Dressage is dead. There, I said it. Somebody had to.
Okay, not dead in the literal sense. Dressage is still alive and kicking. But, the idea of Dressage as some kind of harmonious, artistic venture is dead in the competitive scene.
We've spent years trying to keep a diseased version of Dressage alive but it's now comatose on life support. A vegetable. Time to pull the plug and move on.
What's it been, 10 years we've been yelling and screaming about Yanky van Grunsven's use of Rollkur? Then the FEI ruled Rollkur was evil while Low Deep Round (LDR) was ideal. Of course the physical manifestations of both are identical. Studies show it causes permanent and irreversible physical damage to the horse. Don't forget about the mental and emotional distress.
Oh, then we had the blood in the mouth incident with a Yanky student, Adelinde Cornelissen. Followed by more than a handful of blue tongue incidences.
Earlier this year Dressage Knockout got to try out. And yes, it's as bad as the name sounds.
We've got horses scoring perfect 10's for obvious, incorrect movements. Judges favoring horse/rider pairs over correct work.
But none of that is news.
Marketing dressage to non-dressage people is now the trend. Horse sport wants an audience, they want more media exposure, press, and money. Dressage is no longer immune to these motivations.
The Global Dressage Forum discussed ways to move dressage forwards, to make it more popular and gain air time. One idea presented by Kyra Kyrklund was to contract the Grand Prix to a 4-minute time limit to avoid boring their audience.
Dressage tests are meant to test the horse's training. Not captivate the general public.
Can we please, please, please move on already. Admit competitive dressage isn't about harmonious riding. Dressage is dead (as we once knew it). Competitive dressage is about growing the commercial goals of an organization.
If we want harmonious dressage competitions it won't be through shows organized by the FEI or USDF.
Source: Alice Collins’ Global Dressage Forum blog: We must move with the times
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I am not sure I would say dressage is dead – but I would say Competitive dressage has evolved into something that no longer deserves to be called dressage. But lay the blame where it belongs – the judges and authorities. Change the rules back and give the judges a directive to STOP rewarded crap, and voila, the riders and trainers will find a way to produce what wins.
I am not sure your point in this article – maybe you should encourage people – esp those at the lower levels – to STOP entering dressage shows. Take your business elsewhere and we can strangle the beast that dressage has become.
We also need to elect better representatives – who DO have compassion for their horse at the front – and there ARE trainers/riders out there that will NOT sacrifice their horses well being. You just don’t hear of them because they don’t get the grand prize. They don’t get the mega scores. They just Look good and their horses last, instead of being euthanized at 13 yrs of age because they were injured and can’t become sound.
Dressage Can evolve in a new more positive direction, but we will have to keep “selective Pressure” on to make it happen.
Is the photo at the top an actual dead horse? And yes agree with you, a lot things are wrong with the dressage competition scene, but at least my experiences in the UK have shown a definite increase in training for lightness and harmony.
“Harmonious dressage compeitions”? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
Two words- “utter crap” . A myth perpetuated by people incapable of achieving anything meaningful in the world of the finer elements of horse training . Who IS Alice Collins ? Two more words – ” No One ” .
The writer hates everything lol,Clinton,parrelli,roundpens,barrelracers etc. you are exhausting become positive maybe you’ll get attention other than irritating everyone who doesn’t think like you……. Yes I know I have bad grammar
Noone has some very relivant points, I have seen it with my own eyes, and I am someone.
What a ridiculous argument. Can anyone honestly say that the video accompanying the article shows abuse? While it can be hard to watch good hearted beginners try to do dressage (bouncing, pulling, etc).
That does appear to be a dead horse. I’m not sure why I’m bothered by that, but it seems I’m not the only one. Was that really needed to make the point?
This is also marketing itself. A horrific picture that shows a horse dead on the ground….I think perhaps the shock value itself is enough to know that this is the writer’s opinion piece.
Dressage is not dead, it exists quietly in lone arenas with riders working with their horses in solitude. With instructors who care about the development of the horse athletically. Riders who have empathy, understanding and tact.
No dressage is not dead.
More so it is the quieter sibling to the loud, brash big brother hell bent on marketing, money and fame……
True dressage will never be dead….it will exist quietly for it does not need to replicate that of those who feel there is “show” in dressage.
Some of us still keep “dressage” alive.
Perhaps rather than following the crowd and crying out in anguish giving those riders even more spotlight and press we should quietly revolt, go out compete, show there is another way.
