Silent Dressage Rules and Information

DRESSAGE RULES

Ariel Erlanger 12 July 2012

Field Specification

The field is constructed of lines, dots, and poles. Lines in general should be not more than 300mm wide, and dots should be no more than 300mm square. Lines may be dashed or solid provided that the outline of the circle or line is still clearly indicated. Dots should all be identically sized. The border of the field also consititues a line and should be the same width as the field lines; corners may be gently rounded at a diameter of no more than one meter. Field lines and dots should be clearly visible against the ground even in low lighting conditions; dots must also be given a color or texture which clearly distinguishes them from the field lines. All lines should be the same color or texture as all other lines, and all dots should match each other as well. The border may be given a different color, provided it is still clearly contrasted against the ground. Lines and dots should ideally have no physical presence, so ponies or people do not "bump" or "climb" them from the ground.

The dressage field is 20m wide by 30m deep and is demarked by a boundary of not more than 300mm in width, which shall be measured inwards from the given dimensions. All further reference to the field will be from the perspective of a person facing the field from the entry side, otherwise known as the "A" side. At least 1m of margin should be be given on each side of the field. Additional space will be necessary on the "A" side for entry and exit of the trainer and pony. The purpose of the margin is so that the trainer or pony may leave the boundaries of the field unimpeded, and are not helped to stay in bounds by any obstruction. The ground of the field should not give clear visual cues as to the orientation of the pony -- for example, boards aligned with the long side of the field may give the pony a directional cue when beginning a backwards line.

Placards clearly showing the respective letters of the dots shall be placed around the edge of the border within the margin with positions noted below in the skill section, and should be designed such that they not impede a person or pony faulting out of bounds. The placards should be easily visible even in low light, and should be designed such that the lettering can be seen on the field and by spectators out of bounds.

Each skill element has the following dimensions and placement:

• The "lines" (classically known as "passages") shall be 10m in length, measured from the furthest extent of each dot. Lines are aligned parellel to the long side of the field; lines should be placed between 2 and 3m from the edge of the long side border, and not closer than 2m from the closest edge of the circle. Lines should be the same distance from the center of the field. Dots for the lines are labelled "C" on the close left side, "D" on the far left side, "G" on the far right side, and "H" on the close right side. Placards should be aligned with their dots. The C-D and G-H lines should be placed such that there is roughly equal space between the edges of the serpentine and the E-F slalom line.

• The "circle" (or "volte") shall be placed in the center of the field, having an exterior diameter equal to the length of the lines, 10m. Dots for the circle are at the far and near center, dividing the circle into two distinct halves, and these dots should be aligned with the C-H and D-G dots for the passages -- the placards and all three dots should all be placed along the a line drawn from C to H or D to G.

• The "slalom" shall be placed on the far end of the field in a line parallel to the short side, and consists of six poles between 80 and 100mm in diameter and at between 2.5 and 3.5m in height. The poles must be physical, that is, the pony should be able to run into them, not through them. Poles shall be placed 3m apart in a straight line, measured from the center of one pole to the center of the next, so the centers of the leftmost and rightmost poles will be 15m from end to end. The line of poles should be at least 2.5m from the border, and 2.5m from the D-G line. Dots are placed on line, centered 1.5m away from the leftmost and rightmost poles towards the nearest boundary; the left dot is "E" and the right "F". Placards are placed out of bounds on the same line. Poles should be clearly visible but need not be the same texture or color as the lines, dots, or border.

• The "figure eight" ("serpentine") shall be placed on the near end of the field and consists of two circles next to each other spanning the short side of the field (so it looks like an infinity symbol from the perspective of a person facing the field from the "A" side). The circles should have an exterior diameter of 9m and should overlap each other in the center by the width of the lines. The dot for the eight is placed at the intersection of these two circles; placards are placed on a line parellel to the short side going through the dot: the left placard is "B" and the right "J". The edges of the serpentine should be about 1m clear of the border; space towards the "A" side of the field should be roughly equal to the space on the long sides of the field.

