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Dressage developed from the high-level equitation of the 15th - 18th centuries which was popular with royalty in Europe. Movements in dressage were originally developed from moves to be used by the military in battle, and were combined to demonstrate the stamina, agility, and obedience of the horse, and also the riders skills. |
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Dressage was first introduced in the Olympics in 1912, and was an individual sport, held at what today would be considered an "elementary" level, or very beginner level. At this first Dressage Olympic event, the Swedish team won. |
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In recent years dressage’s movements have become much more complicated, and now these movements include flying lead changes (the horse changes the leg its leading with while suspended in the air) and counter-cantering (doing the opposite lead on the opposite direction). In 1932, they added the piaffe and passage movements to the Olympic dressage tests, making the competitions so much harder. |
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In the picture at the right you see a complicated dressage move called the pirouette. In the pirouette the horse picots on its inside hind leg, as shown in the picture. This move is an extremely complicated move that demonstrates control and the riders ability at training their horse to perform this move. |
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To the left you can see the proper attire for a dressage rider in a competition. They wear black top hats, black or dark blue shad-belly (tail) coats, canary yellow vests, white shirts with white stock ties, white breeches, white gloves, and tall black dress boots, sometimes with spurs, depending on the type of horse they are riding. |
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Robert Dover is a leading international dressage competitor, and rode for the USET (United States Equestrian Team) in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. He began being involved in dressage when he was 13. Even though he has competed in other types of riding, his heart has always been in dressage. Today he is retired from competing, but he still teaches riders and trains Olympic-Quality horses. |
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Dressage is judged in a manner that is uniquely is own. These tests are ridden in either 65.5 x 131foot rings (for lower level tests) or 65.5 x 197 foot rings (for higher level tests). In major competitions the top 12 riders to qualify for the Grand Prix qualify to ride in the Special, a shorter test with more difficult moves. |
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As you can see, dressage's difficult, controlled movements make it one of the equine world's most difficult, but rewarding sports, and makes it a good basis for every sport to be built upon. |
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