11/13/2025
On Justin Verboomen.
Carl Hester has said, “He’s exactly what the sport needs to keep moving in the right direction…His warm ups are as classical as his tests.”
This topic is being debated on various platforms and accounts. A student of Jeff’s shared this video with me and Jeff asking for feedback. Personally, I am barely qualified to analyze, but we were glad that Jeff decided to write us a response. He watched it and wrote up the following analysis and gave me permission to post here.
“Superficially steady and even, apparently uncoerced, not strangled. A dream compared to the likes of Glamourdale (a nightmare of spasticity and artificiality and anxiety!).
Walk is nice and well ridden.
Collected trot is fine, tho sometimes too much like Passage. He “switches” to Extension by a sudden increase in tempo, probably caused by the fact that there is more propulsion than impulsion, so it is a bit flat and hurried (on forehand).
There is a complete lack of “upward thrust” – an essential to distinguish the Medium or Extended trot from a hurtling downhill rush, irrespective of the throwing of the front legs.
Canter is a bit odd - whether by nature or nurture I don’t know. The hind end seems “bunched” (for lack of a better word) up under the horse - impeding fluency and reach, almost like he’s trying to get his hind feet quickly off a hot griddle. The outer hind passes the inner one OK, but instead of placing it on the ground in a flat supportive position, it strikes the ground with a backstroke - again creating propulsion rather than impulsion. It serves well, paradoxically, for the pirouettes, which were good. This is often caused by one of those strap “training devices” that hooks around the hind legs, like a breeching.
The Piaffe is nicely elevated, but lacks engagement. The front legs are raised evenly, but the front cannons don’t ‘hang’ vertically - the feet are retracted back under the thorax — a sign of lack of engagement (the high snatching hocks, without compression of the grounded/supporting hindleg)
This could be described as “Hanging out over the forelegs”, or “Forelegs too far back”. But behind, the hocks are flexed and lifted upward and pushed backward (you can see points of the hocks appear above and behind the other hock) - this is ‘hock action’, at the cost of engagement - in which BOTH hocks lower, one by compressing, the other by flexing, and lifting the hoof-end of the cannon, to make the cannon a bit closer to the horizontal. Could be described in the comments as “Hi-Hocked” or “No/Lacks engagement”. In addition, the grounded foreleg is angled backward towards the ground (a further indicator of ‘on the forehand’). Further, the raised legs make a backward/forward twitch or shake, in each lift.
The Passage is mostly even. It jumps too much, in false pursuit of brilliance or suspension or both. Typically (as here), this causes ‘tapping’ behind, in front, or both (it also causes ‘double dipping’ in many cases). The front cannons angle backward toward the hoof and ground – a sign that the horse is ‘tipped up’ behind, and loading the forehand, or as we say so deliciously in the South, “Tumped over”.
All that having been said……what to do with it? Is it a 2? Is it a 9? Dressage judging is a muddled mess – partly basic ignorance on the part of the judges, partly poor guidance from the “makers of rules and guidelines”, and partly from a lack of understanding of the biomechanics (movement) of horses.
I divide it as follows, as a matter of methodology, using the Passage in this performance as example - the correct mechanics of the “trick” or movement are ONE issue, the correct mechanics of “way of going” are ANOTHER issue. E.g., the horse could be incorrect in way of going (behind vertical, poll not highest point, broken neckline, above the bit, yet STILL perform the mechanics of the Passage correctly. Conversely, it could be very correct in basic way of going, but barely fulfill the minimum requirements to make the ‘trick’ identifiable as Passage.
This horse, in this presentation, was admirable for his calm but alert demeanor, good carriage, steadiness, reliability, consistency, brightness. Full marks for that!
However, the actual ex*****on of the steps of the Passage, was not, at almost any time, fulfilling its description. The same is true of the Piaffe.
If we had the luxury of giving a score for the Correct Way of Going, and another for Correct Ex*****on, it would be easier. Way of Going, in this example, might be between 8 & 10. Ex*****on (according to the definition of the movement) might be a 4 or, at most, 5 (Marginal).
So what should be the score?
Sadly, the emotional reactions of the ignorami seem to prevail, rather than a knowledgeable analysis of the points listed above. The judging seems to be “swayed by the crowd”, and without any sign of basic knowledge, training, expertise, or analysis.”
Belgium’s Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus topped the podium in the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Grand Prix Freestyle on a score of 87.075%, making it back-to-back...
