There is a growing concern among Dressage competitors about the elitism in the sport, as noted by yourhorse.co.uk. Big warmbloods and flashy movers which are bred for extravagance and do not come cheap, are showing up in many levels and grabbing the top spots.
Grand Prix dressage rider Lucinda McAlpine reveals that she’s on the verge of quitting the sport because of what she calls a “worrying” tendency for judges to be blinded by flashy movers. “Flashy paces should not be put above correctness, but increasingly this seems to be the fashion,” Lucinda says. “In this environment it’s impossible for your average horse and rider combination to work their way up through the grades through excellent training and sheer hard work. Such extravagant paces can only be developed from a very good starting point – and that costs. The message seems to be, if you can’t afford to buy the right horse, you haven’t got a hope. This is making dressage increasingly elitist and will put off a lot of aspiring young riders.”
Lucinda continues: “I actually cried for some of the riders at the Europeans this summer. There were some riders there that rode their horses absolutely beautifully, but because their horse’s knees weren’t knocking their noses they didn’t get rewarded for it. It makes me question whether I still want to do dressage.
“Horses being ridden with their knees hitting their chins like some kind of show horse is not what dressage should be about. In fact, the more they are pushed to be extravagant, the more the true quality of the movement is discarded.”
There seems to be a changing of the guard in the sport of Dressage where these flashy movements are increasingly being noticed and given top spots by the judges, to the disdain of Lucinda.
As reported by yourhorse.co.uk, there is a new British website available which allows you to compete in Dressage from the comfort of your own home; the program works by Dressage competitors submitting to the website for judging.
If you’re struggling to get out competing at the moment there is a new online dressage competition site that has just been launched. Dressage Anywhere is an exciting new competition website which allows you to ride a British Dressage test of your choice and have it judged by a top British Dressage judge without even leaving the yard!
The idea came from British Dressage List 1 judge and trainer Nereide Goodman together with partners, Lucinda Freeman and Ruth Chappell. They have been developing the project over the past 18 months, working closely with British Dressage. Their first competition schedule is now open. It’s simple to enter, ask a friend to video your test, upload it to www.dresssageanywhere.com following the simple on-screen instructions. When judging is completed you can download your score sheet from the website and see your result on the scoreboard.
There is prize money and rosettes so it is just like you are going out to compete but you don’t have the early start! You can chose to ride the test as training, this will still be judged by a British Dressage judge but one who is also a trainer. They will give you additional feedback to help to improve your performance in the arena.
This is a great new resource for all of the Dressage enthusiasts out there wishing to get to the next level of competition.
As reported by thehorse.com – A legendary Dressage Star Blue Hors Matine has been Euthanized after a serious injury.
Dressage mare Blue Hors Matine, whose dressage freestyle at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen became an Internet video sensation, was euthanized today after breaking a leg in a paddock accident, Horse and Hound reported.The 13-year-old Dutch mare was ridden by Andreas Helgstrand. She was retired from competition following a tendon injury at the Las Vegas World Cup in 2007.Blue Hors Stud Director Esben Moller said in a statement Matine broke her right forelimb at the knee while out in her pasture.
Dressage mare Blue Hors Matine, whose dressage freestyle at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen became an Internet video sensation, was euthanized today after breaking a leg in a paddock accident, Horse and Hound reported.
The 13-year-old Dutch mare was ridden by Andreas Helgstrand. She was retired from competition following a tendon injury at the Las Vegas World Cup in 2007.
Blue Hors Stud Director Esben Moller said in a statement Matine broke her right forelimb at the knee while out in her pasture.
Blue Hors Matine had a wonderful career and will be missed.
Having your horses respect is a key part of training. When your horse respects you, he sees you as the herd leader and is willing and ready to take orders from you anytime, anywhere. In a herd situation, the head mare is the leader. If you watch her, she will walk through the herd with complete confidence and security. If something needs addressed in the herd, she goes right to the problem and fixes it. She does not avoid confrontation, nor does she use her power in a dominant way. Horses know the difference between dominance and respect. Respect takes time and patience to achieve. Dominance may seem to work at first, but only because the horse is afriad of the consequences. When your horse becomes afraid of what you will do to them, your relationship cannot grow. Don’t get me wrong, when your horse is first learning to respect you as the leader, you may need to use a bit of force as a correctional tool. If your horse tries to run you over to avoid stepping in a puddle, you will for a moment need to tell him under no uncertain terms that he is not allowed to respond in this way. If your horse respects you as the leader in your relationship, he should want more to obey you, than to avoid the puddle. When the head mare wants a drink, she walks up beside one of the herd members and they leave so that she can drink. They are not scared to death of her, but they know it is a better idea to let her have a drink.
So the main idea is to get your horse to obey your commands out of respect and a full knowledge of what is a correct response and what is an incorrect response, rather than fear of what will happen to them if they do something wrong. When a horse becomes defensive, they stop listening to what you are actually asking for and start responding out of fear. The fastest way to progress in training is to get your horse focusing solely on you as the handler and exactly what you are asking for. Horses do not know how to respond to a fast moving, angry handler. If you continually lose your temper when handling a young or inexperienced horse, they will start to avoid you and will not want to be involved in what you are asking for. A consistent, purposeful handler will get the most out of a horse in the shortest amount of time. If you correct a disobedience immediately, your horse will have a better chance of knowing what he did wrong and understanding why you don’t want him to do it again. For example, if your horse won’t stand by the mounting block for you to get on, don’t follow him around for ten minutes and then decide to punish him. The first time he goes to step away, get off of the mounting block, place him back on the spot you started and try again. If he stands good, be sure to praise him and let him know that he did a good thing. To a horse, this is a black and white lesson that he should be able to easily understand. Another way to solidify his correct answer is by handing him a sugar cube once you get on and he has stood still for a short while.
Another example would be teaching your horse to stand while being treated by the dentist, vet or farrier. This, just like with mounting, is an invaluable lesson that will not only keep your horse safe and comfortable, but will also insure the safety of those working around him. Again, start off right at the beginning with your correction. If your horse is being treated in his stall, be sure that he stays in the area that he started at.
