Dressage is a Sport for Everyone

While other riders may have 'better' horses, or more experience than us, there's room in the sport of dressage for everyone - As seen in Equest Hub Magazine

The best thing about dressage is that it really is a sport for everyone, including 8-year-old Myah Hennock and 68-year-old Marian Hutchings. (Images courtesy Nicole Tough Dressage).

Whilst I have heard some riders grumble about their competitors campaigning on downgraded schoolmasters, or having to compete against a rider with an imported horse, the best thing about dressage is that it really is a sport for everyone.

Dressage judges use standardised tests, and we are all judged against the same training scale. Equestrian sport’s unique aspect is that because we are evaluated on harmony not strength, there are no ideal physical attributes, there’s no advantage to being male or female, and age is no barrier. The sport offers opportunities for riders of all backgrounds and ages to develop their skills and build a partnership with their horse.

The perception of elitism often stems from the high cost at the top levels, and the price tags some people can pay for trained and competitive schoolmasters. But this doesn’t have to detract from each person’s individual journey, and it has been proven anything is possible with enough determination.

Australia’s team in Paris consisted of three young riders, working their way to the top of the sport, earning their marks the hard way on horses owned by others. This was the same for UK rider Charlotte Dujardin, who on Valegro, a horse not owned by her, broke world records and won many World Championships and Olympic medals. And USA equestrian Laura Graves’ parents traded their washing machine and dryer for Verdades as a foal. Whilst being very difficult as a young horse, Laura went on to train him to the World Number 1 ranking. It has been proven that hard work and effort can get you where you want to go.

The best part about dressage is that it can be enjoyed at lower levels with less expensive horses and less intense training regimes. There are many ways to be involved, including protocol and club days, small and big official events, regional and state championships, and CDIs.

There’s a place in our sport for the 8:00am to 5:00pm weekday workers who can only ride on the weekend; the professionals slogging it out, breakingin their own horses and taking them as far as they can go; and there’s also a place for the wealthy with the time and resources to ride at the top level. There’s space for the professional who teaches people how to rise trot, and for the professional who brings their own horse to Grand Prix. There’s space and time for everyone. And the best thing? No matter the breed, all horses can be trained - and when we come into the arena, we are presenting our horse and our training.

It is true that there is no consideration given to less ideal conformation. What you buy is what you bought. And the fact that we can’t afford a horse with paces for a score of nine doesn’t mean we can’t compete in dressage. If we buy a downhill Quarter horse or an uphill and tense Clydie cross, this is the choice we made. A horse that has difficulty doing exercises or developing strength may take longer than a horse that finds it easy, but this is the horse we picked. It is our journey, full of the same ups and downs as everyone else.

The fact is that there are horses who have natural ability and temperaments more suited to dressage. And the better a horse moves, the higher the score is going to be. If you are a basketball player and you're five feet tall, you are not going to be the same quality basketball player as somebody who is 7'3. The playing field is not level. But while there will always be riders with fancier horses and trucks, and more extensive training and experience which gives them an advantage over others, it doesn’t take away the effort we can each put into our horse.

And actually, not everyone wants to train to Grand Prix. After all, it takes 8 to 10 years to get there and the horse needs to be willing to do the same repetitive exercises over and over, to move laterally as well as forward, and to cross their front and hind legs elastically and evenly to both sides. They have to sit and extend whilst willing to carry more weight on their haunches, when they’d rather carry it on their forehand. Even horses who are purpose-bred for dressage don’t always want to be a dressage horse.

If you don’t have a power mover, harmony and accuracy will get you a long way. Ride accurately on a correctly trained horse. If you get to show your best effort with your horse, you’re a winner. We’re not competing against others. We’re competing against ourselves.

Dressage is hard. Riding transitions, straight lines and circles of the right size and shape, with consistent bend and tempo in a consistent frame is really hard. It’s hard at preliminary on a 4-year-old, it’s hard at elementary level on a 6-year-old, and its hard at FEI level. Choose your hard. No matter your financial investment, at the end of the day; nobody can control the results - but we can control our effort and our focus. Just keep getting better, little by little, day by day and honour the horses we have.

A horse needs to be willing to do the same repetitive exercises over and over.