Cathy's Monthly Article from Texas Horse Talk Magazine

Dressage for Late Bloomers

By Cathy Strobel

Watching a dressage ride can be as beautiful as watching a ballet performance. Anyone with sensitivity can appreciate the beauty of it, but until you have attempted the movements, you cannot fully appreciate the difficulty of it, or the amount of time required to learn it. Yet, just as in ballet, dressage is taught to the student and the horse in small steps presented as exercises. As one skill is mastered, another is introduced. So, how and when did these people that we see competing at the local, national and international dressage shows begin their riding careers?Surely they must have started as young children. Clearly they were given many advantages a long time ago to be able to compete now. Or maybe they were talented and focused enough to earn the status of professional. Maybe. Or maybe they are just horse lovers who enjoy riding. Just like you and me. They are riders who enjoy the challenge of riding and attention to detail that is found in the sport of dressage.

“I want to ride dressage!”Is a comment that can be heard around the globe as riders watch dressage performances.Accompanied by such wistful statements, you will also hear comments such as: I’d love to learn it but I’m too old; I wish I had learned as a child; too bad I can’t afford a fancy warmblood; I don’t have a dressage arena to practice in; or I don’t have the right kind of saddle.

Well, guess what! If you can sit a horse at all, you can still learn to ride dressage. Adult amateurs can be seen taking lessons and competing in dressage shows around the globe. Many competitors in their 50’s and 60’s have only begun in recent years to study dressage and many more seasoned adults who have been training for years are still competitive at all levels.

So, how can I get started, you might ask? The first step is to find a good instructor to help you develop a good, solid, balanced seat.If you don’t have a quiet, well trained horse who will simply go forward and straight, make sure your instructor can provide one. If you don’t know of a good instructor, you can start by inquiring at your local feed and tack shops, search online, open up your friendly yellow pages book or contact a local dressage club such as the Houston Dressage Society which can be found online.

Once you settle on an instructor and take enough lessons to find your own balance you will begin to gain control of the horse. Since the horse’s balance is so heavily influenced by the rider’s position, the early stages of learning position can easily be considered the hardest and most tedious part of dressage. But the time spent acquiring your muscle memory pays off. Many beginners look for shortcuts as they are anxious to skip over the tedious details and get to the meat of the movements. This is the time when patience and attention to details will benefit you the most. If you can understand the influences of the aids and master the skills to maintain the horse’s way of going so that he remains straight, forward and “on the bit”, the quality of the gaits and movements will be much easier to develop and improve.Imagine trying to read a book if you haven’t taken the time to learn all of the letters in the alphabet.

Once you can balance the horse around an arena, you are ready to start learning the movements. Learning any equestrian sport is much easier on a well trained horse because you can feel what the movement is supposed to feel like. If you can gain access to a “schoolmaster”, you will be able to grasp the concepts more easily. A schoolmaster is a horse who is so calm and experienced at the movements that he will figure out what you are asking for and cheerfully give it to you even when you make mistakes. If you are not fortunate enough to be exposed to a good schoolmaster, you will still be able to progress with a good instructor and an obedient, non-gaited horse. If you are very fortunate and have a substantial budget, you may be able to acquire your own schoolmaster. Regardless of what you are riding, the goals are the same. You will build on the basics to continuously improve the quality of the gaits and incorporate movements into your horse’s performance while maintaining his balance.

When you and your trainer begin to feel fairly good about the quality of the work you are doing, feel free to take your horse to a show and get a judge’s opinion. You can begin showing at a walk-trot level if you want to get your feet wet and see what it is all about. At this level, the patterns are very simple and the judge is looking for forward, straight and a reasonably good balance to show that the horse is on the bit. There is no canter work at all and there are no lateral movements. The halt for the salute can be transitioned through the walk instead of trot thus reducing the degree of difficulty. In Green as Grass, professionals are not allowed, so you will only be competing against other amateurs who are also new to the sport. As you go through the levels, classes can be split to allow amateurs to compete exclusively against other amateurs.

The canter work is added at Training Level. You will notice while reading through the tests each successive test adds another movement that raises the level of difficulty for both you and your horse. This holds true in all of the levels through Grand Prix.Movements begin at First Level.

When you enter a competition, you are asking the judge how well your horse has been trained and which details still need more work. How you stack up against other competitors is always interesting, but is not as important as the scores and opinions the judge offers you about your horse. After your rides, you will be given your score sheet with comments to take home and study. You and your trainer will then be able to discuss your strengths and weaknesses to enhance your training program. Remember that it is the judge’s duty to point out your weaknesses so that you can adjust your training plan to turn the weaknesses into strengths. The judge should also be rewarding you through scores and comments for work that is well done.Since each test is broken down into many different boxes based on sections of the test, if you make a mistake somewhere, it will only be reflected in that one box. Each box reflects an opportunity to score up to ten points.

Competition is about scores, comments from the judge and achieving “personal bests”. Dressage is so much more than even that.It is about developing a relationship with your horse and helping him develop his talents as an athlete.It is about setting goals and riding with a purpose. It is about learning to pay attention to details and being honest with yourself about how you are doing. Overall it helps the rider to build character and definitely teaches you patience.

So the next time you hear someone making excuses about why they can’t ride dressage when they are telling you they want to, tell them this: It is not about your age, the saddle, the type of horse or the arena. It is about perseverance and training the horse.It is about investing time with the desire and focus to learn. Anyone in good health who wants to learn dressage can do it as long as they are willing to focus on the details.

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