Dressage

Dressage is a system of horse training that emphasizes perfecting the natural movements of the horse and then reproducing them with a rider.http://www.cdnz.net/history.html It is considered by some to be the groundwork for all other disciplines and may be regarded as the highest form of horse training.http://www.fei.org/disciplines/dressage/about-dressage

In modern dressage, a horse and rider train together to perform a series of movements, such as the serpentine, half-pass, piaffe, pirouette, and volte, over which they are tested. The horse is shown at all gaits, the walk, trot, canter, and stop. At the beginning the horse and rider will trot or canter in and then stop right in the middle (X) of the arena, and salute.http://www.fei.org/disciplines/dressage/about-dressage The tests are performed in a flat, rectangular arena (60 x 20m) outlined with a short rail. 12 lettered markers are placed at specific intervals along the rail. The letters mark where the movements of the test will begin and end.

Tests are produced by the governing body of national level dressage, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF).http://www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage/competition/index.asp Tests vary in difficulty from seniors, young riders, pony riders, and children.http://www.fei.org/disciplines/dressage/about-dressage The tests may be divided into national and international levels. The national tests may be further divided into training level, first level, second level, third level and fourth level.http://www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage/competition/index.asp The highest level of testing may be seen at the Olympics with Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle (Kur) tests.http://www.fei.org/disciplines/dressage/about-dressage

Dressage may be traced back to the Greek Xenophon who wrote on the importance of training a horse properly for the military.http://www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage/history.asp As history has progressed, his system has been built on through the ages by both civilian and military horse trainers who have documented their training systems in books. At its beginning, dressage was primarily used by the military and required the horse to be obedient and maneuverable.http://www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage/history.asp

The first Olympic dressage horses also came from the military. The United States Cavalry at Ft. Riley exchanged ideas and instructors with the schools in Europe and brought dressage into the civilian world.http://www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage/history.asp In 1948, when the cavalry disbanded, dressage became the domain of civilians and opened up to both men and women, with the first woman rider competing in the Olympics in 1952.http://www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage/history.asp