Why??

[Sunny D]

is it when I think that I have done a really c**p test I get placed and when i think that it is really good, I dont!!

I did P16 and P18 over the weekend and in P16 (on a surface), she was really spooky, constantly looking at the flower pots around the outside!! I was placed 6th with 58%. Then in P18 (on grass), she was really listening, was calm and collected, but only got 54% and was about 20th in the class. I know that all judges look for different things but in general all the scores were on the low side (50/60's). But why is there no consistency, one score was a 4 for the walk work which I thought to be quite harsh and some of the trot work only got 6s. What do some judges want - blood!! Surely at prelim level (at unaffiliated level) they should aim to be encouraging us, not disheartening us!

[Mehitabel]

well, some judges do mark harshly. yes, encouragement is good, but i wouldn't want to be given a high mark for a movement that wasn't worth it - that's just giving you a false idea of your standard. i only want an 8 if i warrant it.
i've not done many tests, but even so i've had a couple where i felt like the judge must have been watching someone else! so i know how it feels. but then sometimes horses do look very different on the ground to how they feel from on top. maybe next time see if you can get someone to video your test so you can watch it again with the test sheet?

[Dressagefreak]

If it's unaffiliated you do it's probably because all judges are different. For BD they all follow a certain marking criteria. I get that all the time I reckon it's just that maybe they fell generous so pretend you did well event though your horse was awful whereas another judge may pick out the tiniest faults and mark you down. I wouldn't worry about it. Also depends on standard in your class. It's a common thing I reckon.