Don’t shrink from showing there is something more to dressage than scores, cheers and 4 minute grand prix test……….
Rather compete to show an example of the horse and rider in harmony….
Show a different way often enough, if you care to, and people will begin to see the differences…….
I have to say also don’t think you needed to post a dead horse at the top to get people’s attention. I do however agree that the methods used with most dressage training is horribly cruel and unnecessary. A well trained rider should be able to get their to perform without pain and torture to the supposed beloved horse. !
Well…and we all need to ride in high saddles that are holding us in too! Hmm…so much for harmony/balance! If I need a pommel like a horn in the front and a cantle so high at the back that I can’t move or balance…am I a dressage rider
Whoever thought it was a good idea to commence this article with a photograph of a dead horse needs to give their head a shake. It’s offensive. It’s in extremely poor taste. And it fills me with a level of disgust that makes me think anyone with that such monumentally poor judgement has nothing to say that is worth reading.
We-ell – there are alternatives. There is the continued education of the rider to ride harmoniously and be at one with his horse… so dressage isn’t dead. What you mean is Competiition Dressage despite being immensely popular isn’t drawing as many crowds as say… er… a Goif Championship… The Ryder Cup… or tennis – Wimbledon, etc etc.
It’s time people stopped worrying about pleasing the crowds (or even the judges – if they have the courage) and riding dressage to please the horse and hopefully themselves. Then everyone would be smiling again. And our of interest… CRC dressage is doing its best to redress the balance – not to pull in the crowds – but for the same reasons…. for the horse.
Sylvia Loch http://www.classicalriding.co.uk
For someone who just lost a horse, this was the last thing i needed to see this morning. You should be ashamed of yourself for such a picture for this article…All competitive disciplines have gone politics..It’s just not worth showing anymore..It’s better to stay home these days and love what you do and know how far “you and your horse” have come.
I can’t believe you put a picture of a dead horse at the front and centre of this article. Absolutely the wrong time and place to be trying to get shock value from a dead horse photo. I couldn’t even read your article or care about what you thought your concerns with dressage are, I was too disgusted by that poor horse.
Is there any hope left for those out there who would like to both show and still be able to ride in lightness and harmony?
By posting such a provocative post accompanied by a picture of a dead horse it’s clear you’re baiting a response to generate controversy and drive your blog rankings up. OK I’ll bite. Commenting on the same tired complaints about Anky, or Parelli, or Rollkur to get clicks on a blog are dead (can we move on?) This incendiary post seems to imply that modern competition riders are incapable of balancing their horse or riding with harmony. This complaint is reminiscent of the older generation lamenting that music was dead after the popularity of the Beatles. The horses that competitive riders are now riding are physiologically different, through breeding, to the horses of the previous generations that you idolize. Their horses were less far removed from the heavy boned horses used previous to the industrial revolution. I too love those horses and riders but having ridden old style and more modern warmbloods the more refined horses are easier to maneuver (generally) and have considerably hotter temperaments (generally). It is unfortunate as your writing style is interesting and I would be interested in following your blog if the focus were geared more toward educating and preserving the attributes you admire in the older generation’s style and less a forum for “debating” talking points that have been rehashed for years. Peace
We need to look at the longterm future of Dressage as a sport. So far in the past few years, I have seen public interest in Dressage range from total ignorance of it to using it as the butt of a joke. Equestrians need to face the fact that Dressage has seldom or never been a popular sport in the United States. If we want to gain publicity, popularity, and respect we will have to obtain wealthy sponsors. If we can get corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola, AT&T, etc. we can be marketed to a huge audience. Once our sport is put out there on prime-time television networks more people will watch us.
Following my fantasy scenario here, imagine that the more people watch our sport on TV the more will aspire to be Equestrians (Equestriennes). The more people join the Dressage sport, the more our judges will be accountable for how they score the tests! There will be higher standards because by default, any time that you gain more public eye on your sport the more scrutinizing there will be. Just pick any other popular sport as an example. Do you think football referees could get away with not calling a “face mask” penalty on someone? No, because you have millions of people watching everything the referee does. Another example is what happened to Tiger Woods during a tournament. He picked up his ball and did not drop it according to the official rules of golf. Someone on TV was watching the tournament and actually called in to report that he made an error. The officials played back the tape and saw that Tiger did make an error and penalized him. Just think about if this happened with Dressage and other equestrian sports?
I know it’s a stretch, but I think that with a lot of hard work and marketing that Dressage could be a front-runner sport like baseball or football! One can dream, right?