• The final "A" sign should be placed out of bounds in the exact center of the short side of the field nearest the serpentine.

Competition Routine Rules

A full dressage routine consists of entry onto the field, followed by five skills performed consecutively, followed by exit from the field. Entry, skills, and exit are all governed by certain protocols, detailed below; any point not specifically covered by protocol is generally subject to the individual style of the trainer. Each trainer brings their own set of conventions to the sport of dressage, and as long as they are consistent and do not break any protocol, all are equally valid. In competitive dressage, judges (usually three in number) are seated near the field, usually near the "C" placard, to observe, score, and control the progression of the event.

Signalling

There are two general types of routine: silent, where the trainer gives no spoken communication to the pony (i.e. they do not direct the pony via chat, IM, or through voice), and standard, where they may give spoken communication. "Silent" dressage is, however, not absolutely silent: the trainer my give cues to the pony via a whip or crop crack. In the descriptions below we assume silent dressage where a whip crack is being used, but other types of signals are possible (e.g. a hand clap, a foot stomp, turning their avatar in a certain direction). In standard dressage verbal instructions may be substituted for whip cracks.

Routines

There are five skill groupings on the dressage field: the circle, the forward line, the backwards line, the slalom, and the figure eight. Every dressage routine consists of all five of these basic skills, done in a random order; each skill grouping may start from several different locations. Skills are thus known by a letter and group combination:

Forward Lines: Line C, Line H Backward Lines: Line D, Line G Circles: Circle C, Circle D, Circle G, Circle H Slaloms: Slalom E, Slalom F Figure Eights: Figure Eight B, Figure Eight J

A skill list is randomly determined before the routine begins, consisting of at least one element of each group, the element chosen at random, done in a random order. For example, the following is a valid routine:

Circle C / Slalom F / Line G / Line H / Figure Eight J

The following routine is invalid due to the repitition of the forward line (B and H), and the omission of the slalom:

Circle C / Line B / Line G / Line H / Figure Eight J

Routines should be generated randomly from the pool of all possible routines and should be given to the trainer (but not the pony) immediately before their routine begins.

Entry Protocol

The pony and trainer begin on the near side of the field, just out of bounds, standing on either side of the "A" placard: pony on the left, and trainer on the right. Trainer and pony should be equadistant from the sign and should be the same distance from the border. Once trainer is given their routine (detailed below) and the judges have signalled that the pair is cleared to begin, the trainer cracks once to start the routine. After the crack, the pony and trainer step straight onto the field, generally a few steps (not further than the B-J line, and not closer than 1m from the border). Ideally the pony and trainer should walk the same distance at the same rate. At this point the pony bows towards the pole side of the field; this may be cued by another whip crack or by prior agreement of a timed delay between trainer and pony. The trainer remains erect during the pony's bow. After the bow is finished the trainer proceeds to the first skill, while the pony remains in place. Once the trainer has arrived at the first skill, they must indicate by whip crack or other cue that the pony is released to follow them, regardless of the style the trainer uses for timing the following skills.

Skill Protocol

In standard dressage the trainer may remain in a single centralized location and give verbal commands to the pony, but in silent dressage communication to the pony is done via the positioning of the trainer. This means that the trainer shall walk to a location near the dot where the pony's next skill begins. The pony follows either upon being cued by the trainer (as is always the case for the first skill), or by walking automatically from one skill to the next, perhaps after a delay, depending on trainer preference. Each skill begins and ends on a dot. The pony should arrive directly on the dot, ideally centered upon it, and shall in all cases face towards the poles. For the slalom dots this means facing the line of poles from the side, and for all other skills it means the pony faces towards the pole side. The trainer may face anywhere convenient and may use their facing as a cue of when to begin and end the skill, or which direction the skill proceeds; the trainer may also use their positioning to indicate this, by standing for example slightly to one side of a dot, or by moving slightly to cue the movement of the pony.

