W
Dressage
The Western Way
Part II by Jeff Wilson
Photos by Rein Photography
hat does this trail look like? Let me give you some background here. As the highest expression of horse training, classical dressage is a progressive system designed to produce a horse’s maximum riding horse potential. Cowboy and Western Dressage have similar progressive goals—achieving lightness, balance, and looseness as overall partnership goals. One important difference is that the western horse is being enhanced to better perform its current job, not being reshaped into a dressage horse. To give tribute to the American traditions of the horse, the western working horse, the primary trait to focus on is usability. After all, American horsemanship, over the centuries, was built upon necessity. There were jobs that needed to be done—cattle to move, people to defend, and westward travel. Hi Ho Silver.
produce a horse’s maximum riding horse potential. Cowboy and Western Dressage have similar progressive goals—achieving lightness, balance, and looseness as overall partnership goals. One important difference is that the western horse is being enhanced to better perform its current job, not being reshaped into a dressage horse. To give tribute to the American traditions of the horse, the western working horse, the primary trait to focus on is usability. After all, American horsemanship, over the centuries, was built upon necessity. There were jobs that needed to be done—cattle to move, people to defend, and westward travel. Hi Ho Silver.
into the tests for Cowboy Dressage is the concept of soft feel—a western tradition based on the release of the rein rather than the emphasis on contact. Furthermore, terms and ideas found in classical world have been ‘retermed' to match the western feel of Cowboy Dressage and to help the western world embrace dressage. To contact the governing bodies of each: WesternDressageAssociation.org and CowboyDressageWorld.com.
What You Need To Get Started
Although both of these disciplines are new, there are more and more places offering training and schooling shows. Look around and see if you can find one that fits you. Get started in discovering new ways to school your horse. Again, these disciplines are not there to replace what you are already doing with your horse (barrels, roping, trail), but to build a foundation into your daily riding habits to help your horse make its job easier.
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centuries, was built upon
necessity. There were jobs
that needed to be done—
attle to move, people to
defend, and westward travel.
Hi Ho Silver.
Both disciplines have a
competitive feature with
individual, progressive tests.
For that, Western Dressage
uses the standard dressage
court, while Cowboy
Dressage uses a 20m x 40m
arena by adjusting the
distances between the
letters to 5m. The purpose of
this is to accommodate the
smaller strided gaits of
typical western breeds.
The Cowboy Dressage slogan,
“When dressage suits your
needs but a Stetson suits
your lifestyle” sums it up. One
big important aspect designed
into the tests for
Cowboy Dressage is the
concept of soft feel—a
western tradition based on
the release of the rein rather
than the emphasis on
contact. Furthermore, terms
and ideas found in classical
world have been ‘retermed'
to match the western feel of
owboy Dressage and to help
the western world embrace
dressage. To contact the
governing bodies of each:
WesternDressageAssociatio
.org and
CowboyDressageWorld.com.