Dressage

[Bazile]

Isn't the olympics about ' sports '

Dressage - Really? - is this a sport ?

[woofgang]

When i used to ride, one of the jobs to do afterwards was to wash the bit and dry it. I used to take lessons with a friend...we were both middle aged no hopers but the lessons were huge fun and the horses got away with murder....we weren’t given school master horses, we were given the ones who ran the kindergarten! Anyway the bits were disgusting after the lesson, covered in slobber which has the consistency of treacle and mixed up with bits of grass.
It was a lovely place to ride. the horses and ponies seemed to enjoy the life too. I never saw one reluctant to be tacked up or to go to the manege. Europe does have a bad rep for using a technique called Rollkur to force the horse to hold his head in a fixed position but Carl Hester has never done it, nor Dujardin, who was his protegee. I think its going out of use in Europe too. It damages the horse’s neck muscles and spine and one thing you want from a dressage horse is longevity as it takes years to get them to the top rank so fitness and good health is essential. If you want to see abused horses, go look at the pleasure and saddle classes in US western riding events :(

[Cloverjo]

I feel sorry for the dressage horses. There was a recently retired racehorse (can't remember his name) who was put into dressage. I thought it was a shame that a horse who loved to run was constrained in such a way. He looked really sad.
I do think it's amazing how they are trained to perform like that, though. I hope they are happy.

[woofgang]

Cloverjo, he may not have loved to run. Even people who love racing will tell you that race horses run because they are prey animals. They run because the whole circumstance of racing triggers the instinct to flee with the herd from danger. Generally, the bloodstick industry ( racing) is not kind to horses. Unusual to put a racehorse into dressage, they don't usually have the brains or the build for it.

[lankeela]

Was following this thread the other day, then missed a few so forgive me if this has been said already! The dressage horses are not 'taught' the routines - the rider instructs the horse to do every single manouevre by the use of their legs, seat and hands. Each routine they do is preplanned and take a lot for the rider to remember, but the horse has no idea what is coming next till they get the instruction from the rider. The best riders are so subtle in the movements that you barely see the movement in their legs and hands and especially their bums - even the halt (which is actually a 'forward' movement for the feet but the hands prevent the horse moving forward!) is very difficult to get the horse to obey. If you just walked into the arena and left it to the horse it would not do any of the movements on its own and certainly not in the order of the test! Its also a very physical workout for a horse, as they use so many different muscles to complete each movement. That is why the racehorse mentioned was able to do it, as although they love to run it is a form of exercise for them and brilliant for a horse to learn after a racing career.

[lankeela]

By the way the racehorse was Kauto Star, a brilliant horse on the track and amazing to watch doing a dressage test. One of the best dressage tests I have ever seen was Princess Anne at a three day event - it was stunning.

[Prudie]

It's quite daft to think a dresage horse in the ring for 5 minutes isn't allowed to run, of course they get to canter and gallop the rest of the time. It's plainly obvious at the end of the routines when the rider drops the reins and aids that the horse relaxes completely, shakes his head, does all the normal things horses do.

[Ken4155]

Just wondering, Baz, do you ask this question every four years or has it only just occurred to you?:-)

[andy-hughes]

I only watched one competitor in the Olympics, and throughout, the commentator addressed each aspect as though everyone knows dressage intimately.

To me, the purpose of a commentator is to walk that fine line between informing people like me who know nothing, and advising those who do know without patronising them.

I would have thought with dressage, he was on a safe bet that for every one viewer who had a clue what he was talking about, there were a thousand who remained baffled by his wilful unwillingness to explain what he was describing in terms that a layperson can understand.

Exerts are wonderful - but not of they talk as if their entire audience is expert as well.

[retroactive]

Is dressage really a sport? yes it is, most definitely. Because every weekend hundreds of thousands of people with normal horses and ponies and normal riding skills compete in Dressage. The first 'tests' called preliminary are no more than walk and trot in circles and test the horses and riders communication skills between one another. What you are seeing at the Olympics are the very very 'top of their game' horses and riders. These riders will be 'bringing on' younger horses through the different levels as well as riding and training their advanced and Prix St. George horses. To anyone that thinks riding a horse consists of sitting on it and pointing in the right direction are quite welcome to come visit me for a 'quiet hack' then see if they can get out of bed the next day ;-)

[lankeela]

Andy I so agree - there have been several sports I have watched in passing where I had no idea about some of the rules or decisions or what was needed to win. Some commentators seem to delight in showing their expert knowledge but don't explain what is going on to the lay person. There was one sport (can't even remember which) that was on when you had to switch channels and it was about ten minutes before you even knew who was playing who and who was winning, as they kept on about technical stuff but didn't actually tell you the basics.

[lankeela]

Just for interest (or not lol) this is a Novice dressage test - bearing in mind that this is right at the opposite end to the Olympic standard!

file:///C:/Users/Jacky/Downloads/Novice_Dressage_Test_130_1%20(1).pdf

[RandyMarsh]

Sitting on a trotting horse is not my idea of a sport either.

[lankeela]

The fact you think they are just sitting on a trotting horse shows how skilled they are - that is what you see but in reality they are working very hard to make the horse do what it is doing without looking like they are doing anything!

[pixie374]

Exactly-like ballet. Half the skill is in making it look effortless