Stephen Colbert calls it “horse ballet” and he’s not far off. The power and elegance of dressage combined with the beauty of appropriate music can turn our sport into art – like figure skating or, yes, even ballet.

The Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle is coming up in the 2012 London Olympics and if there’s one thing you can watch, this would be it. Unlike the dressage tests like the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special, every freestyle will be different. However, jus t like figure skating, all freestyles must contain certain movements to show the level of training of the horse and rider. To see a copy of the Grand Prix Freestyle score sheet, click HERE.

If you watch and listen carefully, you’ll notice that different riders use different types of music, based on their horse. A rider with a big, powerful horse may use music that is more majestic. A rider with a smaller, finer-boned horse may use music that is lighter and “airy.” The choice of music is probably the most important part of the freestyle, even more important than the choreography. In fact, there is a specific score for the music and the interpretation. To evaluate your horse’s way of going to different music, riders will often video having their horse ridden at all the gaits and movements they will use. They may even put a different color boot or polo wrap on one of the front legs to help visually see the cadence of foot falls and how it matches up to the music. After the video is made, you can try different types of music and see what best fits your horse’s way of moving. This is often the most difficult thing for new freestyle choreographers to embrace. They have a favorite piece of music that they desperately want to ride to. However, it may not be the best music to show off your horse and choreography. The music rarely, if ever, contains vocals as they can be too distracting when watching the artistic interpretation of horse and music. It is also rare for one piece of music to fit your whole freestyle, so be prepared to use different types of music, though you’ll notice they are usually in the same genre, e.g. all classical, all show tunes, all Big Band.

At the Grand Prix level, some of the riders have music choreographed especially for their freestyle. This is the case for Charlotte Dujardin who rode her record breaking 90.65% freestyle in July to music composed by Tom Hunt.

Here’s some expert advice from Tom on designing your own freestyle:

“My advice to anyone starting out would be to find music that really suits the personality and characteristics of your horse. Once you have a style of music that you like, whether it’s classical or pop, it is important to try and create a theme for the freestyle. That can be a musical theme that is repeated throughout the routine or music from a show soundtrack for example. It’s important that there’s a connection linking the music choices together so that the freestyle makes sense as a whole piece. This will also make it easier for audiences to stay engaged with the overall experience of the freestyle.

“Getting to grips with the differences in tempo of your horse’s paces is crucial. Make a video of your floorplan and, with a metronome, take some time to work out the BPM (Beats Per Minute) of each pace and work with music choices that complement the horse’s tempo, style and rhythm. If you have a big horse with powerful movement it is important to use music that emphasizes these characteristics.

“Another good piece of advice is to arrange the music to highlight the changes in the floorplan / choreography. This may sound obvious but it can really help a rider stay on the beat if they know where they need to be at any given point in the music. Understanding the phrasing of music can help you with this aspect when it comes to putting the music to your floorplan.”

While anyone can create and ride a musical freestyle, the United States Dressage Federation recommends that you ride at a level BELOW what you are currently showing in regular dressage. For example, if you are showing at 2nd Level, you should create a freestyle for 1st Level or Training Level.

So for all you frustrated “Dancing with the Stars” wannabes, here’s your chance to show off your “Dances with Hooves.”

For many years, dressage has been described “as exciting as watching paint dry.”  That’s the beauty and curse of dressage.  If done correctly, the spectator should see absolutely nothing – except a horse calmly and smoothly executing precise movements.

This year for the first time, not only can US dressage enthusiasts cheer for their favorite horse or rider, but with the recent publicity of Ann Romney’s Rafalca and the clips from “The Colbert Report,” even non-horse people will tune in to see what dressage is all about and why is it considered so “elite.”

As horse people know, “dressage” means “training” in French and is the basis for all equestrian sports.  Without the basics of dressage, especially lengthening/shortening and flying changes as well as balance and suppleness, riders would have a hard time competing in eventing, jumping, carriage driving, polo and most other riding sports.

