Recently reported by dressagedaily.com, Rafalca ridden by Jan Ebeling won day 1 of the CDI Dressage Grand Prix.

In the CDI Grand Prix class, Jan Ebeling rode his long-time partner “Rafalca” to a decisive win with a score of 69.298%. Ebeling is using this competition as a final preparation for the Reem Acra/FEI World Cup Dressage Finals, and feels that his mount has become much stronger over the last year in order to better tackle the demands of the division. The ground jury agreed. “Rafalca is much more confirmed, consistent and at ease throughout her test than we’ve seen her before,” noted judge Cara Whitham.

For West Coast riders, there was no joking around this April Fool’s Day as a huge field of competitors fought for the blue ribbon in the CDI Prix St. Georges Test at the Festival of the Horse CDI-W/Y/J. Officiating for today’s class were FEI judges Linda Zang (5* USA), Cara Whitham (5* CAN), and Eddy de Wolff (4* NED). “The overall quality in the top group of this class was very good,” said judge Eddy de Wolff. Emerging the hard-fought victor was Steffen Peters riding Jen Hlavacek’s nine-year-old Westfalen gelding “Weltino’s Magic”, which de Wolff described as “a super horse”. After impressive wins at last month’s Mid-Winter Dressage Fair, this pair returned to Burbank to earn a first-day score of 75.395%.

Competing in the CDI Young Rider division, Dressage rider Brandi Roenick topped the list riding “Pretty Lady”, scoring a 66.974%. Additionally Colby Dodd of Canada won the Junior Team test competition.

Dressage Rider Shiwon Green

A notable grand prix dressage rider Shiwon Green of New Zealand chose to wear a safety helmet during the North Island Championships at Kihikihi competition – and she plans to wear a helmet for the rest of the season.

As reported by horsetalk.co.nz, the Dressage helmet movement is growing after King-Dye’s accident.

Green’s move, which is in support of the THINK! (The Head Injury Network for Kiwis) project’s Safety Helmet Awareness Campaign, has the support of US Olympic dressage riders Courtney King-Dye and Steffen Peters.

“Courtney said ‘Absolutely! Put my name on it! Great idea!’ And Steffen followed with ‘It’s a great idea. I considered wearing a helmet during the WEG in Kentucky. If everybody does, I will certainly do the same.’ Unbelievable endorsements by our heros,” Green said this week.

Helmet wearing campaigns have been gaining momentum since the serious injury suffered by King-Dye last March, and several top riders have worn helmets in their dressage tests since. Traditionally, riders wear top hats at higher levels in dressage.

Green’s helmet has been sponsored by Stirrups Equestrian in Auckland, supporters of last June’s Head Injury Awareness Week. Stirrups offered a 20% discount on riding helmets during THINK!’s awareness week.

Green, who is an ED nurse at Waikato Hopsital, said she would be wearing a GPA Airskin helmet at the Championships, which start today, and in competition for the rest of the season. She competed in Australia late last year, and finished seventh in the freestyle at the Pacific World Cup final in December.

We hope for the safety of the riders that the Dressage competition helmet movement continues to catch on.

Hello everyone!

By tomorrow evening, Guilliani, my mother and I will be at the Gayla Driving Center in Lexington, Kentucky preparing to ride with Dutch Superstar Edward Gal. Early this season, Kelly Gage from Engage Clinics contacted my mother and I to see if we were interested in riding in this prestigious event. Unfortunately, my mothers horse was injured preventing her from taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity, so it would just be me and Guilliani attending. If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be chosen to ride with the top dressage rider in the world, I would never have believe it. This is such a honor to be able to ride in front of such an amazing competitor. Edward Gal needs no introduction to riders who follow the international dressage scene. He was wildly successful on the KWPN stallion Lingh and now holds every record imaginable on his newest sensation Totlias. This stunning young stallion is simply mind blowing to watch. Edward manages to get absolutely every ounce of brilliance and expression out of Totilas, while remaining relaxed and giving a look of ease that I never thought possible. Totilas is an extraordinary animal, but I dont think any of it would be possible without Edwards talent as a rider, trainer and competitor.

