What breed do you compete on?

[Tia]

Hi, I just wondered what breeds you all own/compete on. I am just backing my youngster - who is a Welsh Section D - and intend to begin competing her in the future. She has fantastic paces, elevation and a certain something about her, even at this age. I have competed in the past on a TB, a Warmblood and a ID/TB.

Round here, most of the dressage horses seem to be thoroughbreds and warmbloods, and I'm just interested to know if this is the same nation wide.

So, what breed is your dressage horse, and what level do you compete at and hope to achieve?

[floppy]

my cousin competes showjumping and dressage on a trakehner

[belle]

I am hoping to compete my Arab in dressage, to the highest level we can both manage!

[Lgd]

I have two - a 7/8 TB mare competing up to PSG and schooling all the GP work now - and a Russian warmblood X TB/Connemara competing at elementary, working Medium.

I do like the Welshies - I used to train a Sec D X TB mare and got her into advanced work, unfortunately recurrent azoturia problems finished her dressage career, although she is fit and rideable again, just not at that level.

My friends' horses are a 3/4 TB competing up to Advanced Medium and a pure bred Fell Pony competing up to Medium. One of them also has a youngster intended for dressage - he is out of SectionD/Shire mare by a TB and is gorgeous with lovely paces.

Do keep up with your Sec D - one of our local judges competed one at Advanced Medium and qualified for the Regioanl championships with her. Another was second in the regional elementary champs last year and finished ninth at the Nationals (his rider was only just 14 at the time and she won with her other horse!) he is now on the British squad and was recently reserve for an International in Belgium - watch out for him, he is called Maesyfron Rhett and is an absolue stunner.

[Sefroniaau]

I have a 14.3 TB cross Pony. He looks like a TB but is a bit more substantial. We compete at grade 2 pony club eventing. But he could go further.

[sweetbriar]

I have a Connemara pony which I compete in showjumping, dressage and hunter trials.

[Pixie]

My horse is a Clydescale X Welsh D and she is working at Elementary at home and competing at prelim, I would like to go as far up the ladder as I can with her in dressage, she also jumps very well and has jumped 3 ft plus to date, she is a star and I love her to bits!

[fizz21]

but I would really like to compete on a Skewbald or a Palomino

[floppy]

i might do a few little competitions this with my icelandic if we are both fit for it :)
but if not this year definately next year :)

[LindaAd]

Hairy cob. So far we're only doing prelim at riding-club level, but we had a fourth place in our second competition, and I had to move into the Open classes. Hope to do better this year... One judge commented that he wasn't the right sort of horse, and my instructor and the other local dressage judge were furious - said the type of horse was nothing to do with it and the comment was quite inappropriate. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with the horse, it just wasn't the right sort of rider ... but I hope I've improved since then!

[happyhorse]

Mines a dutch warmblood, called evert.

piccies at : www.picturetrail.com/dutchgold

[Lgd]

Linda
That judge just infuriates me. Your instructor is quite right, any horse can do dressage. There are loads of cobs and natives doing both unaffiliatd and affiliated dressage now in our area. My friend has a pure bred Fell Pony competing up to Medium level and he qualified for the National Freestyle championships at Elementary level a couple of years ago. There is also a Welsh Section D cob on the British Junior Dressage team, he finished ninth in last years (Senior!) National Elementary championships and regularly beats the more typical dressage horses - he was bought from the Riding School at the local agricultural college!

Keep going and prove them wrong!

[conne the mara]

I write at our local dressage comps and was told my one judge that my connemara would never win at dressage although he has a great walk and canter! I was writing for another judge last sunday and she loves the slightly more chunky types and placed a Section D cross first and a heavy ID mare 3rd so yah boo sucks to judge no 1 me thinks!!! As far as I'm concerned if both me and Kango have a good time then so what. He'll do better at show hunter, riding horse and M&M but we're still going to stick to the dressage!

[sweetbriar]

Rubbish, Connies are wonderful at dressage. My beautiful girl, when she's listening to me (not v. often), has the most beautiful paces.

At present our dressage is pretty gruesome but its a big improvement on the 'standing still in the corner of the school' I had when she stopped being a riding school pony.

We did our first test in 2 years on Sunday and got 94 marks. Its not terrific but there were a few people on 80-odd marks so I don't feel too bad about it.

Thats the problem with dressage really. The judges have their likes and dislikes and it does sometimes come out in their marking. One judge suggested that my girl was 'lazy' and I thought it was quite insulting. One other judge kept ranting on about her 'outline'. I can certainly see why people get paranoid about getting their horses on the bit by any means possible.

Keep going Conne and you'll show them.

[Sue Watson]

I was the proud owner of a Dales pony who competed at Medium with good scores and was 2nd at the area festival at that level. She was also 10th at the nat music finals at elementary and 7th at the regionals. We are in the South West which is very strong region so she did really well. We did find however the higher listing the judge the better scores - they were more interested in a correct way of going and less swayed by a flashy moving warmblood or a well known rider.

[conne the mara]

Thx Sweetbriar!!!

Kango's being ridden by an I at the mo. Just to get him a bit more together now his back is better. Last nite he actually managed to do a halfpass!!! Barry, the guy riding him, said there is no reason for him not to do well as he has a nice tick tock trot. As long as we ride the test accurately we should be OK. He still struggles doing shoulder in at trot but you can hardly blame him, he hasn't done any lateral work for about 7 mths!!!!

Going on his performance last nite I've changed my mind about not competeing in dressage this year. A couple of mths time and we'll be posting good news I hope!!!!


Good luck everyone


Mandie

[Lgd]

Update on Rhett the Sec D I mentioned before. Won his first Medium with a score of around 68% at Richmond at the beginning of March.

[Bootyfulcobs]

eh hmmm... pass!! :D
(Horseless)

[sweetbriar]

Its wonderful to hear that Kango is doing so well. I wish you all the best for your future dressage tests!

Lizzie and I compete at Prelim level (just local Riding Club dressage). She can do a lovely leg yield and turn on the forehand. Her extended trot is beautiful but she only does it out on hacks. I'm afraid its just a terrible struggle at present getting her to go forward in the sandschool. However, like you, I'm sure we'll get there.

I'm sure someone will correct me but I think Connies are descended from Spanish horses which were shipwrecked off the Irish Coast (I don't know when that was!). If you look at a Connie and then at one of the Iberians they do have slightly similar features. For natives Connies aren't that clumpy and have very nice legs!

[conne the mara]

Matches their owners then!!!! (leg wise)

You're right about the connies descendants. We have a luso and a lipizzaner at the yard and they are quite similar looking. Kango had the same problem with not going forward. It took a couple of weeks of riding with no steering and my finger on the buckle and he's no really nicely forward. At least you can get extended trot though! We haven't managed it yet. Fast trot we can do but that's about it.


Let me know how you get on!!!

[cabanha]

My parent's stable is mostly a Hunter/Jumper stable, however, we have 2 boarder's horses who compete in Dressage. One is a TB gelding off the track who was trained in jumping but did not like it and is now doing terrific in Dressage. The other is a WB x TB cross mare who is competing in training level Dressage and is not doing terrible by any means considering she was rescued from horrid conditions at the age of 2, now at age 6 she is awesome!