In Dressage competition, there are levels that a horse progresses through in his training. The Olympics represent a test of the highest level of training. It consists of prescribed movements, each of which is graded on a scale of 1 to 10.  Based on the number of movements, there is a highest possible score.  Seven judges sit at different points around the arena and separately grade each movement during the test.  At the end, scores for each movement are added up and then divided into the total possible score for a percentage score. The higher the percentage score, the better.

Dressage is performed in a 20 meter x 60 meter arena with a low railing surround it.  Around the outside of the arena, you will see letters placed at various points. These letters tell the riders exactly where a certain test movement must take place.  Accuracy in performing the movement at the prescribed letter is part of the judging. There are many theories why those particular letters are used, but no one knows for sure.  However, they are exactly the same in every dressage arena so you only have to memorize them once!

Dressage will take place over several days to determine both the team medal winners and the individual medal winners.  The first day of Dressage, all riderswill perform the Grand Prix test.  The teams that have the seven highest scores will proceed to ride the Grand Prix Special test. The winning teams are awarded their medals.

In addition, the top 18 riders from the Grand Prix Special will continue on to perform the Grand Prix Freestyle. Only the results from the Grand Prix Special determine who competes in the Freestyle for individual medals.

The movements prescribed in the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special are determined by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). The Grand Prix Special test is a slightly shorter and more concentrated version of the first test with the same movements, but in a different order.  In both tests, the horse and rider are judged on correct execution of movements, the willingness of the horse and the effectiveness of the rider’s aids.

The highlight of the Dressage competition is the Grand Prix Freestyle. The Freestyle combines the elegance and beauty as well as the power and strength of the horse with the stirring impact of music.  Much like the long program in Olympic figure skating, riders choreograph a routine that includes movements from the Grand Prix test, but one that also best shows up the horse’s movement as well as musical interpretation.

If you plan to watch the Dressage competition and want to be your own judge, here are the tests that will be performed. Better yet, call your barn buddies and organize a “Dressage Party.”  See how your scores compare to the Olympic judges.  For even more fun, think about using these “letter perfect” plates from Dressage Extensions.

Olympic Games Grand Prix Test – Click HERE

Olympic Games Grand Prix Special Test – Click HERE

Olympic Games Grand Prix Freestyle – Click HERE

STILL THINK DRESSAGE IS BORING?

The Olympics are finally here.  Starting on Saturday, the equestrian events kick off with Eventing.  Eventing, also called 3 Day Eventing or Combined Training, was originally developed as a way to test a horse’s fitness for use in the US Army’s Cavalry.

HISTORY

The three phases of eventing were designed to test the horse’s obedience (dressage), his courage and endurance (cross country) and his athleticism and fitness (jumping) – all necessary traits in a good Army Cavalry horse.  Eventually, the Calvary horse disappeared from the Army, but the exciting sport of Eventing did not.  It is now considered an equine “triathlon” with three distinct phases.  Up until the 2004 Olympics, the cross country phase of the competition included additional sections:  roads and tracks and a steeple chase, all completed before the cross country phase began.  These additional phases served as both a warm-up and a further test of the horse’s endurance. However, these also served to put additional wear and tear on the horse and it was decided to implement a new “short format” without the roads and tracks and steeplechase.

DRESSAGE

Eventing at the 2012 Olympics will begin with the dressage test.  All competitors will be performing the FEI Eventing 4*Dressage Test B.  Click here to view a  the test.   You’ll see that there are 27 movements that will be scored, plus additional “collective” marks where the rider ability and the horse’s movement will be scored.  There will be 5 judges seated at different points around the arena and each will be recording their view of the movement.  The maximum score for each movement is 10. Eventing works on a penalty point system.  After the test scores are added up, the score is converted to penalty points.  In regular dressage, you want the highest scores possible.  In Eventing dressage, you want the lowest penalty points possible.

CROSS COUNTRY

The 2012 Olympic Games features a cross country course set at Greenwich Park, literally in the heart of London.  The course is 6m long and will consist of at least 40 obstacles over varied terrain.  The time to complete the course is about 10 minutes.  The penalty points can continue to pile up at each obstacle if a horse refuses or avoids a jump by running to one side of it. And there are also time penalties.  This year will be a challenge to both horse and rider as the jumps, typically solid structures, are only constructed temporarily with anchors in the ground instead of poles.  This was done in an effort to keep impact on Greenwich Park to a minimum.  For a view of the course and obstacles, click here.