Well said.
There’s hope if you can ride like Helen and Charlotte and Carl. Good dressage has only ever been achieved by masterful riders. Work on your riding and training ability and you will be able to be competitive and compassionate at the same time. I agree the dead horse was appalling.
For those who may be interested, the horse in the photo is Pride of Westbury, a jumps racing horse who died in Australia. This image is currently on a billboard being driven around on a truck to make a point about horse deaths in racing during Australia’s most popular racing carnival… Really odd to see the poor kid here as well…
I hope this post has the effect of stirring up those dressage folk who believe the recent positive trend toward harmony should continue on to widespread change. Maintaining the “fight” for correct principles and horse welfare is important, and I can understand why many get tired and start to lose motivation… Maintain the rage!
Also, worth noting that Andrew McLean also spoke at the dressage forum, to propose a more objective scoring system that would reward correct training and welfare. I’m excited to learn more about the detail. Might be a good way to bring the sport back from the dead…
Dressage isn’t dead by those who don’t do it for the ribbons or for the accolades … Those who do it for the journey and the partnership see it quite alive and well…Yes a big name rider seems to be given scores despite if a no name does the same movement better … Yes a big moving horse with a tense disobedient test will score higher than an obedient fluid test by my downhill built TB …Yes some people do illegal and unethical things to win.. But if you think it’s exists only here you are wrong .. Spend a day at a hunter show … Yes judges are rewarding horribly wrong extended trots and piaffe… But dressage is not dead… People can chose to pursue which dressage they want to.. The one for the score that wins or the one that focuses on the correctness of the rider horse and movement.
Having attended The Dressage Convention last weekend and watched Carl Hester ride Nip Tuck in perfect harmony all weekend, with the horse quite obviously loving every moment of it, I can tell you that competition dressage is very much alive and kicking in the UK!!! At last year’s convention I watched Charlotte and Valegro having the time of their lives, Valegro visibly revelling in the work and in the applause like the superstar that he is! With Carl and Charlotte leading the rest of the world at the moment competition dressage can only flourish. They excel because true harmony and joyful performance with the horse is beautiful and inspiring to watch and obvious to all, including the judges.
I do believe that life is like clicker training – you get more of whatever you focus on so it’s always wise to focus on the positives. Xx
And the photo is of a dead racehorse from Australia. How is that relevant to what you are trying to say here? While I agree that there needs to be changes with regards to the training methods of some of the top dressage horses, I completely disagree with your sweeping assumption that “dressage is dead”. Those top level competitors inspire other lower graded riders to improve their own riding and schooling of their horses. It provides a goal for the rest of us. And if it provides an entertaining spectacle for us to appreciate, why is it wrong to be part of a captivated crowd watching it?
I wouldn’t say dressage is dead but I would say that it has succumbed to the ideals of a win quick/ make a ton of profit like any other equestrian sport. Which leads to people taking short cuts over doing the training correctly the first time. I would, however, point out that overall a few instances of atrocity don’t dominate a sport, they shouldn’t dominate the ideas people have toward the sport there are still plenty of us out there who don’t ride this way or cause these issues in our horses. And from what I can tell this sport being governed by an international entity is the only force behind these issues not becoming more rampant. Take out the international governing body and it will open doors to atrocities you haven’t even considered EXAMPLE what you see in the breed specific pleasure world. Everyone is responsible to someone the top riders are responsible the the owners of the horses they ride. The owners,most who dont even ride, want to win the riders have to make that happen or they don’t have a mount. It’s messy and getting more so with more prestige and money involved.
