I received an e-mail the other day from my good friend George Wine, who spent 25 years as the sports information director at the University of Iowa.
"Here are some photos I took of Barrie's horse Pip at a show at St. Charles IL," Wine wrote. "Mandy Johnson trains and shows the horse. They are a good team and do very well."
Barrie Anderson is Wine's wife. George [pictured at the right] and Barrie [pictured at the lower left with the caption "Job Well Done"] raised horses when they lived on a farm in rural Solon. They since have both retired from the University of Iowa and moved to Coralville.
I looked at the photos George sent, and asked him to go into some detail about them.
"These horse folks use language that is often foreign to me," he said, "but I'll give you something on Pip, the last foal that was born on our farm, and how he has trained and showed with Mandy Johnson.
"Pip is a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, bred by Barrie on the farm. Pip has been in dressage training with Amanda for six years. Amanda, a native of North Liberty and an engineering graduate of Iowa, now trains horses professionally in Wisconsin.
"Amanda has taken Pip from a 'very naughty' first-level horse to an elegant and professional Intermediate-2 level horse [next to the top level]. Last year they won first place in the American Hanoverian Society Intermediate I Musical Freestyle. They continue to move up the levels (as described below) and have been competing successfully in International level competitions for the past two years. They are a marvelous team!
"Pip's owner, Barrie, is an emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Iowa.
"Below is information from the website of the US Dressage Federation (www.usdf.org/about/about-dressage)."
About Dressage
Dressage is a French term meaning “training” and its purpose is to develop the horse’s natural athletic ability and willingness to work making him calm, supple and attentive to his rider.
If you are a history buff, you might be interested in reading more about the beginnings of dressage that date back to Xenophon in Greece and include a long line of riding masters, both from the military and the famous riding schools which developed during the Baroque era.
Currently, competitive dressage involves nine progressive levels incorporating multiple tests within each level. Special tests are also written for musical freestyle, sport horse breeding and performances incorporating multiple horses and riders. Tests are revised every four years by the United States Dressage Federation, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).
Competition occurs in a regulation size arena with specific apparel and equipment all regulated by USEF. Judges are licensed by the USEF and the FEI and are assisted by scribes who write down the judge’s scores and comments during the test.
Success in dressage is dependent on the rider’s position and ability but because of the goal of the training, many horse breeds can be quite successful.
Watching dressage can be very exciting, especially the musical freestyle rides or tests at the FEI (highest) levels.
Spectator's Guide
Like any sport, watching dressage is more interesting the more you know about it. Dressage tests used at shows are divided by graduated levels, from the most basic walk/trot to the Grand Prix test that is the same test that is used in the Olympics. The tests are divided into separate movements, and the judge gives a score for each movement. The score sheets are then totaled to determine class results. It will help you understand what is going on if you can get a copy of the test you are watching, plus here are some additional thoughts:
1. Less is More
In dressage, the less you see the rider do, the better, because that means he is communicating with his horse quietly and his horse is attentive -- they are working as a team.
2. Good Figures
Circles are round and lines are straight, a precept true in geometry and dressage. A 20-meter circle should go from one side of the arena to the other, a 10-meter circle only half way across. A horse should not weave on a straight-line movement.
3. Tempo and Rhythm
Rhythm is the repetition of footfalls. A sound dressage horse has only three correct rhythms – a four-beat walk, two-beat trot, three-beat canter. Tempo is the speed of repetition of strides. Every horse should have a consistent tempo throughout the test that is controlled by the rider, a tempo so obvious you could sing a song to it.
4. Naughtiness
Horses, like people, have good days and bad days and days when they are just feeling a little too good. Naughtiness in horses can be exhibited in bucking, rearing, tossing of the head, or even jumping out of the dressage ring.
5. Tension
During a test, the horse needs to remain calm, attentive and supple. If the horse gets tense, he gets rigid through his neck and back, which can exhibit itself in stiff movement, ears that are pinned back and a tail that swishes constantly and doesn’t hang arched and quietly swinging.
6. Rider Seat and Position
The rider should sit upright quietly and not be depend on his whip, spurs or voice to have a nice test. Riders who use their voice have points deducted off their test score for that movement.
Competition
Each horse competes individually at each level. Each level has several tests that involve variations of patterns of the same movements for that level. Tests involve movements based on the level of competency required by the horse and rider. Movements for each level are prerequisites for the next level. For example, if your horse cannot perform a 20 meter trot circle, as required in Training Level, he should not be ridden on a 10 meter circle, which is smaller and more difficult and which is required at the Second level.
Every test has an associated score sheet created with a series of boxes, where the judge assigns a score and often a comment for the movement performed. There are also four marks given at the end of each test called the Collective Marks: Gaits, Submission, Impulsion and Rider’s Seat and Position. Some of the test movements and all of the Collective Marks have coefficients associated with them which means they are worth two or more times the points assigned, the reason for this varies.
Each movement is scored on a scale of 0 (not performed) to 10 (excellent). Total points for the test are added up and noted as a percent to the total possible number of points for that test. A percentage of 65 percent or higher is generally thought to mean the horse is ready to move up a level.
The dressage tests performed at the Olympic Games are the highest level: Grand Prix.
Gaits and movements performed at this level include passage (a slow-motion, very elevated off the ground trot, pronounced like massage), and piaffe (the trot in place); one and two tempi changes at the canter where the horse appears to skip as it changes the leading leg in the canter, and canter pirouettes (a 360-degree circle, in place, at the canter).
For their freestyles, riders and horses perform specially choreographed patterns to music. At this level, the freestyle tests may contain all the Grand Prix movements, as well as double canter pirouettes, pirouettes in piaffe, and half-pass in passage. For the freestyle, judges award technical marks for the various movements, as well as artistic marks. In the case of a tie, the ride with the higher artistic marks wins.
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[Other photos, with captions by George Wine: Right, just above the photos of George, Barrie and Pip, extended trot across the diagonal; left, walking trot; above those photos: right, closeup, collected walk; left, nice collected center; top photos, right, Pip's fan club; left, Pip and Wendy approaching the show ring].
