By: Simon Hurst
Dressage, a French term meaning "training", teaches a horse to be obedient, willing, supple and responsive It is regularly described as similar to a ballet for horses. This may be because in dressage both the horse and its rider demonstrate the power, suppleness and joy related to ballet.
Dressage at the highest level represents sport at its most graceful can only be produced when horse and rider are completely in sync. In dressage the horse and rider need to be totally together to produce the perfect team. Dressage at all levels improves balance, suppleness, and obedience with the purpose of improving and facilitating the horse's performance of normal tasks.
Present day dressage has many parallels with the work of Xenophon on the classical Greek command of horses. Dressage became noticed in Western Europe as a very useful training of horses in the renaissance period. The great European riding masters of that period developed a sequential training system that has changed little since then and classical dressage is still considered the basis of trained modern dressage.
With the ceremony relating to dressage black leather tack is usually used however occasionally deep brown can be utilised. A special saddle is needed for dressage riding, it is an English-style saddle developed solely for dressage use. The saddle is tailored with a lengthy and straight flap, fitting the rider's leg, with a gentle curve in the knee, a low seat and usually a prominent knee block.
Despite this dressage is very much a competitive sport; there are hundreds if not thousands of small dressage competitions are being held all over the world. With dressage being elevated to an Olympic event at Stockholm in 1912, previous levels of training and riding were left behind. The Olympics nowadays has three classes of riding with dressage, eventing and jumping.
Letters, A-K-V-E-S-H-C-M-R-B-P-F, are used to specify points with the 20 meter by 60 meter dressage arena. Certain movements are to take place in the vicinity of specific letters. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, it can smoothly respond to a skilled rider's minimal aids by performing the requested movement while remaining relaxed and appearing effortless.
Competitive dressage concentrates on including the following, the piaffe, the passage, the half-pass, the extended trot, the pirouette, and tempi changes. This differs from the movements completed in classic dressage, specifically with respect to the aires above ground that horses no matter how well trained struggle to perfect. The highlight of a dressage competition is the Musical Freestyle in which the rider creates and choreographs to music an original ride of compulsory figures and movements. The tests within dressage represent an overall judgement; the purpose of dressage training is to enhance the horse physically and mentally, in total alignment with his normal methods of moving and thinking, and these tests are "reviews" to ascertain the standard of balance, power and compliance the training has brought him to.
Dressage is a large subject, of which I have only been able to touch the surface.
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Linda Crabtree has written several other superb articles that are very relevant to competitive dressage these can be found at myhorsenews.com/dressage/sitemap.php
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