As a parent of a Jr./young rider competitor in dressage, I have done six years of dressage penance. Also, I have to totally agree with this article. I am so disgusted by the antics of people in dressage. Their compassion for horses and riders alike is almost non-existent. In addition, let’s not forget how exorbitantly expensive it has gotten and why???? I’ve been told it’s because it costs so much to put on a show and pay judges (this by a USDF rep and a USEF rep, – sounds slightly suspicous). I have a feeling the people who are promoting dressage really want you to think they want only the “good competitors, the so called elite,” to participate, but reality may be the lack of competitors. I have watched shows go from filling up three or four barns to having trouble filling one barn for a show (including CDI’s). It’s not about the competition, it’s about having a fluffy “German Warmblood”, the right clothing/boots, and knowing the right people. It’s like high school all over again and who is the coolest kid. No wonder European competitions do not take US competitors seriously, We because the US competitors don’t take it seriously. I feel it’s time to move past people like Steffen Peters and find new blood. Also, It’s not treated as a sport and until it is treated as such it will simply be another social group horse competition. My daughter finally quit and though I didn’t tell her one way or the other how I felt, was doing the happy dance inside. I will not miss the snobs who “think” they can ride. It’s a joke in dressage those who can ride dressage don’t have the money and those who have the money can’t ride. Nor will I miss judges who are compromised by their social connections rather than accurately scoring for skill. I will not miss the USDF who makes even finding the information for competing/registering as difficult as possible, and let’s not forget the USEF who sends out representatives who are patronizing/rude and have no problem putting down the USEF, their employer. I definitely will not miss the so-called dressage groups who do not support the youth competing in dressage. I have seen it all and I think the best way to get dressage to recognize it problems is to simply let it die. Hopefully, if and when it resurrects itself it will be a wiser organization.
Well put. Thank you for taking time to post a reply.
By all means, equipoize, let’s stop all lower level people from entering dressage shows because no one ever got to the top by starting at the bottom. We all know that everyone who is riding at the Olympic level was born there.
Love the article… THANK YOU. ~ Quietly riding, training and showing (when I feel it is right) in Michigan. ~Tracy Rowe McEwan
Dressage as sport is dying. Just like any other competitive sports based on points. Some will get higher score just because his/her manicure is more appealing for a judge. We see it everythere, in figure skating, gymnastics, dressage etc. Competitive dressage is so much different now than even 20 yeara ago its unbelievable. It turned to be commercial, aristocratic sport, with prettier, bigger, more expensive (way much that they re really worth) horses. More and more often we see horses moving unbalanced, forced, wrong, with hight stepping action instead of suppleness and harmony, instead of polished to perfection natural movements. Uneducated public likes it, products are selling good and little girls are dreaming of having pretty pony. Major public don’t understand balance, suppleness, correct rider aids and correct movement of a horse. Horse look pretty and fancy to them, thats all you need to hook on a product. Give people bright package and you ll be able to sell low quality for big bucks.
But dressage is not dead, and i hope wont die. There are still a lot of good trainers and riders with deep understanding of dressage and horsemanship, so there is a hope that competitive dressage will change someday.
I think that it is rather harsh to say that dressage is dead. Yes at the moment there are many riders that push their horse way too far in the sense of being completely tucked behind the vertical and not pushing through from the hind end but instead just flicking out their front feet and it is very blingy, but look at show jumping and eventing, all English riding is turning that way now not just dressage.
I agree that the media has also been an influence on the way people are riding and the pressure from it but dressage people want to get out to the world that it’s not a boring sport just because horses aren’t flying over jumps, and I’m sure that every little girl no matter what year they were born always pictured a pretty little pony.
I am very passionate about dressage, and I find winning a ribbon or getting a high percentage on a horse that you have brought on is far more full filling than winning on something that was made for you (not that I have ever experienced the latter). I have never had lots of money to spend and so when I decided to no longer jump and do dressage, yes my mum did groan because it is so expensive, especially to get a well bred horse. I’m lucky in New Zealand, the price range doesn’t get too drastic 😛 But if I want a new helmet (like I bought last week) then I have to save for it every time I coach, everyone has to do the hard yards, every top rider has (not saying that every top rider has worked as hard as the next).
Carl Hester is an amazing trainer and rider, and it clearly shows; Valegro is number one because he enjoys his work, is soft, supple, elastic and has a natural power engine and that is why he is winning over people like Adalinde. Look at the crack down on Matthias Rath, sure Totilas is still a bit over-bent but his chin isn’t on his chest anymore. Now that rollkur has been exposed it will improve the lives of many horses and it will take a while, but dressage is starting to go uphill.
I hate to tell you but both Carl and Charlotte rode and trained in the Netherlands (right next to Anky’s barn) and ride Dutch horses. My frustration is why people think horses bending their necks is abuse. Explain how it is that Anky’s horses competed at the highest, international levels of dressage longer than any others in history. Abuse does not allow for symmetry of motion and a horse using its body at its greatest capacity if it were abused. Dressage horses in general perform late into their teens and some into their 20’s, yet reiners, western pleasure horses, racking horses, etc. are often DONE with basic low level competition way before 10 years old. A horse getting arthritis in its neck late into its teens can happen when it spends its entire life playing in a field…. Also people trying to demonstrate Anky’s methods in the past were doing it incorrectly and then certainly could cause problems. Still, there is far more abuse going on in backyards around the world then by anyone competing at that level. Horses can not perform to that quality if they are in pain—physically, mentally or emotionally…….
