Tension in Young Horse Classes: Still Rewarded?

What we should be rewarding, from young horse competitions to Grand Prix: Carl Hester and Uthopia at the Rotterdam European Championships in 2011, when "when the Brits unveiled the power of harmony." HorseMagazine photo.

Christopher Hector, publisher of the online HorseMagazine.com, has some strong opinions about how young horses are shown, as exemplified in the Young Horse classes and the World Young Horse Championships. His 2017 article, Young Horses, What Do the Judges Look For?, presents his own opinions about how tension has been rewarded in dressage showing, and the evils of that trend, especially among young horses. He then interviews Susie Hoevenaars and Francis Verbeek, "two judges at the cutting edge of international young horse competition," about their priorities.

One of the wonderful things about articles like this on HorseMagazine.com is that, with a team of photographers at many international events, the illustrations are many and excellent. 

To read the full article and enjoy the many photos, click here.

If you watched the 2018 Young Horse Championships, did you see the tension Chris Hector describes and illustrates, or do you feel the extravagant movement shown by many of the young horses represents the horse's natural way of going, the result of better breeding? You are invited to comment below.