(“There is no dispensation from the judges once you head down the centerline.”)

You’ve read all the rollkur stuff. You aren’t very likely to be an adherent unless you fall into that small subset of trainers who can pull it off successfully and don’t mind being talked about on the message boards.

Looking at the anti-rollkur logo, I happened to notice that if you rotate it about 50 or 60 degrees clockwise, you get the profile of how a lot of people show their Friesians! The argument you hear is: “Well, that’s the way they go,” or “They’re just built like that.”

Friesians, as a group, tend to be rhythmical and cadenced in their trot, and with all those feathers flying, the picture can be breathtaking. But to be shown correctly and to deserve a high score, all breeds and types should be ridden to the hand and out over the topline from back to front.

I will grant you that horses of whatever breed that carry a high “headset” need to be schooled to come low and sometimes deep to get them working over their backs. If you’re riding the sort of horse that can be a little dull to the leg, it is admittedly easier to cheat—to “package” him and keep his attention by over-shortening his neck and holding him. But “Braced and high” doesn’t cut the mustard, nor does “curled and behind.”

Moving freely in self carriage with roundness while the poll remains the highest point is what will earn the highest reward—exactly the same requirements we seek in every other well schooled horse.