Researching dressage

If you read this blog regularly, you probably have realised the preference I have to dressage. I like watching Grand Prix videos and also I love groundwork in the arena. Recently I learned how to stay on in sitting trot and how to halt from a trot and I adored it.

From the first week of my equestrian journey I have been increasingly curious about the discipline. How do the horses end up to doing such graceful movements? How do the riders make them move like this and what does it take to achieve it? With the time I understood that dressage has specific levels, specific rules that must be followed, and the letters around the arena have indeed a purpose (although I am still not sure about the flowers placed on them)! And the more I learn, the more curious I become!

So here we are, tonight I decided to do some deeper research on the basics of dressage. I don’t know about you, but I find it so complicated! The basic moves, what the judges expect, the training, the much-needed patience, make the discipline look as a physical and mental challenge, both for the horse and the rider. A big challenge, but also a big gain for horse and rider, as they both become more fit, focused and balanced.

Here are some pages I found on the web that might be helpful to someone who doesn’t know much about dressage:

• Decifering Dressage: A Guide for the Rest of Us
• Correct Dressage Training & Solid Basics for the Show Ring
• Dressage Glossary of Terms
• British Dressage (BD) Rules
• The Basics of Dressage
• How to Ride Three Basic Dressage Shapes (video)

Also, I consider buing these two books:

• Master Dressage: The Basics by Peter Dove & Mary Waneless
• Basic Dressage by Barbara Ripman

If you have any suggestions/advice, please comment below! Thanks!