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Defined as the French term for “training”, Dressage is the harmonious development of the horse and rider in both mind and body. Every mount, regardless of its type or use, can benefit from this training. Dressage requires the mount and rider to combine strength and agility with the elegance and beauty of ballet.
Pony Club works with the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) to promote the sport of dressage and its principles by offering many ways to compete in and learn about the sport. Members can participate in a dressage rally - a competition where members compete as a team and are judged not only on their riding skills, but also how well they take care of their mounts. Pony Club has also introduced Dressage Certifications from the very basic D-2 level all the way through the highest level of accomplishment, the A level. Certifications are a series of tests completed by members as they gain skills and abilities in both horse management and riding. Certifications provide a way to measure the rider’s skill set as they progress in their riding careers.
Pony Club offers many ways to compete in and learn about the sport of Dressage. Members can participate in a dressage rally—a competition where members compete as a team and are judged not only on their riding skills, but also how well they take care of their mounts. Pony Club offers Dressage Certifications from the very basic D-2 level all the way through the highest level of accomplishment, the A level. Certifications are a series of tests completed by members as they gain skills and abilities in both Horse Management and riding. Certifications provide a way to measure the rider’s skill set as they progress in their riding careers.
The Dressage certification track is designed to allow a member to progress from knowing their diagonals and leads to understand how their position and independence will affect their dressage test and overall ‘training’ of their mount. In the Dressage track, members are required to demonstrate specific movements that correspond to a dressage test that they will perform along with cavaletti work and ending with understanding how to safely ride their mount in the open with confidence and control. Members begin this track at the Local-Level, starting with the D-2 certification and performing USDF Intro Test C, and progress through the National-Level A certification where members ride USDF Third Level Test 3.
Competitions are held at many levels, beginning with Walk-Trot and Training Level, and continuing through nine levels to Grand Prix. A dressage test is a series of movements, performed at various gaits, designed to test the rider’s ability to communicate with their mount. Each movement is performed at a specified point in the arena and is scored individually on a scale from 0 to 10. A score of 0 means no portion of the movement was executed, while a score of 10 shows excellent execution. The individual scores are added and then calculated as a percentage of possible points to come up with a final score. The highest percentage wins the class.
Tests are different for each level and are written so there is a way to consistently measure the mount’s progress through the levels. Judges are looking for accuracy, obedience, suppleness of the mount, quality of the gaits, and the rider’s use of the aids. There are also musical freestyle dressage tests for individual riders, pairs, and groups of four or more.
