Training in the Right Way: 3 Dressage Movements You Should Master

There are three movements most riders aren’t aware of that cannot be judged on talent as their proper execution is the result of correct training alone. These are exercises that riders should pay extra attention to as they are not only a gauge of the quality of your training, but also because they can be honed so that even less talented horses can received exemplary scores on them.

Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is to communicate with and therefore complete more complex tasks with. Although competition dressage training often is more focused on training for the dressage test, that is not what the original intention (and original judging requirements) were for competitive dressage. Initially, it was designed to give riders and trainers a way to determine how their training measured up to the theoretical ideal of the training process. That said, it is critically important to understand the meanings and reasons for some of the terms we use to describe dressage training and what to look for when observing training and competition (and videos and photos), regardless of whether you intend to compete or just train your horse to be a better whatever you do with him. That, ultimately, is the main purpose of my articles. To provide education and knowledge for riders to understand and improve their eye and understanding of what dressage training is supposed to be. While there will always be some differences in practice and theory, good horse training is always recognizable to the educated eye. That said, it absolutely is necessary that we remember and understand that limited knowledge is limited judgment.

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Most dressage riders are unaware that there are three movements in dressage competition that can never be judged on the latent talent of the horse. In other words, no matter how talented your horse is or is not, these three exercises can only be properly produced through correct training. As a result, the judging of these exercises is only training-based, meaning as a rider you should be aware of them and how they can be used to improve both your overall training as well as you test scores.

Photo (c) Gwyneth McPherson.

Before we look at those exercises specifically though, let’s consider that a horse’s natural talent for dressage is summed up within the following qualities:

• Temperament –– the desire to work with humans and expend energy with movement.
• Gaits — the innate rhythm, suppleness, impulsion, and suspension within the three gaits. (sidenote: walk has no suspension, and there is an argument on whether or not it can therefore have impulsion, but that’s not our concern at the moment)

While these qualities can be improved through training, the horse that is born with an abundance of these talents will always score higher than a horse that is not, assuming he completes all the exercises within the test satisfactorily.

Most dressage exercises require forward movement and showcase (and actually develop) at least one of the following basic requirements of training: suppleness, impulsion, and collection. Some examples include lateral exercises and circles (suppleness), all lengthenings, medium, and extended gaits (impulsion), piaffe, canter pirouette, and half-pass (collection). All of these exercises mentioned can be performed very adequately by any well-trained horse, but the ultra-talented horse will excel and shine in these exercises, even with lesser quality training (at least for a while…). In contrast, horses with little to no talent will be able to perform these movements with excellent training, but they will not necessarily excel at them (meaning you cannot simply survive on using the horse’s talent alone).

So now let’s consider the exercises that ultra-talented horses and no-talent horses can both shine in, because they are solely training based exercises. These are the halt, the reinback, and walk pirouettes (and turn on the haunches). No amount of innate suspension, impulsion, or suppleness will make these exercises “better,” and the suppleness required in these exercises is specifically suppleness to the aids, not the natural suppleness of the horse. That being the case, these exercises are ones that riders should pay extra attention to as they are not only a gauge of the quality of your training, but also because they can be honed so that even less talented horses can receive exemplary scores on them.

Photo (c) Gwyneth McPherson.

Halt:

Clearly the halt has no suspension or impulsion. The square halt (both front legs and both hind legs parallel to each other) is developed not from stopping and correcting your horse for not being square. The square halt is developed through creation of forwardness, being on the aids and supple to the aids, while coming into the halt. These requirements are the same regardless of level of training. Collection is increased over time as the horse gets more training. Also, anxious horses do not stand quietly. So, a horse that halts smoothly, not dropping on the forehand, not opening the mouth to the bit, lands square and stays immobile is not just trained to halt, but has been trained to remain supple, balanced, mentally relaxed, and on the aids.

Photo (c) Gwyneth McPherson.

