I had the pleasure of going to Dressage at Devon to watch the breed classes on Thursday. There were several foals I am looking at who were showing so it was a good oppurtunity to take a look at them and it was fun to see all the other horses.

The pure bred class had a wonderful class. ST Shamrock was the winner and a great representation of the breed and all entries had great scores with the lowest being a 68%. It was a windy day with lots of flags and other crazy things going on and all the entries took it calmly and in stride.

The part bred class on other hand was a bit confusing and disturbing. There were several nice crosses, but the winner of the class had a terribley developed under neck and no muscle on the top line of his neck. He was completely upside down that it almost look like it would have hurt for him to carry his head the way he did. Fugly HOTD would have had a hay day with this one. I wish I would have had my camera but I was video taping my other interests. The others that were there when the winners were announced were equally confused.

So my question for those showing in hand, can movement really weigh that much in the score to completely throw out any confirmation issues. He couldn't have scored very high on his head and neck. I unfortunately didn't get to see him move, but I can't imagine getting 10's would make up for the confirmation issues. I was able to find a photo of the winner as a foal and the upside down neck is still very much apparent so it can't be a growth phase.

So what's more important when evaluating a breeding/performance prospect, movement or confirmation?

In DSHB conformation is 40%
Walk is 25%
Trot is 25%
General Impressions 10%

A neck is probably one of the easiest parts of a horse to develop as long as it is set on properly.

What score did this horse receive? What scores did the others receive?

I just looked up the results.

This baby scored 77.3 with Bill Solyntjes judging. And it is a yearling. I would guess if Bill liked this colt, he is a fantastic mover.

I didn't know the judge and unfortunately they don't make the cards public so we only end up knowing the final score. I was able to find other pictures of this colt from the day at Devon and he did appear to have a nice trot, but his neck to me just ruins his overall quality. It would be great if they were a bit more transparent with the scoring. I like how the new halter cards get posted, they should do the same thing with the SHIH classes.

Did you happen to see a yearling palomino Half-Arabian filly named MS Spanish Legacy? Just curious as she was born here. She is by the Lusitano stallion Saphiro and out of a Legacy of Gold daughter.

Could you post a pointer to the pictures? I am curious.

I saw this guy at his inspection.....he was named a stallion prospect for Weser-Ems. (Ironically, his sire is KNOWN for throwing fabulous necks)

Very fancy mover with good mechanics....overall very attractive colt. My gut feeling, without having been able to get up to DAD this year and seeing him as a yearling, is that he is just, well, a yearling. And of course, most of them should be put in the witness protection program and not seen for a while!!

There are no "cards" in USDF classes, there are score sheets with individual scores on the walk, trot, conformation and general impression. Including commentary. You can't really get more transparent than that.

You also have to take into account it was a yearling. Age, growth spurts, et all... you get what you get, but if you judge the overall picture and not one part of it... you get a better idea.

LOLOL!!! That is the God's honest truth!!