The goal of dressage is to develop the ability and physique of the horse in a fluid, calm manner. It is a skilled system of horsemanship that links animal and rider together in a harmonious dance as one, while teaching the horse to be responsive, obedient and willing. Pronounced (dreh-sazh’), it is a complex sport that stresses fundamentals, combining athleticism and art to create an overall picture of beauty and form.
The Greek General Xenophon wrote about the principals of dressage in a book circa 400BC, and the basic principals he expressed are still current in today’s dressage riding. Xenophon stated,
“ Anything forced and misunderstood can never be beautiful. If a dancer were forced to dance by whip and spikes, he would be no more beautiful that a horse trained under similar conditions.” (1)
Dressage helps the horse become calm, flexible, confident and attentive as he progresses in his training. It stresses engagement of the hind quarters with lightness on the forehand and ease of movement. Patterns are given in arenas of 65.6x196.8 feet and alphabet letters are placed in increments around the arena to guide the rider from one task to the next.
There are proceeding levels of difficulty, from Training Level, to Levels 1--4, on up to the Prix St George and Grand Prix. Each has 4 tests within that the horse and rider must pass in order to progress to the next level.
For example, on a typical Third Level Test, the rider enters at A at a collected trot, halts, salutes the judge, and then begins her pattern. She proceeds at a collected trot to X, and tracks left toward C. From C she proceeds past HXF at a medium trot, a collected trot past F, half-pass right past K-X. She circles right a X at 8M, back at X she trots straight ahead. At C she tracks right and does an extended trot past MXK, and so on. The test progresses through 20 tasks in all three gaits.
The judge is looking for straightness on the center line, quality of halts, quality of turns and quality of gaits. She also looks for calmness and execution of movements and smoothness of change.
Points are given for the quality of circles and turns and also for how the horse is moving as the tasks are requested of him. “Impulsion” is noted, which is the horse’s desire to move forward, engagement of hindquarters and elasticity or springiness of steps. Acceptance of the bridle is judged under “submission,” as is attention, lightness, ease of movement, and lightness of the forehand.
The horse should give the impression of doing the dressage movements of his own accord. He should submit easily to the requests of his rider, remaining absolutely straight on straight lines and bending when moving on circles or curved lines.
At the walk, the horse should be unconstrained and free. His trot should be active and springy, and the canter is cadenced and light.
While he is working, the horse should be “on the bit.” When the horse is on the bit, the hocks are correctly placed, the neck is arched in a pretty curve and his head remains in a steady position with his nose on the vertical. He accepts the bridle with light and submissive contact throughout.
There should be an elastic contact between the rider’s hand and the horse’s mouth. Colonel Alois Podhajsky, former director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, describes it as so:
“The rider should have the feeling that he is connected to the horse’s mouth by means of an elastic ribbon.” (2)
The horse should have rhythm and cadence in its movements, with no resistance or pulling. He should be balanced or collected for the entire dressage test, with no leaning on the bit or dragging himself around the arena.
The issue of balance is very important in dressage. As soon as a young horse is put into training he must be taught how to (re-establish) his balance from the forehand to the hindquarters.
Watch a horse run free across a field and you will see an outstretched neck with a long, strung-out body. Watch the Royal Lipizzaners perform and you will see the pretty arched necks, the vertical noses and a shorter, more correct frame of horse. This is collection at its finest, dressage at its finest. There is a reason dressage enthusiasts say that the horses float on air.
Throughout a dressage horse’s career, the rider continuously works on balance, encouraging him to carry the rider’s weight and most of his own on his hindquarters.
To reach this goal, the rider will ask the horse to step further and further under himself with the hind feet. The front end lifts and becomes light and the weight shifts to the rear while the legs reach under the horse.
Maintaining good rhythm is the first indicator that the horse is in balance. This rhythm must always be kept, both on corners and straight lines. In all the paces the rhythm should remain the same.
The energy that is established through rhythm and tempo of footfalls is called cadence. All of this is harnessed and channeled into making the gaits more elastic and active. The rider’s seat and legs on the hindquarters of the horse creates this energy, while the bit controls it.
The rider’s seat and legs push the activity of the horse’s hindquarters, the theory being that the energy created flows forward through the horse’s back and neck, to the poll and then to the mouth where it is controlled and taken by the rider’s hand. The energy continues through the rider’s body back to the horse by way of the rider’s leg and seat.
Both horse and rider must be relaxed. The horse must be submissive and willingly comply to the rider’s requests.
The USDF or United States Dressage Federation was founded in 1973 by a group of dressage enthusiasts and is a federal nonprofit, educational organization. Its goals are to educate the general public and its members and to encourage a higher standard of dressage. There is a rider award program along with horse of the year awards for qualifying riders and animals.
Dressage is popular among adults because they can purchase an older, well-trained animal who is calm and quiet, and then take lessons on him or practice beginning dressage movements with him. Adults like the discipline and athleticism of dressage and the quiet fluidity of the sport, along with the fellowship of people the same age who may be starting out with horses late in life. Goals can be set for both horse and rider, terminology is learned and new friends are made.
Many Olympic or Grand Prix riders teach private seminars and clinics for students from Training Level on up and these are a great addition to a training program you may have with your horse.
It is my personal belief that very young children study another discipline such as Western or Hunt Seat when they are first starting to ride; I never accept children younger than age 7 for beginning Riding Lessons as the motor skills, hand/eye/leg coordination and focus are not at a level as that of older children. The discipline required of dressage is very stringent and focused and most kids just want to get out and ride. However, if the child watches the Olympics and sees themself as the next Hilda Gurney, by all means, find a good instructor.
That’s all for this time. Signing off with some side passing and pas de deux to the immortal words of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, “Happy Trails to You.”
(1) An Illustrated Guide to Dressage by Jennie Loriston-Clarke and Carol Wicken (2) Evans on Horses, A Guide to Selection, Care and Enjoyment by J. Warren Evans