The horse does not "suck." She is very good, very talented, and both well-trained and well-ridden. She scored over 70%. That is extraordinary, and a few years ago that score would have represented an untouchable triumph. The goalposts have moved, however, and there are a few horses in the entire world who are infinitesimally better than she is. As I said, the quality of her single-tempi changes is not a political issue, so we can leave her part-owner's husband and his personal history out of it.
Why the hell are people even quibbling over this?
The woman has the right to invest the time, effort and money into a dressage horse if she wants.
It’s nobody else’s business.
It’s also an insanely competitive sport and there are some great horse/rider combos out there and somebody’s inevitably going to lose, regardless of ‘who they are’ or aren’t.
This has to be one of the most asinine ‘arguments’ I’ve ever seen on FR.
More time goes into training a dressage horse than just about any other type.
The Spanish Riding Academy doesn’t even blink at a decade-long training period.
This is *not* a 4H Western Pleasure class.
Sheesh, people.
This is just my opinion but I would have liked to see more animation and higher lift.
She is an honest horse who is not stressed, with ears forward and tail steady.
She’s not as ‘flashy’ as other horses.
But she is honest and technically sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucIpMo28Nqg
Then there’s this guy who lets it all hang out:
http://horsemanpro.com/articles2/classical-dressage.htm
And for giggles, look for “Mule Dressage”.