Whats the Point??

So I stumbled upon the below video yesterday, and was very impressed with most of their performance. 

If I tried to do that trail course on Notch right now, we would probably look like a bull in a china shop. There would be ground poles kicked all over the place and cones rolling around, not to mention a refusal at the bridge, because we just don't like bridges that are not actually functional. Just a couple weeks ago Notch acted like me asking his to trot over ground poles was equivalent to me asking him to go over a 3 foot jump. But anyways I digress.

The one part I just don't understand with these Western classes is the broken lope. I know what there goal is, they want a nice slow lope that looks peaceful to ride. What they have ended up with is a "gait" that makes it appear that the back legs are broken and dragging behind the horse. Why can't they have a nice collected lope that actually looks comfortable for the horse too? It is this standard in the Western Pleasure based classes that will keep me from ever showing in those areas. 

So that is the end of my morning rant. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!