​I am continuing the theme of looking at some of the faults that can occur with the difficult high-level movements, and this time I am looking at passage. The photos are taken from a video of Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper at the Tokyo Olympics Dressage in 2021. The full video can be seen here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSYdsItiqU&t=1549s and the passage I am reviewing starts at 29 mins 14 secs.

Passage is a difficult movement to perform correctly. The horse must have exceptional balance, suppleness strength to maintain the very collected high, slow steps required. This movement must be ridden with lightness and tact from the rider. In the FEI rules, there is a good description of a passage.

The FEI rules 2020 give a description of passage and the faults that can occur.

ARTICLE 414 THE PASSAGE

1. Passage is a measured, very collected, elevated and cadenced trot. It is characterised by a pronounced engagement of the hindquarters, a more accentuated flexion of the knees and hocks, and the graceful elasticity of the movement. Each diagonal pair of legs is raised and returned to the ground alternately, with cadence and a prolonged suspension.

2. In principle, the height of the toe of the raised forefoot should be level with the middle of the cannon bone of the other supporting foreleg. The toe of the raised hind foot should be slightly above the fetlock joint of the other supporting hind leg.

3. The neck should be raised and gracefully arched with the poll as the highest point and the nose line close to the vertical. The Horse should remain light, and soft “on the bit” without altering the cadence. The impulsion remains lively and pronounced.

4. Irregular steps with the hind or front legs, swinging the forehand or the hindquarters from one (1) side to the other, as well as jerky movements of the forelegs or the hind legs, dragging the hind legs or double beat in the moment of suspension are serious faults. The aim of passage is to demonstrate the highest degree of collection, cadence and suspension in the trot.
 
Having watched many hours of passage, many of the movements I have seen have little resemblance to the way it should be performed, and the marks given do not reflect the requirements for the movement as stated by the FEI. In passage today, horses are blocked in the head and neck, disengaged in their haunches and unable to flex their hind leg joints, which results in a breakdown of the steps and essentially, no passage.
 
In this test, the horse is asked to perform a series of complex trot movements leading into passage; trot half pass to piaffe, then a piaffe pirouette followed with passage. The preceding piaffe is incorrect showing a swinging forehand (see A View of Piaffe and Some Faults in Piaffe) which sets the horse up for a poor passage. Today we see horses performing difficult movements one after the other without being given a rest with a simple movement such as a circle or moving on a straight line in a less collected or extended stride. This type of riding creates a situation where the quality of each exercise deteriorates, and riders have to compromise lightness and balance for the sake of forcing though into the next movement.
 
This passage shows irregular steps in the hind legs, a double beat in the moment of suspension and a loss of the diagonal trot stride.  Perhaps the focus of these tests should be more on the quality of each movement rather than making ever more complicated routines?
 
In the transition to passage, the rider holds the horse through the rein and this makes the horse contract it’s neck, resulting in a break in the trot diagonals (picture 29.14) where the left hind is off the ground whilst the right fore is on the ground.

​The horse continues to be held by the rider’s hands on the reins which restricts the ability of the horse to move off its forehand, preventing the haunches and hind legs from correctly engaging. The passage rhythm is compromised, and the faulty trot stride continues with the left foreleg on the ground and the right hind is in the air (picture 29.15) .

​With the haunches disengaged, the left hind foot makes a double beat in the passage, being brought forward (picture 29.16 A) before being drawn back and placed on the ground (picture 29.16 B).

The horse is now out of balance and the forward momentum continues to be blocked by the rider’s hands. The passage has no suspension as the horse moves its inside hind leg towards the outside instead of flexing its leg joints and keeping the hind legs in a straight line with its inside foreleg. (Picture 29.19).

 Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

​Watching the Olympic dressage this weekend, it was noticeable how little has changed over the last decades despite the rise in voices that recognise that this is not classical dressage. However, there were a couple of glimmers of hope. The flying changes were less leaps off the ground and horses showed smoother flatter changes of lead. This is a move in the right direction for change.
 