So after knowing all of this, the next few days feel a little nerve wracking to me to say the least! Tomorrow we will arrive at the Gayla Driving Center. I have never been to this venue, but I hear it is beautiful and bosts a 100′ by 200′ indoor arena with stadium seating. Hopefully, I will have time to lightly school Guilliani in the indoor tomorrow evening to get him comfortable in his new surroundings. Friday afternoon, all of the riders will be able to school in the indoor in preperation for Saturdays event. Our ride times have been posted and can be found on Truly Dancing Dressage’s FB Fanpage. Guilliani and I go at 11am. I am really looking forward to hearing Edwards thoughts and opinions on myself and my horse. One of the great things about taking advantage of a good clinic, is that before and after your ride, you can watch your fellow riders school their own horses. The more you watch…the more you learn. I think this will be an awesome learning experience for everyone attending.

I will give an update on how my first schooling session went… hopefully with pictures. The clinic will be recorded and photographed as well, so as soon as the media becomes available to me, I will post it on this blog. Pray for good weather, safe rides and a lot of fun!

As reported by yourhorse.co.uk, an international dressage competitor has issued a heartfelt plea for all dressage riders to wear hats in competition, following a terrible fall by one of her compatriots.

US Grand Prix dressage rider Heather Blitz made the call after hearing about fellow US Olympic rider Courtney King-Dye, who was knocked unconscious following a fall while schooling in southern Florida last week.

Courtney is now in hospital in a coma, and doctors are uncertain when she may come out of it.

Heather said: “The terrible accident to our colleague and friend, Courtney King-Dye, is a harsh reality check of what can go wrong in a simple schooling situation at home, on the flat, with no fences or obstacles in our path.

“Falls do not just happen in eventing or jumping – they happen in dressage too. Horses are horses and we cannot control their every movement, no matter how experienced the rider. We can, however, take responsibility for our own safety by wearing a helmet in all circumstances when we are mounted.”

Heather, who is based in Europe and works with Mary Wanless in the UK, has now started a Facebook campaign to alert riders to the need to wear a riding hat.

Dressage riders are traditionally the worst offenders when it comes to not wearing their helmets for training.

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.

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By: Tracy Masterson

So, you are ready for your first dressage show. First, you should pick a small show for your very first show experience. The test you choose should be simple for your horse and yourself. You should always be schooling a level above what you decide to show. This way it is a pleasant experience for both yourself and your horse.

To prepare for your test, get a copy of the current USEF or FEI tests. You will want to run through the test a few times so that you know how it rides. You will want to make sure you do not practice it too many times, otherwise your horse may anticipate the upcoming movements.

When you ride your test, be as accurate as possible. This will help your score go up. The movement begins when your shoulder hits the letter, you may have a reader call your test for you for any test level – Fourth level and below. The reader may only read what is written in the test and only one time. The reader should read loaud and clear and not too quickly. Make sure that you still know your test in the case that you cannot hear what your reader is saying.

The day of the show it is important that you give yourself plenty of time to get you and your horse ready. Your horse should be braided as a courtesy to the judge. During warm up, try to stay as calm and focused as possible. Ride your horse as you would at home. Keep your eyes up, so you do not run into another horse. You may find yourself in an arena with many other schooling horses. You need to keep an eye on your ride time and make sure you are ready to go at the time given, this time is usually accurate so you must be ready to ride your test at the assigned time.

At your given time, trot around the outside of the arena. When the judge blows the whistle, you have forty five seconds to enter the arena. Enter the arena and begin your test. If you go off course, the judge will blow the whistle and let you know where you went wrong. You will then be allowed to start the movement over and try to ride as though it didn’t happen. After your ride, walk out of the area. When you pick up your test study what the judge says and try to use the comments to improve your next test.

Your first show experience should be fun and rewarding, try to keep a clear mind and stay focused and you will have a great time. The more you show, the more relaxed you will become.