SHOW JUMPING

The jumping phase is done in an arena over a colorful assortment of different types of jumps.  Unlike the cross country jumps, these jumps can easily come down if touched by a hoof going over.  But like cross-country, there are penalties at the jumps and for exceeding the time limit.  Show jumping is often the most exciting phase of the sport.  Penalty points to date have all been added up and then calculated into possible show jumping faults.  The riders jump in reverse order, with the lowest penalty points going last.  You often know how many rails a rider can knock down and still win and you hold your breath as he jumps.

Throughout the entire event, the horses will be monitored by veterinarians to ensure their health and safety.  All jumps are built to easily be disassembled in case a horse should become tangled in one.  The footing for all three phases has been tested and retested to make sure it is consistent and gives the horses support for their legs.

For more information on eventing and coverage of the 2012 Games, visit the United States Eventing Association website.

No hoof, no horse is a common saying with riders.  And that goes for the rest of the leg as well.  As the Olympics are just a few days away, every USA Equestrian rider is keeping a careful eye on his horse for any signs of injury or overuse – and most of all they are keeping an eye on those legs.  One small misstep by one of these thousand pound athletes and it can be the end of the Olympics or even their competitive careers.  Look at the brilliant Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro.  That small wrong step at the Preakness started a chain of events that ultimately resulted in his humane euthanasia.

But as much as the US riders watch and baby those equine legs, the real test will come when they compete on the various LOGOC equestrian surfaces – the arena and the cross country course.  And, like many areas that were reported to need improvement before the start of the Games, the equestrian footing was not quite good enough.

The FEI rules for the competition areas are pretty simple – sand or grass for jumping, sand for dressage and grass for the cross country phase of eventing.  But this isn’t what the riders want.  Depending on the discipline, they want surfaces that are cushioning for their horses legs, but also provide some “spring.” Last year,  a “waxed” sand covering a giant plywood platform resting on thousands of pneumatic pylons was used for the arenas.  The pylons and platform were necessary because Greenwich Park is not level.

However, during the July 2011 test rides, the show jumpers said that the footing felt like they were riding in “pudding.”  FEI’s footings consultant, Leopoldo Palacios, required that different, “drier” sand along with a binder mix be used in the arenas.  Approximately 8,500 tons of this mix was used in Greenwich Park.

The four-mile Olympic cross-country track at Greenwich has been specially aerated, seeded and watered almost daily for the past two years.   Hundreds of thousands of gallons may be required to prepare the artificial dressage and show jumping surfaces in the Greenwich equestrian arena.  There was concern earlier in the year when England’s drought put water restrictions on all Olympic venues.  Since then, a special pipe has been installed to provide adequate and even watering.    The Olympic Park has a new water recycling program that turns waste from an adjacent sewer for use in irrigation. This will provide 40% of the park’s competition area needs.

Another test of the riding surfaces was done on July 19, 2012 and the FEI announced that the footing was “in very good shape.”   To further verify the quality of the footing, Lars Roepstorff, a professor in equine functional anatomy at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science, conducted a scientific evaluation.  He measured such properties as surface firmness, elasticity, the water retention of the footing and grip.  He concurs that the London 2012 footing is the most consistent and among the best he has seen.

To make things even more challenging, after the Games Greenwich Park must be returned to its pre-Olympic conditions.  All the equestrian competition arenas, stables and viewing area are all temporary and will be taken down after the Games.  The cross-country course, too, will be made up of temporary jumps secured to the ground with anchors instead of posts to minimize ground damage.

The goal of the London Olympic Games Organizing Committee for the 2012 Games is zero waste to have to go into a landfill.  They have pledged that 70% of will be reused, recycled, or composted.   After the games, trucks will dismantle the arenas, including pylons, platforms and the footing mix, cross country course, and stables and whisk them away.  For the first time, this Olympic Equestrian competition will leave a zero carbon footprint on the land.  Not a bad legacy…