Riding Dressage Horses with Style

Dressage is part of the Olympic equestrian events. Train your horse the right way without inducing too much stress to avoid digestive ulcers from developing.

A simple comparison to dressage can be ballet for horses. The objective of dressage is to develop the horse's natural capability as well as its readiness to execute. At optimum performance the dressage horse feels comfortable while performing various movements requested by their riders. The general performance of the horse should be of no efforts and the rider’s lead should be minimal.

The dressage training and contest will take place in a show arena. The arena generally comes in two sizes: the small and standard size. The movements involved in dressage competitions are carried out at specific positions around the show arena. Letters are placed on designated areas of the arena so riders will be aware of the specific positions. The competition includes different performance levels – from amateurs to Olympic-rated levels. Lower competition levels will only require a simple walk and trot from the rider and the horse. These shows are often conducted in local areas and are easy to locate and participate in. As the rider competes and advances through the next level, the dressage tests become more difficult. The competition will require more skills and movements as the levels increase.

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A training scale is involved in dressage and it used as a training guide for the horse. It is designed in a pyramid fashion and starts from the horse’s ability to maintain rhythm and regularity. Over time, the horse will work up to collection, the training found at the top of the pyramid scale. Each level of the training should be polished as the training progresses. Therefore, a horse that competes at the Grand Prix aiming for top-level competitions still needs to know the basic performance and not just show of the high-rated skills.

For the lower levels of the competition, judging depends on the basics of dressage and how well the rider and horse achieves the performance.  The basics involve having the horse move forward, readily accepting the aids of the rider. A lot of horses will compete but judges will look for the best pair who delivered the best basics. As the rider advances to more complex levels of the competition, the movements should become suppler and rider and horse should be able to perform various movements.

It does not matter what level of the competition you participate in; just remember to train your horse the right way. Do not take the easy way out just so you can have a horse that appears great; they may not be able to serve you well in the long run and you might need to train them all over again. 

Dressage is an equestrian sport that does not discriminate horse breeds; any breed can compete in the show. Any horse and anyone who simply knows how to rider can learn the basic principles and techniques of dressage.