Flossy is well known to many on the British Dressage Forum as a teller of interesting stories and perhaps the odd joke or two. We have selected a few tales for your pleasure.

Hartpury in the rain

The FEI was running one of its international judges courses during the Hartpury CDI .
Judges from all over the world gathered in a small tent by the side of the arena to listen and learn from the wisdom of those that already made it- the older FEI judges.
Horse after horse splashed through the sea of mud called dressage arena with riders drenched from head to toes pretending that this is their preferred summer occupation. Apart from this the dressage was as usual , as competitors executed a movement each and every learner judge awarded a mark, any one awarding a mark significantly different from the master judge had to explain in detail where he was coming from and why he chose to award this mark. It was clear how ones other life effected the judges perception as regard to each movement, lawyers saw it from all angles and then gave the usual safe 6, politicians clearly judged the person and less the performance, and so it went. From time to time discrepancies where attributed to judges origins, Germans were non compromisingly strict while the Spanish awarded marks like confetti's in a fiesta .
Sitting at the back was a small gentleman un known to any of the other participants and to every one surprise every time he raised the board with the mark , it was spot on the same as the lead judge.
Eventually curiosity over came good manners and he was asked where he was from and what his dressage background.
His reply was that he was from Curacao island never heard about the sport of dressage in his life , the only reason he was sitting in the tent with them was because he was trying to get out of the bloody rain as he missed the bus to Gloucester ,
“So what sport do you do in Curacao island” he was asked
 
“SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING” HE REPLIED