The test of correct basic training is the first one-day event competition. At home the familiarity of the indoor school, outdoor arena and local countryside plays an important role. The horse is not distracted, is calm and therefore easier to ride. Sometimes the rider gets it wrong, especially in the dressage phase. With the showjumping and the cross-country phases the courses are similar to those practised at home. You can lose in the dressage competition because of self-deception if you think the horse is better than he really is – a mistake that can be done even by the most experienced horse betting punters sometimes, and the judge’s opinion can sometimes bring you down to earth with a bump. However, the judge’s opinion is of great importance and it should be taken notice of it. A large number of experienced judges are needed these days to cope with the number of shows, classes and competitors. Basically one must trust that in every competition the judge will be diligent and judge fairly.

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The origin of this type of classical training for horses can be traced to Greece in the fourth and third centuries B.C. To those ancient Greeks, the systematic training of their horses was both an artistic accomplishment and a means of improving the performance of their cavalry. The Greeks correctly realized that an easily controlled horse, one responsive to his rider’s every wish, would be the most valuable type of horse a soldier could ride. If a trooper was mounted on a horse he could not control, he was of no help at all to his fellow soldiers. Therefore, with an eye toward improving the cavalry, Greek horsemen went to work devising a systematic approach to horse management.

The foundation of equitation—the act and art of horseback riding—was laid down by Xenophon, a Greek born in Athens in 430 B.C. He was a Spartan cavalry officer who trained his horses to change pace, to change direction, and to turn and circle. His horses learned to jump, were hunters, and served as cross-country mounts. Perhaps Xenophon’s greatest contributions to equestrianism came from the philosophy he developed for training horses. He was patient and did not use force; he used positive reinforcement for good behavior and a light touch for disobedience. General Xenophon wrote two of the earliest known books on horse training. In this modern world of constant change, it’s interesting to note that much of Xenophon’s theory on riding and training horses is as accurate and valuable now as it was in his own time. Today, Xenophon’s style of classical riding and training is called dressage.

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Let us make use of a musical analogy. Playing the piano with great skill is not enough for a great performance. Special performance skills must be added before success is achieved. Just as a great concert pianist does not need a score but plays by heart, so any great dressage rider rides his test from memory. Having a ringside prompter may be necessary when competing on several horses and with each one in different tests. Practice makes perfect. The rider who has the test called because he is not fully familiar with it will perform as poorly as would a pianist who is searching for the notes in a musical score while playing a concert. Only a well-practiced test will show brilliance. There is a myth about not riding tests frequently in practice, because the horse might learn and anticipate the patterns. No horse turned loose in the dressage arena will perform any test from memory. The horse cannot analyze and will not learn tests by heart! International riders might perform the Grand Prix test on the same horse for a decade, yet the horse will not spoil the test by anticipation. Every dressage test ought to be a logical composition unfolding a sequence of gymnastic exercises that allows the rider to show how well his horse is developed mentally and physically. As a composition, the test has fluency and beauty inherent in it through logic and balance. Dressage tests must be performed in their totality, not in bits and pieces or as patchwork. Riders should perform each test as an organic whole, like a concert pianist, who does not play notes or measures, but rather the whole musical composition that is beautiful only in its entirety.

Uneven standards in musical performances are not satisfactory. When some parts are played harshly and others with poetic expression, it shows either a lack of understanding of the piece or a lack of skill in unfolding it correctly. Riding a dressage test often owes its greatest beauty to consistency. Once the horse and rider’s temperament develop a distinct style, perform in that style consistently.

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In schooling horses, pulling on their mouth is unnecessary and causes them anxiety and eventually physical damage. The discomfort and stress to the rider is also enormous, unnecessary, but well deserved. The rider should hold the reins but not his horse. Nature made the horse to balance perfectly on his four legs. The rider’s duties do not include lending the horse a “fifth leg,” the reins, to lean on. In fact, classical horsemanship cherishes the ideal of a horse in self-carriage. While that concept includes several ideas, depending on the horse’s gymnastic development, it always includes the notion of a horse moving free from the rider’s encumbrances on the reins. In fact, the reins may do a number of things but not these three: they should not inhibit the horse’s liberty to use his limbs freely; they should not attempt to shape the horse’s neck and posture; and they should not steer separately.

The reins in the rider’s hands are tools and, as with all tools, can be put to good or bad use. Pulling on the reins, even in transitions, is a misuse of the reins. It is possible to think of dressage as desiring the elimination of pulling hands and any painful contact in general. Thus, strong contact through the reins, whether constant or occasional, is counterproductive to the goals of dressage.

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The saddle is a much more recent invention than the bridle, and stirrups are the most recent invention of all. Elaborate versions of the bridle can be traced to the fifth century B.C., but it wasn’t until the fourth century A.D. that a saddle was built on a leather-covered wooden frame. One hundred years later the first stirrup was attached. Originally, there was only one stirrup, not because men rode sidesaddle, but because they saw its usefulness only for mounting and dismounting. They quickly discovered, however, that a stirrup helped the rider balance, and if one stirrup was good, two would be even better. The cavalry liked them because stirrups made it more difficult for an enemy to dislodge a soldier from his horse. The new invention took root, and since the fifth century A.D., all cross saddles have been designed to accommodate two stirrups, one on each side. As with bridles and bits, saddles have a long and colorful history.

1) Dressage—The dressage has the deepest seat of all modern saddles. That means the seat is considerably lower than the pommel (front) and the cande (rear). The stirrup leathers are inset a Utile further toward the cantle than they are on other saddles, positioning the riders legs well back under the hips. A dressage saddle often has very long billets, allowing the girth to buckle by the rider’s foot rather than up under the thigh. This overall design gives the rider a very secure feeling and allows excellent communication with the horse.

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