F E AT U R E
Getting judgy
Then I thought well, I want to learn more, so I got into a bit of judging.” Susie comments on how, in comparison to what’s available these days, information was so much harder to come by when she started out. “Everybody is so lucky now, back then we had no videos. We
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside the mind of a dressage judge, SUSIE HOEVENAARS is just the person to shed some light on the subject.
had books about training, but there was nothing like you have now. With the touch of a button you can see the best in the world competing live.” With such a wealth of training opportunities available, does that mean Susie believes there’s no reason for anyone to be riding poorly? “Yes and no,” she replies. “It’s a long path, and I know a lot of people want to wear tails and ride Prix St George, then onto Grand Prix. And it used to be if you can do a flying change and a sort of pirouette, and a bit of piaffe and passage, then you could do Grand Prix, but that's not how it is anymore. I think that with the training scale and the basics, there’s no excuse really for people not to know how to ride and train a horse correctly. So in that respect, yes.” And on that line of thought, Susie goes on to make the very valid point that there’s little advantage in having a few tricks like the flying change up your sleeve, when if your horse is not really soft and supple over the back, they’ll have a tendency to be stiff in the hocks and tight through the neck and back. Not good for you, your horse, or your dressage scores!
L
ike many horse-mad children, 5* FEI dressage judge Susie Hoevenaars just wanted to ride.
Most riders probably don't give judging dressage under the guidance of Sheila
a heck of a lot of thought, other than
Young, a mad but wonderful Irish BHS
whatever they’re thinking in relation to
instructor. “She was strict. I rode without
the results they just received. But can
“I begged my father to buy me a pony,
stirrups for so much time I can't tell you,
the business of judging really be that
I dreamed of a pony and, by the age of
but she was really good with the basics,”
complex? You bet your bottom dollar
six, I was riding in shows because there
Susie recalls. Under Sheila’s watchful
it can. Susie shines a light on what it
wasn't very much dressage back then.”
eye, she went on to acquire Hagen, her
takes to not only be a good judge, but
Based in Tasmania, her father had
first ‘real’ dressage horse.
a consistently fair judge across the board. "Firstly, I think you should have
racehorses and Susie started riding
Knowledge is power
one that wasn’t fast enough for the
Dressage had really tickled Susie’s
understand the movements. I don't think
track. “So I know all about training
fancy. A thirst for more knowledge drove
you necessarily have to have been a
Thoroughbreds,” she laughs. It was with
her to branch out: “I kept riding and
fantastic Grand Prix rider, but you have
this off the track horse that she got into
started putting on competitions at home.
to have ridden,” she says.
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ridden at that level, because then you