The second was in the extended paces. The excessive front leg movement that has been presented in competitions has gone and they showed a less exaggerated stride. But the horses were unable to lengthen their frame and the extended trots on display still retained the flicking feet and blocked top line of old. The judges seemed to think that this constituted a correct extension with 5 of them each giving 10 marks to the same competitor. The commentators also spoke about the lovely lengthening of the top line when there was clearly none.
 
All the horses shown were being ridden with a very tight rein contact. Curb bits should give an increased level of subtly and refinement to the rider’s aids and require the most delicate and light action from the rider. None of this was on display at the weekend.
 
The riders were in a position that was braced against the reins, legs tight in the knee rolls and their backs stiff. The excessive foaming in the horse’s mouth did not disguise the overuse of the curb bit and chain. The sides of the curb bit should hang almost straight down. Riders applied continuous bit pressure showing with the sides of the curb at roughly a 45-degree angle.
 
Pulled in by the rider’s hands, the horses had contracted neck and head position. This forces the horse to drop its back and disengage its haunches. Regardless of what the legs are doing, the horse is not correct. In this compressed frame, the horses make flawed movements to accommodate the rider’s demands. Some of the common faults that I could see across horses were,
 
Swinging of haunches in passage.
Swinging haunches in collected trot.
Tight, restrictive shoulder movement.
Tight reins, horse flapping its bottom lip.
Unbalanced corners.
Overuse of the leg to keep the horse moving, in an effort to counter the tight rein contact.
Uneven steps in piaffe, hopping and loss of rhythm.
One horse kicked out in the canter transition.
Breaking of the diagonal leg paring at various times in the trot work.
Tail swishing.
Forelegs behind the shoulder in piaffe.
Flying changes not straight, haunches swinging.
Bouncing of haunches in piaffe, horses show different lowering of the haunches depending on their conformation and level, but bouncing haunches show disengagement.
Uneven steps in the hind legs in passage.



​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

​Along with many other equestrians, I have watched the first day of dressage competition at the Paris Olympics. I have been interested in the opportunity to see the scores as the test progress, and to compare them to the expected movements according to the FEI rules.
 
Here are some of my thoughts on a few of the piaffe movements ridden and the scores allocated. Whilst I have only commented on three horse and rider pairings, these types of piaffe are being shown by many other combinations.
 
The timings given are from the Discovery+ coverage of the full days event.
 
For reference the judging criteria as described in “The FEI DRESSAGE JUDGING MANUAL Effective from 1 January 2024” is below;

Table below sets out the faults in piaffe and the scores that should be allocated.

Taken from “The FEI DRESSAGE JUDGING MANUAL To be considered in connection with the FEI Dressage Rules and the FEI Dressage Handbook Guidelines for Judging. Effective from 1 January 2024”.
  
Nanna Skodborg-Merrald riding Zepter.
 
Piaffe at 16 minutes and 54 seconds.

- The horse’s forehand is swinging from side to side.
- Loss of rhythm.
- Horse’s nose swinging from side to side.
- Horse bracing through the neck and jaw.
Score 7.6
 
Piaffe at 18 minutes 9 seconds.
- Swinging haunches.
- Loss of rhythm.
Score 7.8
 
Emma Kanerva riding Greek Air.
 
Piaffe starts at 3 hours 13 minutes and 50 seconds.
 
- Horse is on its forehand.
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted. The muscle on the underside of the horse’s neck is braced.
- Haunches swinging.
- Tail swishing.
 Score 7.7
 
Piaffe starting at 3 hours 15 minutes and 5 seconds
 
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted. The muscle on the underside of the horse’s neck is braced.
- Haunches swinging.
- Uneven steps in hind legs.
- Tail swishing
 Score 7.4
 
Marcus Orlob riding Jane
 
Piaffe starting at 3 hours 5 minutes and 49 seconds.
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted.
- From the front view the left hind leg is seen swinging out.
- Uneven steps behind with the left hind leg making a backward movement and the right hind leg stepping up and down.
- Loss of diagonal steps.
- Horse bracing through the neck and jaw.
 Score 7.4

​​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell