We recently polled our readers to find out their burning questions about dressage, and now we’ve enlisted Amelia Newcomb‘s help to answer them! Do you have a question for Amelia? Submit your question here or using the widget at the bottom of this article and you could see your question addressed right here on EN!
Photo courtesy of Amelia Newcomb Dressage.
EN Reader: What do you think is most often overlooked by eventers in dressage?
Amelia:
We all know that dressage is consistently voted as the LEAST popular of the three phases of eventing, and I like this question because it highlights a few elements that I think would make eventers start to like dressage a little more.
Here are my top elements, in no particular order:
Dressage improves rideability and balance for the other phases. When a horse and rider partnership are struggling to improve their ability to have more power to the base of the jumps, or more adjustability in their technical obstacles, or even simply more obedience going through shadows or water, schooling the aids on the flat or dressage training days are the base of the solution.
If you can’t get a medium or collected canter in the arena just from asking with your aids, you can’t expect to have that aid and a reliable reaction from your horse as you’re galloping towards that trakehner fence and need to engage your horse’s hind end for a bit more power. Your cressage work makes your horse more reliable, and physically able, to respond to you at a moment’s notice.
Dressage helps horses improve soundness and longevity. Regardless of how many therapies or treatments we give our horses, jumping and galloping is hard on their bodies, just like weightlifting, marathon running, or other high-impact sports are for us. We have to balance our training with yoga, pilates, or stretching, and that is exactly what dressage is for our horses.
When you have days where you’re focusing on the suppleness, swing, and roundness of the horse’s back, you’re showing them how to carry their body in better efficiency and allowing their body to recover while still working their muscles. Your horse will be able to carry their body in better symmetry, and in better form, meaning they will be less likely to get injured, and they’ll be able to stay sounder longer in their careers.
Dressage in the small court is HARD! This is one that I know gets overlooked a lot. As dressage riders, we’re used to either riding in the large court (20×60) or having the knowledge about swapping from it to the smaller court (20×40). But for most eventers, they generally compete in the small court because most tests have the option to choose which court, and it’s a lot easier to set up the small court and not have to change it through the day.
The short court means tighter diagonals, shorter time to develop lengthens, less time on the long side for transitions, and of course, the 20m circle markers “change”. Not to mention, when you have really fit horses for going cross country, they aren’t as supple to make those tighter changes.
Taking the time to learn the subtleties of riding in the small vs large court can make a big difference in performance. I have a great video on riding in the short court that I think will help if you want to check it out here.
Want more education and resources from Grand Prix Dressage Rider and Trainer Amelia Newcomb? Check out her most popular free mini courses here.
You can read more from Amelia here, including her column “Ask Amelia Anything”. Want to submit a question for Amelia to answer? Click here or use the widget embedded below — we’d love to feature your question!
