June 5, 2007:
After hosting a successful Upgrade your Judging Eye I program in January, Foothills Chapter received another grant from the Dressage Foundation to host Upgrade your Judging Eye II in May. The Continuing Education Program for Judges and USDF "L" Graduates was developed by the USDF Judges Committee to provide continuing education opportunities, on a regional level, for licensed judges and USDF "L" Graduates. Although Foothills Chapter hosted the program, we welcomed CDS members from Temecula Valley, East Bay, Marin, and Shasta Chapters. Despite being in the middle of show season, and while several clinicians were teaching locally, we were excited to have over 5 L Program participants and an additional 20 eager auditors who included trainers and upper level competitors.
Trenna Atkins taught the program and began in a classroom setting. She tailored the lecture to questions and suggestions from our January Program, and prepared a PowerPoint and DVD presentation. After reviewing the System of Judging, New Rules, and the Purpose of Dressage - Training Scale; she compared different horse and rider combinations and discussed the gaits and impulsion, and specifically the suppleness of the back, engagement, and elasticity. She then lectured on seeing the criteria of engagement by showing medium and extended paces, and various examples of collection and bending.
After the lunch break, the group gathered at Blue Ribbon stables, where the live demo riders rode specific training through upper level movements. Trenna began by commenting on the movement, and then asking the riders to perform exercises to improve the horse’s suppleness, engagement, and balance. The exercises provided tools to improve their test scores, while letting the participants see the same movement but with improvement to the collective basics.
Foothills Chapter would like to thank the Demonstration riders, the Dressage Foundation, and USDF for making this educational opportunity possible. Foothills Chapter owes an additional thank you to Colleen Reid for having the demo-rider portion at Blue Ribbon Stables. Colleen returned to the facility after two days at a horse show in time to drag and water the arena, and direct the demo-riders who trailered in. We hope that other CDS chapters will follow our lead and host future continuing education programs.
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