a long time. He also said they should love the sport, get to know the horses and riders and to judge with passion.

From a coaching perspective, there should be a training scale in place for horse and rider, both should display suppleness and balance and the rider should sit independently of the reins. From the ground, one should be able to see the correct driving aids being implemented. Riders’ legs should always be in the correct position and their pelvis should swing with the movement of their mount. He paid particular attention to the inside rein, although saying it was ‘only a decoration’.

Directing his speech at the judges, he said they needed to pay attention to the body and the mind of the horse and note the eyes, mouth, ears, etc as the ideal is a happy athlete without tension and fear. Judges should watch the body language of the horse, noting its freedom from tension, its breathing and swinging tail.

With regard to young horse classes, Hess said riders should have a lighter seat for these, again sit independently of the reins, use their legs correctly and not use spurs.

A harder read for judges would be Hess’s comment that they need to understand the mental and physical state of the rider.