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Dressage


Dressage (a French term meaning "training") is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics. Its fundamental purpose is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, it can smoothly respond to a skilled rider's minimal aids by performing the requested movement while remaining relaxed and appearing effortless. Dressage is occasionally referred to as "Horse Ballet." Although the discipline has its roots in classical Greek horsemanship, mainly through the influence of Xenophon, dressage was first recognized as an important equestrian pursuit during the Renaissance in Western Europe. The great European riding masters of that period developed a sequential training system that has changed little since then and classical dressage is still considered the basis of trained modern dressage.

Early European aristocrats displayed their horses' training in equestrian pageants, but in modern dressage competition, successful training at the various levels is demonstrated through the performance of "tests," or prescribed series of movements within a standard arena. Judges evaluate each movement on the basis of an objective standard appropriate to the level of the test and assign each movement a score from zero to ten - zero being "not executed" and ten being "excellent." A score of nine (or "very good") is considered a particularly high mark, while a competitor achieving all sixes (or 60% overall) should be considering moving on to the next level.

Friday, August 10, 2012

BearSpot CADI

            The summer has been flying by and it is hard for me to keep up with all of my obligations!
NAJYRC took up alot of my energy and did not dissappoint. A blog about that event is in the works. But today we will talk about Jane Karol and Bear Spots CADI. This year was great! The weather was not threatening, if a little hot, but no rain! The kids were wonderful. Great riding, cheerful, and ready to learn. There were many hurdles jumped as the kids learned how to get along with new horses, perform in front of their peers and work  for their new trainers. It all turned out to be a fantastic experience. A big hats off to Jane and her crew for having the energy and enthusiasm year after year to come up with new ideas and stay on track with what horses have to offer us. I am always grateful to be part of such an event. It is energizing to see the new talent coming up and the past participants and parents helping out!
           Friday night they had several Freestyle demonstrations and this was so much fun! Our own Ariel and Judith Behren's Chic Omar put together a beautiful ride to entertain the kids. Omar has not been out in public for a while due to injury and he was a star. He took it all in stride and beside a small communication breakdown in the 4 tempis they looked as if they had been performing the freestyle together forever.
          
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