The backyard horse person and the trail rider want a horse that is calm, listens and responds to leg and hand-basically an Intro level dressage horse. The cutting or reining horse is supposed to almost read it's rider's mind, get it's hindquarters underneath to slide, and move off forward from the hindquarters. That is dressage! As is the jumper galloping a course, begin half-halted, having it's back brought up and using the impulsion from the hindquarters to create the bascule. The physical, mental and emotional changes that come from correctly using and training dressage is phenomenal.

Soon after I got Rayhaan, my skinny, little, slab-sided, "fly him on a kite string" Arab, I saved enough money for my first dressage saddle. The regular tree that I bought for him was almost too wide, but I expected him to muscle up a bit. Within a year, I couldn't keep the saddle on him! He now shares wide/extra wide tree saddles with my "well built" Quarter Horse mare! Rayhaan is still an Arab, but he is a thinking Arab. Something that I attribute to the mental discipline of dressage. We both love to jump, and I call it "dressage-ized" jumping. Sure, my stirrups are shorter and I am more forward. Rayhaan's poll is acceptably higher and his pace is faster, BUT his back is up, rounding over the jump. We are balanced over our center of gravity and we are using the same connection, contact, flow, flexibility, etc. that we were using in dressage.

Dressage doesn't just improve the horse. A horse can only be as good as the rider. Balance and coordination are needed, learned, and expanded in dressage. Dressage doesn't allow for "passenger" riding. The rider must be in constant communication with the horse and it's "5,000 body parts" to find any tenseness or resistance and get the horse to relax and move forward freely. Because of this, it is very important to have independence of the aids. Hands, seat, legs, and weight all need to be able to work at the same time with out relying on each other in order to maintain balance. Character is also being built as one is trying to do the "perfect practice to make perfect." Dressage is all about the perfect oneness between horse & rider. It is about taking the best & making it better, and minimizing the flaws.

After dressage shows, I am totally spoiled for open shows. The United States Dressage Federation has specific tests & levels to ride. Every five years USDF updates the tests, changing anything that they feel could be improved. Each of these tests has an approximate time that they should be ridden. Therefore, the show committee can have a time frame for all of the riders in the show. A day or two before the show someone calls and tells you the times to ride your tests!

Dressage is definitely a sport for the horse & rider, but it should also be an art form for the observer. It has been called the figure skating or dance of the equestrian world. July 6th & 7th the inland NW Dressage Association is putting on a two day recognized dressage show at Spokane Equestrian Center. Horses & riders from all over the NW will be competing at training level to FEI and Grand Prix. Please join us in enjoying the pleasure of watching "art in motion!"

The INDA Dressage Show is July 6th & 7th at the Spokane Equestrian Center. For more information, please contact Carol Voogd 509/466-8289 dbbldutch@icehouse.net or Sarah Sarber 208/651-0876 shadowfarm@apexmail.com