Author Bio:
Tracy Masterson is a freelance writer as well as a competitive dressage rider who has ridden with top trainers such as Betsy Steiner and Silke Rembacz. Tracy has trained Grand Prix horses and her technique and style are highly sought after in a trainer.. For more dressage information, check out Tracy’s website at http://www.dressageamerica.com and she trains at http://www.highlifefarms.com.

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Guest Author: Jennifer Allbright

If you are new to dressage and want to start showing, it is important to learn and follow the dress code. It is pretty specific and, in dressage shows, you don’t get points for being creative and standing out from the crowd. Some judges are very traditional, and they are distracted by anything not following the “Norm”. Use your creative outfits for schooling. The dress code is also detailed in the rules for Dressage from USEF, so if you have questions about this advice, refer to the rules. These suggestions are based on current experience at 3 star shows in Northern California (2003-2006).

The rider should wear a black or blue dressage coat or hunt coat. A dressage coat has four buttons and a single vent in the back. A hunt coat has three buttons and a double vent. Most riders invest in a dressage coat, but it is fine to start off in a hunt coat before spending lots of money on a name-brand dressage coat. Depending on your climate, consider very carefully before investing in a traditional wool coat. There are other man-made blends that can be much cooler in warm weather. At some very warm shows, the judge will wave the coat requirement. This means that you can remove your coat and neck tie, but you must still be in a shirt with a collar and long or short sleeves. Unless you are desperate, wear your coat anyways if you can. The test is only 5-6 minutes and some judges prefer the finished look. By the way, tailcoats are only for riders riding Prix St. George level and above.

The rider should also wear a white show shirt with mock collar, white stock tie, stock tie pin, and white breeches. Your shirt can be long or short sleeves. There are tons of show shirts for sale on the market, so find something you like. Beige breeches are also allowed, but you are better off wearing white. Gloves can be white or black, but you are better off wearing white if you can stand it. Hunt style hard helmet in black velvet is best for the lower levels, if possible. A safety helmet of any style is allowed for your safety. Put your hair in some kind of hair net unless it is very short. No loose hair or flopping pony tails should be seen. Wear tall boots, preferably “dress boots” with no laces. “Field boots” have laces at the ankle and are better for the hunter/jumper ring. Half chaps or leggings are absolutely not allowed in the show ring for dressage. You must have tall boots. You can save money by purchasing imitation leather boots if you don’t want to incur the cost of leather boots. Leather boots can cost $100-$500 easily. Some people invest in custom-made leather boots that cost even more. Spurs are allowed with restrictions on them. Most common blunt-end spurs with straight shanks are fine. One whip no longer than 43.3 inches (110 cm), including lash may be carried in all classes except for annual championship classes.

For the horse, use a white, square saddle pad and an English or Dressage style saddle. The bridle can have a decorative brow band as long as it is leather-based. A beaded string across the brow is not allowed. No boots or leg wraps are allowed in the show ring. The saddle color should match the stirrup leathers, girth, and bridle if possible. Make sure that your bridle and bit are to regulation. Most simple snaffle bits are fine, and most nosebands are allowed. Try to have everything as neat and clean and white as possible before your rides!

Click Here to Learn More or Place an Order for Dressage Boots and English Horse Tack

Hello everyone!

My name is Fallon Walker.  l am dressage rider, trainer, competitor and l absolutely love what l do. Last month, Bar F Equine Products and Pelham Ascot asked if l would be interested in writing a dressage training blog and l jumped at the chance. This blog will be a lot of fun and will cover a wide variety topics pertaining to dressage and the training of your dressage horse.

There are so many things to talk about when you bring up the topic of dressage. We all love our horses and want the absolute best for them.  l know that l love talking about my horses, so please feel free to write in any questions you may have concerning dressage in general or even questions about you and your own horse. Dressage is a journey and half the fun is learning as you go. We all started at the basics and will never stop learning. From your first truly round circle to your first piaffe steps, they are all stepping stones towards achieving the elegance and perfection that is dressage.