Upon arrival at the dot the pony must show a full stop and may begin the skill either upon receiving a cue, or automatically, by trainer preference. The pony completes the specific skill in the manner described below, and should come to a complete stop directly on the ending dot. The trainer may wait to proceed to the next skill until the pony has come to a stop, or may leave while the pony is still finishing the skill. After showing a stop, the pony then follows their trainer to the next indicated skill. This can be done immediately, even while the trainer is still in motion, when the trainer has arrived at their destination, or may be done via the trainer's cue.

Transitions between the various skills can be in one of three ways: linear, curved, or by traversal. Each method is equally valid but must be done consistently on each transition, and on transitions between the entry and exit points:

• Linear transitions are done in a straight line, taking the shortest path between the finishing dot of the last skill and the beginning dot of the next; having arrived on the dot the pony then turns in place to face the pole side of the field (or the poles themselves if on the E or F dots).

• Curve (or curve-in) transitions are done in a tight, graceful curve, the idea being that the pony approaches the dot in such a way that, when they stop, they are facing the direction they need to be on the dot, so no in-place turning is required as for linear transitions. The curve should not be a looping, long walk, but rather a tight and orderly curve, just wide enough to allow the pony to turn gracefully in the required direction while still moving forward. It is important to note that, regardless of trainer style, the pony must show a full stop on the terminating dot, and not just walk directly through it to begin the skill.

• Traversal transitions are done on the border of the field. The pony walks directly from the ending dot to stand on (but not outside) the border, and walks the border towards the next dot, leaving the border to walk in a straight line to the final dot. Entering and leaving should be done on lines perpendicular to the border thus entered or left; in other words the pony should be walking the minimum distance on the field to reach each dot from the border. The pony should choose the clockwise or counterclockwise direction based on which is the shortest distance. For example, after finishing a line G and en route to the slalom E dot, the pony should approach the rightmost line and proceed counterclockwise, leaving the line on the short side of the field when lined up vertically with the E dot.

Forward Lines: B and H

This skill simply requires the pony start on the B or H dot, and move down the line to stop on the the C or G dot. The pony should stay directly on the line and should start and stop directly on each dot.

Backward Lines: C and G

This skill requires the pony to walk backwards from C or G, to B or H. The pony's AO should accomodate a visual appearance of walking backwards (rather than turning into the backwards motion), and should be done blind, ideally in mouselook -- the pony should not be able to see the finishing dot. As with the forward line skill, the pony should stay on the line and come to a complete stop directly on the finishing dot.

Slalom: E and F

Slaloms are done by alternatively going left and right around each pole, making a full turn at the far side, alternating left and right back, and stopping on the original dot. Slaloms are judged by consistency and fluidity of motion, not by speed. The pony may start to either side of the first pole, depending on trainer preference and style, and this direction may be cued by trainer position or some other method.

Circle: B, C, G, and H

The pony starts by standing on the starting dot, and, when cued, walks three full circles, coming to a halt on the starting dot at the end of the third revolution. In every case the pony begins by facing the poles, and turns towards the direction of motion (for instance, towards the "B" placard for "circle B", that is, clockwise around the circle). The direction may be cued either by the position of the trainer or a motion they make, although signals that discriminate between left and right are not allowed in silent dressage. The pony should again stay on the line and make turns gracefully and evenly.

Figure Eight: B and J

For both skills the pony starts at the central dot, facing the poles, and for both skills the pony starts in a poleward direction (away from the "A" sign). For the "B" variation, the pony goes to the left (towards the "B" sign) and vice versa for "J". The pony makes three complete figure eights, coming to a halt on the central dot after the third. As with the circle, the pony should stay on the line and should make graceful, even turns.

