THE COMPETITORS

Dressage riders defy categorization. At the Heart Mountain Dressage Club's competitions you will see students and nurses, artists and lawyers, housewives and retirees ranging in age from six to sixty-six and up. Some are dedicated to the sport, some use it to improve their horses' abilities for other equine activities, some enjoy training and competition, some like the social side of dressage. All share the love of horses.

THE DRESSAGE HORSE

Dressage horses come in all breeds, genders, age, color or size. Exceptional basic gaits -- walk, trot and canter -- together with a good temperament and solid conformation are helpful but not essential. Some basic characteristics to look for: a fine throtle, a long and sloping shoulder with the neck set high enough to give the shoulder free movement, space between the elbow and the barrel, a long forearm, short pasterns, strong feet, croup neither flat nor sharply angled, and good angles on hip, stifle, and hock -- pretty much what you want to see in all horses.

Any horse with three good gaits can compete successfully in the lower tests. Dressage training makes any horse more obedient, supple, balanced, and pleasant to ride.

YOU BE THE JUDGE

Each test begins with the competitor entering the arena at the "A" marker and proceeding down the center line to halt and salute the judge at "X", which is an unmarked spot in the exact center of the arena. The halt must be "square". with the front and back feet even and the horse's body straight. The horse should stand quietly but move off promptly and smoothly when asked by the rider.

Now and throughout the test pay attention to the horse's attitude. Does he seem to be happy and alert? Are the horse and rider in harmony? A tossing head, swishing tail and ears pinned back are signs of tension and resistance. On the other hand, ears cocked slightly back shows that the horse's mind is tuned to the rider; that he is listening to the rider's unspoken aids. A gentle swinging tail signifies relaxation and a quiet head shows the horse's obedience and attention to his work.

As the test proceeds, watch how the horse moves on both straight and curved lines. On the straight, his body should be straight and his hind feet should follow the path of his front feet. On turns and circles he should bend his body uniformly along the arc in order to create the same path with fore and hind feet. Watch for round circles and smooth, even turns. The transitions between gaits should be smooth, and the horse should immediately establish rhythm in the new gait.

The horse should carry his head in the vertical position, indicating that he accepts the bit and is continually feeling for the rider's aids. The horse with his nose stiffly out in front of him, and the overbent one with his chin on his chest, are not accepting the rider's hand.

Now, let's talk about the rider. He/she should ride without apparent effort, maintaining balance, with the upper body erect but supple and thighs and legs steady and stretched downward. The elbows should be close to the body. In this position the rider should be able to follow the movements of the horse smoothly and apply the aids imperceptibly.

SCORING OF DRESSAGE TESTS

Dressage competitors pursue the unobtainable ... perfection. Marks are awarded on a scale of from 0 (not performed) to 10 (perfect) for each movement and for four types of general impressions.

Tests are ridden in small (20 x 40 meters) and large (20 X 60 meters) arenas with lettered markers placed at specific points along the rails, the markers serving as reference points for the mandatory movements. (No one knows how the specific letters were selected, what they mean, or why they were placed in the sequence we use. Some things you have to take on faith.)

The judge sits behind the "C" marker and evaluates the performance from that perspective. At large shows there are as many as three judges spotted around the arena. A "writer" is seated with each judge to record "comments" and scores for each movement.

After the test is complete, the judge may choose to speak to the contestant to provide verbal comments on the ride. The test itself goes to a "scorer" who adds up all the points and finds a percentage based on the total possible points for that particular test. Anything over a 50% is good. Seldom do competitors receive scores higher than the mid-60 percentile.

comments prepared by Pat Stuart, 1995