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Dressage
is one of the oldest forms of Classical Riding in the world. The
foundation for Dressage began in Vienna, Austria at the military
installation known as the
Spanish
Riding School. Being a military installation the school was closed to
the public and for years only a privileged few such as presidents, heads
of state, kings, queens, and dignitaries were allowed to view the
performances of these magnificent animals.
At one time The Riding
School housed large numbers of stallions in the past now there are less
than 30. During the past and yet today the mares are used for breeding
while only the stallions perform. The school uses one breed of horse only,
The Lipizzan. The
Lipizzan is born black and turns white as it matures. For years the
Lipizzan has been under the protection of the Austrian government. A
protected breed, the Lipizzan's of the Spanish Riding School were not
allowed to leave Austria or even breed to mares out side of the School.
The only Lipizzan's allowed out of the country were those found unsuitable
for the Dressage Program. Now the school sells stallions ( although not
many) and the Piber stud in Austria has a list of colts, stallions, mares
and fillies for sale on a regular basis.
Often as many as 70 - 75
mares came be found in resident at the stud with foals. Usually the older
horses are sold or are chosen for the school.
During
World War II the Lipizzan and the Spanish Riding School were in danger of
being eliminated. The mares and stallions had been separated and Austria
was on the verge of invasion. The head of the Riding School needed help!
He turned to a long time admirer of the Lipizzan, U.S. General George
Patton. Thanks to the efforts of U.S. soldiers and General Patton the
magnificent white horses were saved from extinction as the Army brought
the mares out of occupied territory. The story of this daring undertaking
was portrayed in a movie, "The Miracle of the White Stallions."
Unlike times past, today
the Lipizzans can be found all over the world. They are bred and sold
everywhere! The United States has several Lipizzan farms. The Spanish
Riding School is now open to the public and branch groups of riders and
Lipizzans tour the world entertaining people from all walks of life. Some
traditions have not changed over the years. It has always been and still
is the policy of the Spanish Riding School to keep one black horse on the
premises. They consider it to be good luck. Dressage has had a real face
lift throughout the years.
What about Dressage in the 90's? Dressage
is a difficult, technical, and very disciplined form of riding, an Art! It
takes years to develop a horse to the highest level of Dressage, Grand
Prix. Unlike in the past, Dressage is an open sport today. Professional
and amateur riders alike on all breeds of horses are competing side by
side. The modern Dressage show circuit is very structured. There are
numerous levels of Dressage, Intro
Level - FEI Grand Prix (See "The Tests".)
Each level has it's
own set of tests, one to four tests per level, with required movements and
patterns the rider/horse combination must perform. These movements are
scored by a judge on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the highest. There are
marks given for each of the movements of the test. Then there are what
they call collective marks at the bottom of the test. These marks are:
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Gaits - freedom, regularity of movement.
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Impulsion - desire to move forward, relaxation.
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Submission, attention, willingness to accept bit.
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Riders position and seat, correctness and
effectiveness of aids.
Certain movements receive double points.
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All
this is tallied and is divided by the total number of possible points to
arrive at a percentage score for the ride, the highest percentage being
the winner. Each test within a level and each level gets progressively
more difficult. The level system is for the purpose of allowing the horse
time to develop the right muscles to continue on to harder and more
strenuous movements. If you were to rush a horse to fast through the
levels you could easily cause his legs and back to break down.
The level system
was developed by committees of the AHSA
- American Horse Show Association and the
USDF - United States Dressage Federation. Dressage training is helpful
for any breed of horse regardless of the discipline he/she is in. The
objective of Dressage is to obtain harmony between horse and rider. The
horse should be relaxed and should use his back by pushing off with his
back feet instead of pulling himself forward with his front feet. He
should be "on the bit" which means chewing, frothing, and not
leaning on the reins. He should over track meaning that his back foot
should step beyond the foot print left by the front foot. His face should
be vertical.
A great team
(horse/rider combination) should appear to function as one unit,
performing the movements effortlessly. It should appear as though the
rider is just sitting there and the horse is executing the movements all
on his own! This is a very simple explanation of the Dressage objective
but gives you a general idea of the goals involved. Any horse who achieves
these objectives will be easier to handle and more relaxed and as a result
will perform better no matter what discipline he is in.
Below are some of
the movements used in Dressage. The movements are what makes Dressage
unique and accounts for the quickly growing interest in the sport.
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The Half
Pass - Moving sideways in
the trot or canter.
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The
Shoulder In - A slanted
lateral movement with the shoulder leading.
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The Passage
- A very SLOW trot - It
looks like each step is held for a second in the air.
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The Flying
Lead Change - A canter
movement. When done every stride it looks like the horse is
skipping.
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The Piaffe
- Trotting in place.
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The
Pirouette - A 360 degree
turn in the canter.
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The
Extended Trot - A powerful
floating trot that looks like the horse is suspended in mid-air.
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Dressage
has for years and will continue to delight and fascinate audiences around
the world with it's grace and beauty. One of the fastest growing and most
popular fields in this arena is Dressage is the Musical Freestyle
competition. Tests set to music, Dancing with your Horse! |
