Dressage

Dressage is a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training." Its fundamental purpose is to develop a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, maximizing its potential as a riding horse. The goal is for the horse to smoothly respond to a skilled rider's minimal aids by performing the requested movement while remaining relaxed and appearing effortless. Dressage is occasionally referred to as "Horse Ballet".

Dressage was first recognized as an important equestrian pursuit in the West during the Renaissance. The great European riding masters of that period developed a sequential training system that has changed little since then. Classical dressage is still considered the basis of trained modern dressage.

Dressage is the elaborate sport of training a horse to respond, seemingly effortlessly, to a rider's most subtle movements. Training a horse in competitive dressage takes years of training and devotion. Follow these steps to prepare for the event.

Steps to Event Preparation

Step 1: Tune your horse riding and handling skills. To do dressage, you need must be able to ride at an expert level. You must learn how to "speak" to a horse with the smallest movements of your body.

Step 2: Find the right horse. The horse must be extremely athletic and nimble and have the right "look." In keeping with the aristocratic traditions that formed dressage, the horses are "turned out" to display an uncommon elegance in gait and appearance.

Step 3:Learn the training scale. Dressage trainers use a traditional training scale as a guide for preparing the dressage horse and rider. The scale begins with rhythm and regularity and proceeds through relaxation, contact, impulsion and straightness.

Step 4: Familiarize yourself and your horse with the arena. Dressage is performed in two rigid arena formats, small and standard. In both cases, a set of letters marks the spaces around the arena so the rider knows where to perform certain moves. You must know the arena layout as well as you know your horse to perform dressage.