“Training or torture” is the question posed by the editor of the August issue of St. Georg magazine in regard to today’s competitive dressage. The German equestrian publication hit the horse world two weeks before the start of the European Dressage Championships, and it caused quite a commotion.

Their article, entitled “Perverted Dressage,” attacks the increasingly common method of riding horses way behind the vertical for long periods of time. In pictures and words, it denounces the so-called “roll-kur” and points a finger at brutal rein aids, contraptions that tie horses together in a fashion that allows the trainer to pull on their legs like a marionette to create a spectacular piaffe and passage, draw reins attached to the double bridle, and even deprivation of water before the competition to keep the lid on hot horses.

“No smoke without a fire” is probably an appropriate saying here, and I’m fairly convinced that the editor of St. Georg, Gabrielle Pochhammer, would not have written on this subject if it had no basis in reality. But one problem is that, although there are German riders named in the article who are believers in the roll-kur method, the pictures that accompany the text are all of Dutch team riders. Because it was published right before the European Championships, the Dutch saw this as a German maneuver to weaken their chances for a gold medal.

Anky van Grunsven and her trainer/husband Sjef Janssen feel they’ve been personally attacked, and they’ve initiated a lawsuit against St. Georg that has resulted in a ban being placed on all sales of the August issue.

International judges also received a lashing in the St. Georg article. They’re described as a bunch of cowards and ignoramuses who are incapable of telling the difference between a horse that is correctly and humanely trained and one that has been forced to perform with dubious methods. And those judges who might be able to see the light tend to close one eye to please the organizers.

How are we supposed to react? Ignoring the subject is not an option for anybody involved in the sport. Shrugging it off because we’re not personally “guilty” of any sort of deliberate cruelty to our horses isn’t going to make the problem go away. These kinds of allegations tend to put a dark cloud over the entire dressage community. And they’re guaranteed to alert the animal?rights activists.

Taking a step back to view dressage objectively is not so easy when you’re submerged in the game up to your eyeballs. Still, with some effort, I think I can see all three sides of this argument, because I wear all the hats at different times.

To be successful as an international competitor, you have to be determined, brave and incredibly focused on those few minutes in the arena that are the culmination of all your work. If you can develop a method that works for you and your horses and gets consistently rewarded by the judges, why should you give it up?

In every sport, the pressure to win is tremendous at the top level. Since our sport involves a silent partner, the horse, the situation is more complicated.

And the kind of animal that takes the honors in today’s fierce competition is a very sophisticated and high-powered equine, both physically and mentally. In dealing with some of these equine Ferraris, it’s been my experience as a trainer, competitor and judge that anything forced or unfair in the training doesn’t come out well in the show ring.

It’s difficult for me to accept that training that’s one long torture session for the horse could be beautiful to watch in the arena. Nevertheless, I know there are some unavoidable conflicts on the road from green broke to Grand Prix that need to be worked out. Anyone who thinks that a competitive Grand Prix horse offers every new movement without occasion-ally questioning the rider has never trained one.

The journey from green to Grand Prix is a long, sometimes rocky, but mostly inspiring enterprise. It should be a trip horse and rider take together, and they each ought to arrive at their destination proud of their achievements and eager to strut their stuff.

Being an international judge is a great responsibility and, especially at major events, the pressure can be quite strong to “get it right,” according to the riders, the organizers, the audience and your colleagues. And you cannot please all of them all the time. The decision about each score has to be immediate, correct and fair, and there are thousands to be made in a weekend.

The judge’s vision is limited to what occurs in the arena in front of him, and it’s impossible to assess what goes on in the warm-up ring. Naturally, most judges can tell if a horse is tense, unhappy and appears uncomfortable, and there are ways to express your displeasure throughout the score sheet. Remember, however, tha tthere is sometimes a fine line between “tension” and “brilliance,” and that a breathtaking performance almost has to include a certain measure of electricity and tension to become exciting.

On this issue, judges tend to disagree more than on other technical aspects, and often it’s the amount of tension versus briliance that makes the judges mark differently. Competitors, audiences or organizers rarely appreciate diversity in scores, and even the press will sometimes attack a judge who stands out.

Everyone assumes that this judge is incorrect, while it’s quite possible that this judge was the only one who had a truly sharp eye and the confidence to honestly express what he or she saw.

When it comes to supervising the schooling, in this country we do have capable and proactive technical delegates and stewards. For the FEI scene in Europe, our American coach, Klaus Balkenhol, has suggested for a while now that one judge should be posted in the warm-up and that a score from that judge should be factored into the final results. So far this suggestion has fallen on deaf ears, but who knows?

The observer/journalist is the watchdog of the sport, although neither competitors, nor judges, cherish criticism. If, at its pinnacle, dressage appears to be harmful to our horses, we need to clean up our act. Unfortunately, “perception is truth” to a great extent, and if our equine athletes appear unhappy, it does us no good to simply proclaim how much we love and appreciate them.

Instead of indignation and lawsuits, riders and judges have to invite both the press and the public to discussion and participation. And although anyone can view the schooling at most large events, perhaps the idea of a judge in the warm-up area can at least be tossed about at the next global forum.

We need to show the world that we are not involved in dressage to make our equine partners miserable, but to build strong and proud athletes who may not always be ecstatic but are reasonably pleased with their lot in life as healthy and performing stars.