This message is from: "Olivia Farm, Inc." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hello from Olivia Farm, On a virtual evaluation note - the idea of having an instructional video (like live clinics) is great. I think we should have one even if we don't implement virtual evaluations - for people that can't attend the clinics or need more time to study and prepare than one day. The American Warmblood Society has such a video for inspection participants, but having seen it - I would hope we could do an even better job. I also think we should not give up live evaluations entirely, but use both methods to get more participants. The other thing we shouldn't abandon is the triangle - it shows correctness of travel (coming and going) better than free longing - but the free longing is most useful for athleticism, quality, freedom of movement, etc. As for foal inspections, the idea is sound. Once again, I have concerns. I have mare that was evaluated as a yearling and scored a yellow ribbon - technically not breeding quality. She went on to score a very solid blue as a 4 year old. I have another mare, that with better feed, more muscling, more time under saddle gained almost 10 points (I didn't own either of these mares at the time of their evaluations). I know that the evaluator or judge can only evaluate what they see that day - but that isn't' helpful when what you see is a really unbalanced and silly looking yearling. Do we have to change the system to allow for growth? Have different standards for young-stock? Evaluate our babies before they hit the "ugly" stage? I'm open to suggestions. Shall I open up a new discussion topic? What about judging temperament, like they do in Norway? Isn't that just as important? Again, more food for thought! Enjoying the discussion! Solveig Watanabe Olivia Farm www.oliviafarm.com
