Southern Equine Connection

 By Barbara Nagle 

Unquestionably European riders and horses excel in dressage events. In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Anky van Grunsven from the Netherlands won the gold medal in individual dressage. Isabell Werth from Germany won the silver medal and the bronze was won by Heike Kemmer also from Gemany. (you can view Anky van Grunsven’s gold medal ride at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ-ScP6wUPM) 

Germany won the gold medal in the dressage team event. Silver went to the Netherlands and bronze to Denmark. 

One might argue that the European dominance in dressage is due to the fact that the dressage maneuvers and training discipline originated in Europe almost 2,000 years ago so the Europeans have been at it a whole lot longer than the rest of the world. Even in the United States, upper level dressage tests are predominantly executed by imported warmbloods. The 2008 US Olympic Dressage Team all rode warmbloods. 

But I am here to tell you that the warmblood breeds are not the only breeds that can be successful in dressage events. 

Dressage is a French word for ‘training’. The ‘training’ focuses on developing a horse’s rhythm, relaxation, connection, impulsion, straightness, and collection. The ‘training’ teaches the horse to balance more of his weight over his hindquarters which results in lightening of the forehand making the horse more flexible and maneuverable with his energy originating in the hind quarter and flowing forward through the shoulder and neck. 

Most horses are capable of performing quite satisfactorily at training level and 1^st level. In fact every horse on the planet will benefit from this level of training as it focuses on the fundamentals of balanced, forward movement. But I will be the first to tell you that there definitely are temperament and conformation characteristics that will make it much easier for a horse to achieve the collection and throughness that is required to achieve the more difficult high level dressage movements. You want to look for a horse that is built ‘uphill’ with a short, strong back; strong, structurally correct hind legs; and a lot of strength in the hind quarters. 

Except for the ‘uphill’ part, doesn’t this sound a whole lot like an American Quarter Horse? Well, AQHA seems to think so. At least they are getting on board with recognizing the value of the training discipline and acknowledging the performance of the Quarter Horse in the Dressage arena. 

Starting in 2010, AQHA will award AQHA points to AQHA registered horses that compete in USEF/USDF-licensed shows starting with Training Level Test 4. The specifics relative to this new partnership are available on the AQHA website: http://www.aqha.com/showing/guidetoshowing/dressage.html 

Now if you are still inclined to scoff at the idea of a registered Quarter Horse doing Dressage, let me introduce you to my 11 year old 17 h QH/TB Gelding So Good Im Indecent (Alf) because no one has told him that Quarter Horses can’t do Dressage. 

      Working trot, sitting  

15 meter circle, canter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Alf has shown in the Quarter Horse Circuit as a hunter in the Amateur division since he was 4 years old. In 2009, I started Dressage training just for grins. I quickly discovered that the training improved everything about Alf as an athlete and me as a rider. His bascule over fences was rounder and I had more control rating his speed on our approach to a fence. And best of all he seemed to like the uphill dressage frame much better than the low hunter frame that Quarter Horse judges favor. 

Because we both liked it so much, we started showing at local schooling shows in Training Level. We did so well there, that my dressage trainer suggested I go to some rated shows that were AQHA approved so I could get the AQHA points. And so we did. We even pushed the envelope a little and progressed to 1^st Level. My scores at both Training Level and 1^st Level were in the high 60’s and low 70’s so my points were racking up. And then my trainer said why don’t you try to qualify for the USDF Region 3 Championship in Training Level. And we did. So then she said lets try to qualify you for the Region 3 Championship in 1^st Level. And we did that too. And oh by the way all of that qualifying happened between December 2009 and April 2010. At the same time, I also qualified in the hunter events for the Adequan Select AQHA World Show. 

Now my dressage trainer is pushing me to go for my USDF Bronze Rider Medal which means I have to achieve at least one score of 60% or higher at 1^st Level, 2^nd Level and 3^rd Level. So I am schooling 2^nd Level now and hopefully will start showing 2^nd Level in December 2010. 

Do not for a moment think that we are an anomaly and that Alf as a Quarter Horse is alone in the Dressage shows. There certainly are others. And they are all very competitive. At dressage shows you compete against other horses and riders that are performing at your same skill level and you progress through the tests and levels at your pace.. 

So if you own a registered Quarter Horse and you are looking for a new challenge that will benefit both you and your horse while earning coveted Quarter Horse points, give the Dressage discipline a whirl. And if you show in Florida, look for Barbara Nagle riding So Good Im Indecent in the Adult Amateur division.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 7:59 am and is filed under General Interest, Showing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.