Youtube Galore - Videos of competitive dressage with classical ideals

[RachelEvent]

This video of Reiner Klimke winning the Los Angles olympic dressage was posted on another forum, and it got me thinking all about competitive dressage, and how it varies wildly in how much it conforms to classical ideals. I've been watching the olympic dressage over the past week, and have been surprised by how many horses don't use their hindlegs properly in an extension, or are obviously tense and over-bent ... in other cases I have been pleasantly surprised though. The video of Klimke looks quite antiquated in many respects - the horse looks fit and lightweight, and the saddle doesn't have 6 inch blocks poking out at the knee - but the overall impression is so beautiful, correct and free of tension.

Reiner Kilmke on Ahlerich (1984 olympics) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKbqokuTzh8

So I have been scouring youtube for videos of competition dressage that inspires me - is light, energetic, looks educated rather than overtrained.

I'll let the videos speak for themselves - but i'd love to know what people think of these various performances, how they compare to the current 'stars' of the dressage world.. and post more videos that are beautiful to watch, please!

Reiner Klimke on Ahlerich (demo in Madison Square Gardens) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T3AcvnEuMw

Nicole Uphoff on Rembrandt (just look at how wonderful his outline is, never behind the vertical - and the power as he changes from passage to extensions) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWCv5BxwaCU

Alexandra Korelova and Balagur (2008 olympics - ie just gone - his passage and piaffe are stunning to watch, and his enthusiasm for work is obvious) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4MXp_pQUrc

Klaus Balkenhol and Goldstern (Barcelona 1992) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXjaRkRYP4w

[Soot]

Rembrandt will always be my hero - lightly, alert, relaxed - he just floats.
When I think of dressage, I think of Rembrandt :).

[tandp]

Andreas Helstrande and Blu Hors Matine's performance at WEG in 2006 is legendary...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQgTiqhPbw

And I can't believe they didn't win!

[RachelEvent]

Andreas Helstrande and Blu Hors Matine's performance at WEG in 2006 is legendary...

it is legendary, and whilst there is a lot to like, it still does smack to me of modern competitive dressage - complete with the overbent neck, face behind vertical at all times, tension (endless tail swishing), and a lot of movement in the front legs that isn't matched up behind consistently.

the quality of most of it is fantastic, it's just not got that lightness and freedom that Klimke's horse or Rembrandt show.

[CrisO]

Interesting from the warm up before he went in you could see the difference
What really impressed me in Ahlerich 's test was the walk about half way through. None of the horses I saw last yesterday came close to it.

[Valaraki]

I agree with you all that these people mentioned are outstanding but for me the highlight to this years Olympics has to be Alexandra Korelova and Balagur.

There performance was outstanding and gave me shivers down my spine. The only thing the video on youtube someone has recorded that from there tv and the music is not the music Alesandra used in her performance!!! Totally spoils the superb test that she did.

[Dooley]

Not had time to watch the videos you linked to but just had to say right now: Balagur - yesssss ! That piaffe is fantastic isn't it !?

[BeachRiding]

Thanks for showing this, very interesting! :)

[Skyhuntress]

It really interests me how Klimke is held up to such ideals. Now, the man was a brilliant rider, absolutely no doubt and some of his rides are absolutely breathtaking (I have to say that too, because he rode my boy's sire and grandsire LOL)- but he wasn't a god. He too made mistakes in his riding that today, would make him heavily faulted; for example, if you watch a few more of his videos-and even his olympic ride, the horse has a tendency to be lateral in the collected walk, which would normally indicate tension and a flaw in the training. A walk like that, nowadays, would get no better then a 3. The passage is almost completely non existant. He at times goes backwards in his piaffe. Now knowing that, its still a lovely test. And its held to the ideal of classical riding. There's a harmony there between him and the horse that's quite elegant.
But there are also mistakes, same as any other rider-both then and now.

Also remember that this is the man that did 75 tempi changes in his victory gallop. Some would say that it shows a well trained horse-others would argue that its completely abusive. Dressage is quite subjective.

The video of Rembrandt is still lovely. I haven't seen it in a long time, and its still a beautiful ride.
Although, here's a little trivia for you-that again shows that people only choose to remember certain facts. Nicole was one of the first to advocate rolkur. Rembrandt was apparently an incredibly spooky horse, so when he was at home and at warmup, she'd ride him extremely deep. Now, when she was interviewed about the subject, some 10 years later, she maintained that it should only be used by those that knew what they were doing.
Interesting though, huh?

[RachelEvent]

Yes, I do remember that Nicole is, uh, 'credited' with rolkur ... but as I understood it, it was a specific reasoning because of his spookiness (as you say) - the fact remains that she must have done it with so much more skill than that we currently see, as the end result in the arena is so harmonious and correct.

[Skyhuntress]

Yes, I do remember that Nicole is, uh, 'credited' with rolkur ... but as I understood it, it was a specific reasoning because of his spookiness (as you say) - the fact remains that she must have done it with so much more skill than that we currently see, as the end result in the arena is so harmonious and correct.

i think you're right-that was my understanding of it as well