The L Education Program

May 24, 2024

2883

By Ellen Broadhurst

Incredibly exciting news, there are going to be three – count ‘em, three – L Education Programs happening in the Northeast in 2024-2025!

Now, as an adult amateur, struggling to find the time and energy to manage riding, lessons, and the occasional show, you might wonder what on earth that has to do with you. I am here to tell you, as an adult amateur who embarked on the program to better inform my riding (as opposed to becoming an L Graduate), that the L Education Program is possibly the most valuable gift you can give yourself as a dressage competitor.

You might be under the impression that the singular purpose of the L Program is to develop judges. While the program certainly does that, candidate preparation is second on the list of program objectives, behind “provide trainers, instructors, competitors, and spectators insight into the evaluative techniques of judging dressage.”

And that, my friends, is where you have the chance to pursue the educational opportunity of your life (if you can finagle travel for three weekends in the coming year).

So what exactly is the L Education Program, and how will it help the adult amateur rider?

The L Program is divided into two parts. Part 1 is open to all riders with no prerequisites or riding requirements. Part 2 is the “Candidate’s Evaluation” and is essentially an invitation-only program, limited to ten participants who have successfully completed Part 1 and who have the verified scores necessary to move on to the final exam.

We’ll focus today on Part 1, “A Judge’s Perspective,” which is divided into Sessions A, B, and C and run over three (intensive!) (educational!) (mind-blowing!) weekends:

Session A is an introduction to judging and biomechanics: View Video

Session B focuses on judging criteria for gaits and paces, movements, and figures: View Video

Session C is about the collective remarks, equitation, rider biomechanics, and basics.

Each L Program accepts 30 Participants, plus auditors. Being a participant is expensive. You will have to pay not only for the program, but also for travel, hotel, and meals. The benefit of being an actual participant versus an auditor, though, is two-fold: 1.) If you have the slightest thought that you might be interested in Part 2, you need to be a participant in Part 1 at some point, and 2.) as a participant, the instructors engage with you. You will be expected to speak up during the learning sessions and respond to questions.

Being an auditor is less intensive; you may not engage with the instructors, and you are expected to sit in the back of the classroom and back rows when viewing live demos. There are benefits to this, of course, particularly if you are in the beginning stages of learning about dressage. The learning opportunity is there; you’re just not able to ask your own questions, nor will the instructors quiz you.

Importantly, whether you decide to be a participant or an auditor, you may repeat sessions of the program as often as there is availability. You may start as a participant, and then audit additional sessions, or start as an auditor, and then become a participant in a different program later on. You may also take the sessions out of order, and with different Group Member Organizations (GMOs).

So, how does all of this help the average adult amateur? I can give you my perspective: one thing I have always said about dressage is how often I am pulled up short when I am given a glimpse into how much I don’t know that I don’t know.

For example, going into the L Program, I would have said that I knew the Training Scale: rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness, collection – easy, right? After spending two intensive days in lecture, watching videos and live horses, I realized that there is a huge chasm between knowing the Training Scale and understanding the Training Scale. We spent an entire weekend discussing what each level of the Pyramid of Training means in terms of correct training, what each step looks like via video and live horse demos, and the language around judging movements as they relate to the steps of the Pyramid.

One thing that became very clear throughout the weekend is that going from knowing the Training Scale to understanding the Training Scale is insufficient for anyone wishing to become an actual judge.

An L Graduate needs to know the Training Scale, understand the Training Scale, and, most critically, be able to use the Training Scale. That last piece isn’t going to come (to me) in a few months. For me, to go from understanding to using will take years of more eyes on horses, more time on the ground with my trainers, and more time in the judges’ box, watching and learning.

That said, even taking the interim step from knowing to understanding has done wonders for my riding! I watch horses with a much more educated eye, and my sense of feel has gotten better as I have a clearer understanding of how my horses’ bodies work.

In addition, my approach to showing has changed significantly. I now spend a good deal of time with each test, reading the test purpose carefully, underlining the key expectations, and thinking about what they mean. I review each movement of the test, minding the directives and carefully evaluating the geometry of the test, as well as how each of the movements flow. I think not only about riding the test, but also about how the test will be viewed and evaluated by the judge.

Overall, participating in the L Program has given me new “Dressage Eyes” and a renewed passion for learning more about our sport. A better understanding of the foundation of dressage is the platform for future growth. I’m planning to audit as many of the upcoming sessions of the L Program as I can manage; there’s so much more out there – I don’t even know what I don’t know!

For more information about the L Education Program, please visit the USDF website.

Calendar of Upcoming Programs