Point of View

It is becoming clear that there is a problem with adult amateur dressage riding that just buying a more expensive horse will not fix.

There are clear directives for training dressage horses which are spelled out in the training pyramid: relaxation, impulsion, contact, straightness, and collection. This standard for the education of the dressage horse has been developed through hundreds of years to ensure the horse is trained correctly in order that he is able to perform dressage movements with the grace and beauty of a well-trained dancer. Dressage professionals and educators continually define and refine the language of what is expected of the dressage horse. Trainers seek to educate and train horses with this step-by-step approach in order to create world-class athletes. Writings on how to do this date back to ancient times. All of this study and dialogue and seeking of knowledge has resulted in a codified training regime for the dressage horse.

And yet there is no such training scale for the rider. In Europe, the rider is lunged for a long time before the rider is allowed to actually ride the horse. This training of the rider is designed to educate the rider’s seat. For the young and the talented rider, it is a method that has obviously worked quite well. However, most riders in this country are not started in this way. The fact is that many adult amateurs begin riding at a later age, an age where the body is not as adaptable as it once was and therefore makes learning to ride a horse more complex than is currently understood. For example, adults who start taking ballet cannot expect to learn how to dance at the level of a professional dancer, and yet adult amateur riders are expected to have the skills to ride Grand Prix at some point.

When an older body is learning a new skill, such as dressage, it can be very difficult, as the body has learned many movement patterns and “ways of going” that may not be helpful for dressage. These undesirable movement patterns, are not easily corrected and the rider, in her efforts to accomplish what the dressage teacher wants, often just uses the wrong muscles more, creating more tension. The dressage instructor will usually see the problem but is often not able to give the rider the “how” to correct the problem. This pattern continues and frustration develops in both the rider and trainer because the problem lies in understanding the human body, not just in giving and taking direction.

Pilates for Dressage, work developed by Janice Dulak, and documented in her book “Pilates for the Dressage Rider” published by Half Halt Press in 2006, has helped numerous riders become a better partner for their horses by simply working on the rider. By teaching the rider both on and off the horse, with the emphasis on what the rider is doing, riders have found, literally, in one or two sessions, how to fix what they have been struggling with for sometimes, years. Often, very slight but discernable changes create large differences in the way the horse moves and the riders ability to move with their horse.

Dulak’s work continues to broaden and deepen and her passion to help riders is reflected in her successful clinics across the country. Janice gives the riders the “how.”

Further thoughts: Rider Performance Standards

This lack of a training scale for riders is resulting in the soon-to-be implemented Rider Performance Standards. These standards are being implemented, partially, to protect horses from improper riding. However to some, this standard can be seen as shutting amateurs out of competition past 2nd level. Does this penalize the adult amateur rider, who is the backbone of dressage in this country? This conversation is a hot topic at this present moment. The fact that there is a call for implementing rider standards makes it obvious that there is a problem, however rather than spending time implementing rider standards, would’t it make more sense to implement body education for riders?

At this moment in time, Janice sees the need for the training of the dressage rider independent of training dressage. USEF's “Performance Standards” will determine how riders will be able to move up the levels for competition. In the April 2008 issue of Dressage Today, this concept is discussed at length. Janet Foy states, “I personally hope that riders will understand the need to develop a correct seat and learn the classical aids for the movements.” The article goes on to say that she and “fellow judges have witnessed riders on upper level schoolmasters who need a double bridle to get the leverage that their seat is missing so they can ride Third Level tests and above. They are bouncing on their horses’ backs, and movements are not fluid or correctly performed. Their scores reflect this, but they come back into the ring at the next show and do it again. As a result, trainers have also requested a system of performance standards.”

Will performance standards correct the problem? Janice thinks not. What will correct the problem is to educate the rider’s body.

Dressage Training Conundrum

Janice puts forth the theory that while it is understandable that Performance Standards are inevitable, the problem is not the riders themselves, but the lack of focus on the rider. While many riders buy well-trained horses, they themselves may not be physically well trained. One of Janice’s clients likened this to the popular TV show “Dancing with the Stars.” While the well-trained dancer has spent years honing his/her physical abilities, the “stars” are made to look good by the professional dancer. The “star” has learned enough to go out on the dance floor, but does not have the intensive dance training that the professional does, and therefore does not really possess the requisite skill to be a true partner. Likewise, riders may have enough knowledge to get the horse around the dressage arena, but they do not possess the skill to be a true partner for the highly trained horse.

A knowledgeable dressage trainer is well educated in the movement requirements of the equine body. Understanding how a horse moves, bio mechanics, developing an eye for quality of movement, i.e. learning how to train a horse, is a long time study to which dressage trainers have devoted themselves. The same scope of understanding of how the human body moves is also a lifelong study. So although the qualified dressage trainer may tell the rider how to sit and use the body, she is often limited in the ability to give the rider significant information that a qualified trainer of the body can.

Therefore it stands to reason that the missing element, the training of the dressage rider, independent of, as well as with her equine partner is what will actually “develop a correct seat.” Clearly, this is the problem and can be addressed. It is exactly this to which Janice is deeply devoted and can help struggling riders learn how they can achieve harmony and partnership with their horse.