February 15, 2010
Dressage in 2010…..and the future. Where are we going?
I received an email from a client and dear friend of mine over a year ago, author unknown, titled “Dressage in 2030”. In reading it, you can’t help but smile and even chuckle at the content:
1. After changing the rules to allow riders to go topless, to
increase spectator interest, dressage is now getting more television
airtime than the AFL, cricket, tennis, swimming and golf combined.
2. After winning her 7th consecutive Olympics, Anky is now at the
heart of controversy once again, this time for training her horses
telepathically.
3. Average size of the typical Warmblood: 22.1 hands.
4. The new ruling regarding tack has determined the maximum thickness
of knee roll padding allowed is 23 cm. However, a last minute
convention decision has over ruled the ban on saddle seatbelts,
effective immediately.
5. After decades of breeding for huge gaits, and with the average
Warmblood standing 22.1 hands, the dressage arena dimensions have
again been expanded and now measure 180 meters x 90 meters, mostly to
allow room for the extended trot.
6. Only 6 qualified trainers remain in the entire world who are able
to train a horse from start to Grand Prix themselves. In related
news, the cost of a Grand Prix schoolmaster horse now averages $US
$18.2million.
7. The FEI rulebook for dressage is now 118,346 pages long. Specific
guidelines are included for judging degrees of "behind the vertical"
and a new ruling now require s that every competition must have at
least two judges - one of whom is responsible only for judging the
head position (see article 848,976.93 section C).
8. The halt has been removed from all dressage tests. Piaffe, passage
and the extended trot now make up 76% of the Grand Prix marks.
9. Although competitors are now allowed to compete treeless,
girthless, bitless (and now topless), the rules continue to require
stirrups.
10. Petrol now averages $13.50 a litre, and no vehicle manufacturer
has yet been able to produce a hybrid vehicle capable of hauling even
one 22+ hand horse
11. Scientists are busy trying to figure out how to ship semen via
the Internet. In related news, it is rumored that a mare in England
has given birth to a foal - naturally. Scientists are stumped.
12. The FEI is currently holding another emergency meeting to decide
how to deal with cloning, after the fiasco at the last Olympics,
where there were 3 Bonfires, 4 Gigolos, 4 Gifteds, 6 Rembrandts and 2
Salineros (including "the original" Salinero, still competing in his
mid 30s, thanks to advances in veterinary medicine).
In related news, the FEI is expected to rule this month on which
Gigolo was really the bronze medal winner in 2028.
And while this is a lovely and amusing ‘tongue –in –cheek’ writing, it reminds me that there is an element to competitive international dressage today which makes me think we may be headed in really the wrong direction. Not only driving in that direction, but someone has stepped on the accelerator…….
I am a member of a forum on Linked-In that is for Dressage Professionals. There is currently a thread regarding the highly elevated scores of recent international riders. The general consensus is that these scores were not warranted based on the level of performance. That is what we see, looking at video (no, you can’t see everything on video but you can see something not working). There are a few, fans of the rider, or the horse, who disagree and believe that a score in the low 90’s and handing out 80’s just like Halloween candy is acceptable, as we should be rewarding these horse-rider combinations because the breeding of the sporthorse has advanced significantly. We are now, internationally, breeding animals that are far superior to those being bred 20-30 years ago. Well, even 10 years ago. So we are, or are we?
My contention is that just because the animal has superior movement and ability, it is not a case for reward. In the dressage court, the animal and the rider are presented as one entity. If the pair is not able to execute the movements correctly, they should not be rewarded simply because the animal is exceptional…and given the recent demonstrations, the case for the animal being exceptional in ability (which should include temperament and obedience)may even (and should) be up for debate.
The question regarding the superiority of the dressage horse may lie in “What do we want to see as the ideal?” Do we want young flashy animals that may potentially be burned out or disabled before they reach their teens? What now is the standard for the gaits, movements and transitions according to the FEI? Are we truly looking for warmbloods that move like our American Saddlebreds? If so, our American team could have cleaned up decades ago, and maybe still can. Where are we really going? Really.
I do realize that this is an industry that is making an attempt to gain spectatorship. However, people who want to watch a circus will simply do so. Is that how we want to market our international dressage? How can we preserve the integrity of our sport? What is the new standard, and who gets to make the decision on that standard? Where are we going?
A good sign….on the 9th of February the FEI held a roundtable conference regarding the use of rollkur (also called hyperflexion) as an acceptable technique for training the sporthorse. The outcome was a breath of fresh air, as the panel unanimously decided that as rollkur was an aggressive form of riding it should not be sanctioned. Dr. Gerd Heuschman (author of “Tug of War”) made his case, and presented a petition that circulated worldwide with 41,000 signatures. And while we won’t be preventing anyone doing it in their own “backyards” so to speak, at least we won’t be seeing it happen in warm-ups at international venues. Maybe it’s because of the outcry from the public, maybe not. It would be nice to think that we do have a say regarding the direction our sport is heading.
The bottom line is that many of our horses are hurting as a consequence of the race to win. Ironically, we shudder when we hear that a Thoroughbred champion in racing has had to be put down on the track (due to overtraining, poor breeding, etc.) because he has shattered a sesamoid by simply running fast, yet we never consider the daily and undue stress that we are putting on our dressage mounts by requiring that they perform possibly to levels that they may not be prepared for, whether mentally or physically, just because we can make them do it. It seems to be happening now on a regular basis and instead of standing by our animals and insuring their health and happiness; we look to being rewarded for pushing them to their limits because of their talent, without considering the long term effect and consequence for the animal. How humane of us.