Reinback:

The qualities of an excellent reinback are that the horse halts fully, and square, and then backs up a prescribed number of equal steps, in diagonal pairs, with a steady rhythm to the rider’s aids, and strikes off into the new gait remaining uphill, supple, and forward. While doing all of this, his head and neck do not raise or lower, the mouth stays quiet and soft, and the horse does not take lateral steps, run backwards, balk, or lower the forehand. All these requirements remain the same throughout the levels. The level of collection is the primary difference from the lower levels to Grand Prix. If you have an opportunity to, ask a Grand Prix rider who competed in the 1980s about “the rocker,” a movement in which the Grand Prix horse was required to halt, reinback a prescribed number of steps, walk forward a prescribed number of steps, and then reinback again, and then leave the reinback in something like passage….. No, I have never had to ride it, and therefore do not know the movement exactly as it was required, but I used to watch it all the time, along with small circles in passage and walk pirouettes, also both previously in the Grand Prix.

Walk Pirouette (and turn on the haunches):

Turns on the haunches are less collected, less active, slightly larger walk pirouettes. They are simply the easier version of the walk pirouette for the lower-level horse who has not developed the collection required for walk pirouettes. Both these exercises are precursors for the development of the piaffe and canter pirouette, which explains the requirements for the exercises. The requirements of the movement are that during the turn, the horse moves the front legs around the hind legs in an even 1/2 circle, while all four legs maintain the walk rhythm showing the level of collection appropriate to his level of training. He must show some bend in the direction of the turn, and not stop, step out of the circle, or raise or lower the head and neck. He should stay in an uphill tendency and maintain a soft, closed mouth. When performed excellently, the horse learns to (and demonstrates) maintaining an active hind leg that almost mirrors the up and down motion seen in the piaffe, but remains in a four beat rhythm. Much like the previous two exercises, the horse can only perform this excellently when he is supple to, and on the aids, with a relaxed mind and is supple and forward.

Photo (c) Gwyneth McPherson.

This is the point at which we can mention that over my lifetime, the FEI tests (particularly the Grand Prix) have been made “easier” for highly talented horses to excel in them, as the non-talent-based movements have been reduced or removed altogether from the tests, thus emphasizing talent over training. When the conversation over whether judges are rewarding horses that are mega-talented and not performing in suppleness and relaxation, this is part of why. The judges are not specifically responsible for this in that the removal of the training-based exercises has made a style of training and a type of horse more successful.

While doing the training that creates excellent halts, reinback, and walk pirouettes (also turns on the haunches) will not make your lesser talented horse more talented, it will help produce a better trained and more versatile dressage horse that is going to be able to showcase these exercises in competition. Also, the rider being aware that these exercises require training and not talent will help them understand how and why they need to focus on these exercises differently. And, if you have a super-talented horse, and you really want to squeeze every point out of your ride, training these exercises well will help you make your scores even higher.

And remember: limited knowledge is limited judgment.

Gwyneth and Flair in competition at Grand Prix. (c) flatlandsfoto.

Gwyneth McPherson has over 35 years experience competing, training, and teaching dressage.  She began her education in in the late 1970s, riding in her backyard on an 11 hh pony. Her first instructor introduced her to Lendon Gray (1980 and 1988 Olympian). who mentored Gwyneth for a decade during which she achieved her first National Championship in 1984, and her Team and Individual Young Rider Gold Medals in1987.

In 1990 Gwyneth began training with Carol Lavell (1992 Olympian) who further developed Gwyneth as an FEI rider and competitor. Gwyneth achieved a Team Bronze in 1991 and a Team Silver in 1992 in the North American Young Riders Championships, and trained her stallion G’Dur to do all the Grand Prix movements while riding with Carol.

In 2008, while Head Trainer at Pineland Farms, Gwyneth began training with Michael Poulin (Olympian 1992). Michael was trained by Franz Rochowansky (Chief Rider for the Spanish Riding School 1937-1955). Michael has shared much of Rochowansky’s knowledge and wisdom with Gwyneth, completing her education as a Grand Prix rider, trainer, and competitor.

Gwyneth’s teaching and training business, Forward Thinking Dressage,is based in Williston, FL. In addition to teaching riders and training, Gwyneth also loves sharing her knowledge of the sport and art of dressage as well as discussing relevant topics pertaining to the training itself and the current competitive landscape.