The answer is yes…we've all GOT DRESSAGE!
Did you know Dressage is the oldest form of study on horse back? Did you know all forms of riding communication center around Dressage basics? Did you know you can improve the movement of just about ANY horse through Dressage Basics and exercises? Did you know you can help improve your over all ability as a rider through Dressage?
You know I wasn’t born with a genuine interest for DRESSAGE…I fell in love with it by accident. As a rider at the track I learned how to be heavy handed. I would muscle a horse through the bridle instead of finesse my way to get what I wanted. I have forearms like Popeye and back muscles like Arnold as a result of propping against a horse.
My mom had made her annual trek to the track to watch her crazy one-and-only child ride a race. Now Mom was a well educated rider back in the day. Riding Hunters, Jumpers and TONS of Arabs until she developed an allergy to horses…yes just out of the blue! She stood at the rail and watched as she made mental note after mental note…”Hard hands, bad seat, LEGS? HA what leg? Those arms…what in dear Gods name is she doing with those arms?” It was like being critiqued by THE MASTER!
After the race (BTW I was 2nd) I came out of the Jockeys room prepared to take dear ole Mom to lunch and enjoy the rest of the days races with her. Or so I thought. Instead she met me at the Jocks room door with a tongue lashing I will never forget. “Where did your riding skills go? You look like you need to learn to ride again! Didn’t you learn anything as a kid?” All I could think about was….”did I fall off during the race?”
We went to lunch, but not at the track. I sure as heck didn’t want my peers hearing me get my butt chewed by dear ole MOM!
That night I thought about what she had said and started questioning my abilities as a rider. It wasn’t like I could ride racehorses my whole life. If anything my life wouldn’t be very long if I kept riding racehorses!
The summer went by, and I ran into an old friend and we were talking about what she had been doing with herself and her horses. Here she was taking Dressage lessons. “EWWWWW how boring” was all I could think of. I’d almost rather watch paint dry! She invited me on a trail ride as she had been having some problems with her young stud colt under saddle and was a bit intimidated by him. She asked if I could hop on him. Before we hit the trail she watched as I rode him and noticed my HARD HANDS! “Christy, YOU might be able to manhandle him but I can’t!” …and what followed was my first Dressage lesson that changed my life!
Over the next hour or so she had me working him on a loose rein and letting him search for the bit. She also told me how to use my hand and leg aids together to get a better body posture from him. Everything she told me to do I felt a MAJOR change in how the horse under me was reacting. There was no bucking, no rearing, no head tossing, no kicking, no tense back…just forward movement…with FEELING!
After my little EDUCATION she told me how she felt my race riding would benefit from some Dressage basics. I was open to the new idea but still thought thumb screw torture would be easier. The next week I followed her to her weekly lesson and met her instructor/trainer Rebecca. I stood next to Rebecca for the entire lesson studying everything. She offered to give me a free lesson and said if I wanted, she would have me ride one of her Warm bloods.
Next thing I knew, I was astride this 17+h MOOSE with a head like a bus! Over the course of the next hour I learned how to use my body to communicate. How to use my weight, seat, hands and torso to change the horses movement, stride length, engagement and body carriage. WOW! I used muscles I never knew I had. I was hooked! Granted she had me on a very well trained horse with unbelievable skills and I knew I would have to learn to walk before I could sit the trot in this case!
The next week as I made my way to my first horse of the day, I thought about that dressage lesson. I wondered how I could apply what I had done on that warm blood to the high strung racehorses I was accustomed to riding. As I started out on this feisty 3 yr old filly, I gently applied my inside leg and pushed her into my outside hand…within about 5 strides her head dropped and she was light in my hands. (Last week she bucked all the way down the track, laced my gloves and stretched my arms!) I could feel her stride change as she reached for the bit and engaged her hind end. Her head came up above her withers (above the vertical) as she felt for the bit and then back down in search of it. She wasn’t real sure of what I was asking her to do, but offered little resistance.
“OH THIS IS TOO COOL!” I couldn’t wait to try it on the next horse! As soon as I got home that night I called Rebecca and scheduled my first in what would become many years of lessons. An education that continues to this day.
That was more then 14 years ago. I have since turned in my tiny little Jockey’s Saddle for a Dressage saddle. In the past 14 years I have had the pleasure of applying what I have learned in Dressage to everyday riding. From breaking young horses to re schooling retired racehorses. The entire Dressage process is a means of communication. Its not about restraint, force or gadgets. Its about being one with the horse that’s under you. Teaching the animal to trust, and feel for the person on its back.
People think Dressage is this Sterile THING that you have to be on a $30,000.00 warm blood and ride Grand Prix level to compete at. NOT! Dressage is sectioned in Levels. Everything from Intro (mostly walk trot) to FEI International competition. The Dressage Test is nothing more then a pattern, much like Reining or even trail. Its all about how well you execute the pattern.
This is where all of them LETTERS come in to play. They are points in your test you need to pay attention to. A Test may read… enter riding trot at A (which is the end of the arena) Halt at X (center of arena…Salute Judge and wait for signal to proceed) proceed at the walk to C track left…..you get the idea. You would be amazed how excited you can get when you see a rider blow a movement, miss a transition, or just BLOW the whole test! Its like…HA HA this is my chance to ace this bugger!
The one thing I have learned in Dressage…there is more then a gazillion ways to train a horse! I could go on and on about how Dressage can change your entire way of riding and how you see yourself and your horse as a team…but that would take too long. If you have the time…research Dressage trainers in your area. Make an appointment to watch a lesson or two…take a lesson or two. You don’t need to become a hard core Dressage rider to benefit from what you will learn. I have ridden Hunters, HUS, Eventers and pleasure horses and use my Dressage education everyday on every horse. The way I see it…we both benefit!
While my Dressage education grew so did my interest in Combined Training or Eventing. Now here was an equine sport where I could apply what I learned as a jockey….Speed and Control! I had the guts, I had a great foundation in Dressage all I needed was the ideal horse and instructor for Cross Country and Stadium (the other two of the three events in Combined training and 3 Day Eventing) In my next article we will enter the world of Eventing!