We are the stewards of the equine. It’s time we care for them, in breeding, training and competition. They are not a commodity, they are a gift. Our civilization would not exist as it does today without them. We need to honor them for that.
JW
February 1, 2010
On Second Level
With sincere apologies for my delay... (I have spent the last several months preparing for and executing a relocation) I would like to continue with where we left off, at Second Level.
“Purpose: To confirm that the horse, having demonstrated that it has achieved the thrust (pushing power) required in First Level, now shows that through additional training it accepts more weight on the hindquarters (collection), shows the uphill tendency required at the medium gaits and is reliably on the bit. A greater degree of straightness, bending, suppleness, throughness, balance and self-carriage is required than at First Level.”
Well, there it is again. Uphill. This is truly a vast undertaking coming from the simple “thrust” we were asking for at First Level. Let’s create a perspective within the analogy of the distance runner who is simply required to move himself through space efficiently and quickly and compare that to the accomplished ballet dancer, now required to propel himself not only forward, but upward and with tremendous suspension and grace. Some of our horses have a very natural talent for the “ballet” type of movement; many do not, and if we are to succeed at this level and levels beyond, it will be required that we are able to educate our horses by strengthening them in this type of movement. (In order to refrain from writing a book this evening, I will have to leave it at that. I will be authoring several workbooks, each on a “level” in which I will address methodology on how to achieve the objectives!)
I can speak for days on straightness and bending. In my recent return to the left coast, I attended a clinic given by a European champion, several times over. While the clinician was all about the bending, she often did not comment on the loss of connection which occurred when some riders went to the rein to achieve the bend and simply created over flexion, popping of shoulders to the outside, and diving in on the forehand. The connection required is simple in concept, but requires determination to achieve. The simplicity of it is this: ride your horse from behind forward into steady receiving and consistent connection with your hand. The difficulty lies in understanding how to use our bodies to help the horse understand and meet our request. If the connection is maintained correctly, then the horse will bend correctly from our seat not our hand.
If you’ve been training your horse in this manner from the beginning, the ‘throughness’, balance and self carriage are already there and will naturally improve as your horse becomes stronger.
Ok, let’s get on with it.
The Gaits at Second Level
Medium Walk
Considered the horses natural walk while continuing to be on the aids correctly. The horse walks forward with a soft and steady contact, each hind foot stepping into the print of the forefoot in a even 4 beat tempo. The rider must allow the natural movement of the horses back and head, which is to say that the rider must not become overly tense or restrictive with either seat or hand.
Free Walk
The free walk is the horse’s natural walk while stretching with minimum contact with the bit. This is the ultimate test of a horse’s acceptance of the bit, as he should stretch forward and down in an attempt to maintain contact while the reins are being lengthened. Failure to do so indicates lack of acceptance of contact and tension in the back.
Collected trot
In collection (at any gait) the articulation of the joints of the hindquarter increases, the horse steps further underneath his body and the stride shortens. The more collection, the more pronounced these items become.
Medium trot
Medium trot is a lengthening of the trot and is the predecessor to the extended trot. A rule of thumb is that the horse can only extend to the same degree as he can collect. Maintaining the uphill balance and the tempo (should be the same as the collected trot!) are paramount.
Collected Canter
In collected canter, the hind legs step further under the body to accept more weight without losing activity. Again, the stride shortens and the joints of the hindquarter become more articulate.
Medium Canter
In medium canter, the horse maintains an uphill frame out of collected canter and covers more ground, as the stride lengthens and the frame of the horse becomes longer. Again, the tempo should not change from that of the collected canter.
The Rein-back
A two beat movement in which the diagonal pairs are picked up moved back and set down.
The Movements
Test 1
Well, we have quite a bit to bite off and chew here, having supposedly just come from First Level. Here is what is new:
The medium gaits (described above)
10 meter circle at the canter is performed in collected canter. A quality 10 meter circle will have the appropriate bend on the circle originating from the center of the spine just underneath the saddle. The frame of the horse should be obviously uphill.
Shoulder- in is the first of the lateral movements. It is performed in collected trot and in this particular test on the rail. With the haunches at the rail, the horse bends so that the shoulder and neck come to the inside, and the legs move on three tracks spaced evenly.
Simple change of lead at the canter performed through the walk. This requires that you have clean balanced canter-walk and walk- canter transitions. In order to get those, your horse must be adept at collecting the canter enough so that the transition to walk allows a high quality uphill walk which in turn will produce a correct transition to canter in the new lead.
Rein-back (described above) must be performed in a relaxed manner without tension or resistance.
Test 2
Introduction of Travers (Haunches –in) performed in collected trot. In this movement along the rail, the shoulder moves on the rail and the horse bends so that his haunches come to the inside, this time creating four tracks (the track of the outside hind leg just inside of the inside foreleg). This is the introduction to half-pass required at third level.
Test 3
Introduction of Turn on the Haunches performed in the medium (although the stride is shortened just prior) walk. This is the predecessor to the walk-pirouette, and while it is not required that the haunches stay in place, the activity of the walk (clearly stepping) and the fluidity of the turn must be preserved.
Test 4
Introduction of Renvers performed in collected trot. Again, this movement is along the rail, however the shoulder comes to the inside and the horse bends in the direction of travel to create four tracks. Renvers in this test is asked for out of a transition from shoulder in so that the placement of haunches and shoulders already exists. It is only required that you change the bend of the horse. Again, more preparation for half-pass.
So, there you have it. If you are already riding and competing at First Level, you need to be schooling these gaits and movements.
Happy Riding!
JW