Your assumption that success in competition = correct training is a stretch. Judging has been soured and no longer follows the principles originally outlined. Should judges begin adhering to these again it would weed out this type of training since it produces incorrect movement.
Dressage is more alive than ever! Who watched Dr Oetcker or Neckermann in the 70ties or 80ties ? Virtually no one! With the entrance of the Dutch teams especially with Totilas and later on with the British , the interest in the equitastrian world has sky rocketed . And with good cause , as the high dressage of nowadays differs in nothing with the classical dressage of the old days , apart from the fact that is much more Pro Horse. The 70 ties and 80tie dressage riders did all they did hidden from the public and none was interested. Nowadays everything is open to the public and every takes high interest …. The horses very clearly have benefitted from all this.
The turnpit of the whole discussion was / is the discussion on Rollkur which has become the Fukoshima of dressage sport. No one is interested in facts … everyone seems to have a very (very uninformed) opinion on it and being pro Rollkur is just about all you need to be marked as the enemy of the state. The entire pony loving community will spit you out and anyone who is photographed sitting on a horse doing some stretching exercise
is being brand marked ….
I ask myself all the time… by whom? Who are these so self-acclaimed anti dressage opionaters.
Many of them are full of romance about bare back riding, or the slack Western style riding in which the horse barely brings in is hind quarters and basically sloughs through the area. No collection what so ever…… I think I know for myself what is more damaging for a horse…. 10 Minutes of rolllur or 1 hour bare back humping , or 1 hour training session without any collection.
Luckily Dressage is on a high roller, and brings a lot of riders to the question, …. How does a horse react on what my body does? How do I get to ride in full harmony with my horse and that is probably the best thing that could have happened for a lot of horses in Europe and elsewhere. And for that I thank Call with Totilas, Charlotte Dujardin with Valegro and Carl Hester on Uthopia.
Dressage is more alive than ever . Thank god for that.
dressage is not my “sport”.. i do mostly just trail riding.. did some barrel racing as a kid…
but i have seen some dressage horses and thought “thats NOT right”..
thank you for the blog,, now i know what im looking at,, and why…,, horrible
I started taking Dressage lessons back in the early 1980’s. I did it as a hobby and not to compete. I had a good instructor that made my lessons fun and it was a good workout for me and my horse. I can tell you the way horses were trained and the way students were instructed were different then as opposed to what Dressage was back during the early 1900’s. As it is different today in the 21st century. Dressage was a military and cavalry form of riding. It trained the horses to be able to “carry themselves” into battle and be less “fearful”, while Dressage for the rider was to teach the rider to ride with his “seat” and “legs” to keep his arms free to fight in battle. What I was exposed to was most people could care less about horses let alone to be interested in Dressage. Horses are owned by a small percentage of the population and the Dressage interest is confined to a smaller percentage of that populace. Lets face it. Dressage is boring. You can only watch so many riders and then it gets “old”. Trying to market Dressage to the non-horse public, well, good luck. Maybe if you have a truck or tractor pull at half time would you keep the public’s interest and attention. Maybe. Also exposing Dressage as “horse ballet” is completely ridiculous. Non-horse people think it looks ridiculous watching a horse dance and prance around in circles with a penguin on it’s back. Dressage just like everything else in the world is full of “money talks” and “politics”. As far as Dressage being “dead”, well. horses in general are becoming more and more something people are less interested in.
The author of this rubbish should be ashamed. This article is not an informative piece of journalism; rather, it seems to be filled with personal grievances, and wholly one-sided opinion. An author has a responsibility to showcase an issue from both sides. This author seems to rallying the troops against Dressage. While I agree that Rollkur is cruel and inhumane, it doesn’t mean that the entire sport of Dressage should be cast aside. Classical Dressage respects the horse, places the horse first and foremost… and, when done correctly, and IN HARMONY with the horse, is a devastatingly beautiful display of oneness between horse and rider. It is a sport. Both horse and rider are athletes. When done incorrectly, it is a travesty. If riders would stand together, insisting that Rollkur and LDR are essentially one and the same, and refuse to participate, then perhaps USEF, USDF, and FEI would take these complaints seriously. But hopping on the internet simply to bitch and moan, as this author does, accomplishes nothing. Nothing.