# Dressage for Beginners



## kittom (21 January 2014)

Hi, I am interested in dressage and feel this is a new discipline that I could take seriously....the only thing is I don't know where to start. I've had my own horse which I broke in many moons ago, then went into racing for a few years. Whilst I have ridden since leaving racing, it hasn't been a regular thing but am hoping to get my own again in the near future. I remember bad riding lessons trying to teach us some basic dressage but its all a bit vague and too be honest, I don't think it was up to much. I'm clueless when it comes to the 'terms' used and would like some advice as to where to begin. I don't particularly want to wait until I get my own horse either!! Thanks in advance.....PS. If anyone could give me an idea how the preliminary tests work (there seems so many and do you have to take them all before going up to novice?!!) Help!!


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## Kimchi (21 January 2014)

Its great that you want to try dressage!  Dressage is a good thing for any horse, and any rider, so you won't need a new horse.  I think the best place to start would be to find an instructor  who can help you with the terms and riding.  

I wish I could be more help with explaining the preliminary test but I am an American and  we have different tests, Although you could look up youtube videos of the preliminary test and watch them being ridden. That should give you a good idea of what is required.

Good Luck to you, have a blast learning dressage!


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## spookypony (22 January 2014)

You don't have to do the tests at any level in any particular order, though the ones with the higher numbers tend to be more complicated. Nor do you have to do all of them (or any of them) before trying a higher level. Basically, if you're getting decent scores at a level (what's "decent" is debatable, but if you're consistently scoring 60s you're doing ok) and you and your horse are capable of the movements of the next level, then you could move up and see how you get on. 

However, in affiliated dressage, you can overqualify yourself for championships at a level by earning too many points, and you may be concerned about the potential of too many bad scores showing up on the record---or about pointing out of a lower level before being competitive at the higher level (don't know if I said that clearly...only just learning how the points work myself). So it's worth being a bit canny about deciding where to begin and when to try things.

Many unaffiliated leagues also have restrictions as to how long you are eligible for the championships at lower levels.


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## kc100 (22 January 2014)

Ok a quick overview of dressage - dressage is basically just good schooling for all horses, regardless of the discipline you compete in all horses should have basic dressage training in order to be healthy and comfortable in the job being asked for them. Dressage as a discipline is based on the scales of training (google it for more info) - Rhythm, Suppleness, Contact, Impulsion, Straightness and Collection. As you can see from those words alone some (if not all) are relevant to all horses no matter what discipline you do. 

You can compete in dressage both Unaffiliated and Affiliated. Unaffiliated you just book and pay for your test in advance, turn up on the day and go home again with your test sheet and score (and hopefully a rosette!) Prize money is rare at unaff but entry fees are lower. Affiliated both you and your horse need to join British Dressage, entry fees are higher but you will get some prize money if you win (or place). Unaff tend not to have any championships to work to unless the venue chooses to run some sort of league or champs (although there is Trailblazers and Cricklands). Affiliated have various levels to work to - you can get to Regionals, then if you win or come 2nd there (I believe) you get through to the Nationals. There are also Petplan area festivals for those who prefer not to go down the regionals route - I'm not entirely sure what the major differences are there but the BD website should tell you more. 

The levels (both for unaff and affiliated - they tend to run using the same rules) start at Intro (walk/trot tests), then Prelim (walk/trot/canter) followed by Novice (including more difficult transitions, medium strides etc) and all the way up to Grand Prix (lots of levels in-between!). You do not have to have completed a number of prelim tests to move up to Novice - if you feel ready you can choose when you move to the next level. As a rule most dressage riders are schooling one or 2 levels (sometimes 3) higher at home than they compete - for example you might be competing Prelim but are working on Novice/Elementary movements at home. If you affiliate you do have the issue of 'points' and groups - if you have never competed before you will not have any points and will be in the lowest rider group, however if you start achieving scores of a certain percentage or more (think its 65% but I might be wrong), or win at regional/national/petplans (again might be wrong there) then you eventually reach a points limit so you move up a rider group and cannot compete at the lower level anymore. For example a pro rider cannot compete at Prelim for example, most pro riders cannot compete below Medium due to their rider groups even if it is a baby horse that has never done a test before. 

For someone that has never done dressage before (and am I right in thinking you dont have a horse?) - I'd say start with some schoolmaster lessons. There are plenty of places around the country that do schoolmaster dressage lessons - here are a few I know of:
http://talland.net/h/Lessons
http://www.oldencraig.com/pages/riding/riding-school.php
http://www.dovecote-stables.co.uk/dcs/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=3&Itemid=22

If you cannot find a centre local to you that do schoolmaster lessons, then have a look on the BD website under the 'find a trainer' section, contact a trainer and see if they will offer a schoolmaster lesson. I know one pro dressage rider in my area who offers this, as well as a pro eventer who has a PSG schoolmaster he gives lessons on. So have a good look through the BD training section of the site and see who you can get in touch with.

But realistically until you get your own horse, or at least part loan/share a horse I think you will find it hard to get out and compete. Unless you can find a riding school that does dressage comps as well? Then again riding school ponies are very different to dressage horses and you wont necessarily get the correct feel for dressage from a riding school horse (unless its a great riding school!). 

Feel free to ask more questions, dressage is a wonderful sport to get into and brings a lot of satisfaction when you start to see improvements in your own riding and your horse!


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## kittom (23 January 2014)

Thank you all for your replies...especially Kc100......that is a massive help! It's a lot clearer now and I think you're right, I'm best with trying a school master to get a proper feel for dressage and to see if it is for me! There is someone in my local area that I have been in contact with who can provide this, so will take the plunge...thanks again....


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## Sarah_Jane (23 January 2014)

You might find this useful, on my website I have started a database of Youtube tests showing the tests being ridden. So you can see what they actually look like!

http://www.shoestringeventing.co.uk/page69.html


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## kittom (25 January 2014)

Thanks Sarah_Jane, that's a big help!!!


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