Exit Protocol

Upon completion of the final skill, the trainer moves to a position near where they entered the field, on the right side, and the pony follows to the corresponding spot on the left side (either automatically or when given a cue). Having arrived, the trainer cracks once, which is the cue for both trainer and pony to turn to the judges and bow. During practice routines the judges are generally considered to be near the "C" placard; during competition the bow should be in the direction of wherever the judges are actually seated. The pony and trainer both bow in concert, and the trainer should use a human bowing animation. After the bow is completed, the trainer and pony turn simultaneously towards the "A" boundary and exit the field, again simultaneously (this motion may be cued or automatic, depending on trainer style). Pony and trainer should stop together after they have exited the boundary, at which point the routine is over. It is customary but not obligatory for the pony to give their trainer an additional respectful bow after the routine has ended.

Judging Guidelines

Each judge completes a scorecard for the routine of each pair, and their scores are customarily averaged together to produce a final grade for the routine. Judges evaluate each skill independent of the others, and also make subjective judgements for the overall routine, as detailed below. In total there are nine categories of five possible points each, so 45 is the maximum score for a particular routine. Skills are judged as each is finished, and overall categories are judged after the routine is entirely over. There is a seperate category for penalty points as well, subtracted from the total score.

A note about lag and other uncontrollable events: SL being an imperfect environment, sometimes "errors" in the routine are caused by lag or other factors outside of the team's control, such as a spectator walking onto the field during a routine. Judges should not penalize teams for lag, but teams should be prepared to gracefully recover from lag or other environmental issues. For example, if a lag spike causes a pony walking the circle to leave the field, they should immediately return to the spot where lag intervened and complete the skill as if nothing had happened.

• Skill accuracy.

Each of the five skills is graded seperately on a scale of zero to five, five meaning perfect completion of the skill, and zero meaning the skill was not attempted. A total of 25 points is thus available for skill performance alone. For each skill, a five means that the pony came to a complete stop directly on the starting and stopping dots, and moved fluidly and accurately around the lines (or between the poles).

• Command.

This is an overall judgement of how well the trainer commands the pony on the field. Are they clear and unambiguous in their commands? Is the pony under their control and acting at their direction at all times? Has the pony been trained into their particular style? Do they move purposefully from skill to skill as they direct their pony? Do they understand and abide by all protocol? Is their style compatible with all the rules? A five means the trainer has shown complete control of the routine from beginning to end and has demonstrated mastery of dressage protocol along the way. Judges may remove points for such things as: the trainer moving towards the wrong skill, incorrectly signaling a cue before the appropriate time, or neglecting to bow during the exit protocol.

• Presentation.

This is a judgement of both trainer and pony. Is the trainer attractively attried in an appropriate outfit? Is the pony properly secured in appropriate tack? Are the pony and trainer on the same wavelength and synchronized properly for such tasks and entering the field, bowing, and exiting the field? Is the pony properly aware of their trainer's style? A five means that the pony and trainer are working in complete harmony as a team during the course of the routine. Judges may lower this score for such things as: the pony and trainer arriving on the field at different times or in different locations, ponies wearing inappropriate or incomplete tack, or a general lack of harmony between pony and trainer.

• Response.

This category is the counterpart to "command", but with respect to the pony. Are they attentive to their trainer, following each order promptly and accurately? Do they show willingness and purpose as they move from skill to skill? Do they pick up all of the trainer's cues? Are they, in short, a properly trained and obedient instrument of the trainer's will? A five in this category means that the pony followed all commands of the trainer perfectly and acted completely at their direction for the entire routine. Judges may lower the score for such things as: a pony starting a skill before properly cued, a pony arriving at the wrong dot for a skill, or a pony anticipating or ignoring a command.

• Rhythm and Regulation.

This category mainly grades the pony's performance as they transition between skills. Judges will have to grade the specific type of transition the trainer employes, giving no preference to one type over another in the competition. A five here means that the pony accurately completed each transition according to their trainer's style. Judges may lower this score for such things as: the pony not waiting for a cue to move, leaving their position early or late, or taking an inappropriate path between skills.

• Penalties.

One penalty point is deducted for each instance of the technical violations described below.

- Trainer or pony walking outside the boundaries of the field. - Trainer giving verbal direction during a silent routine. - ???