​Watching the Olympic dressage this weekend, it was noticeable how little has changed over the last decades despite the rise in voices that recognise that this is not classical dressage. However, there were a couple of glimmers of hope. The flying changes were less leaps off the ground and horses showed smoother flatter changes of lead. This is a move in the right direction for change.
 
The second was in the extended paces. The excessive front leg movement that has been presented in competitions has gone and they showed a less exaggerated stride. But the horses were unable to lengthen their frame and the extended trots on display still retained the flicking feet and blocked top line of old. The judges seemed to think that this constituted a correct extension with 5 of them each giving 10 marks to the same competitor. The commentators also spoke about the lovely lengthening of the top line when there was clearly none.
 
All the horses shown were being ridden with a very tight rein contact. Curb bits should give an increased level of subtly and refinement to the rider’s aids and require the most delicate and light action from the rider. None of this was on display at the weekend.
 
The riders were in a position that was braced against the reins, legs tight in the knee rolls and their backs stiff. The excessive foaming in the horse’s mouth did not disguise the overuse of the curb bit and chain. The sides of the curb bit should hang almost straight down. Riders applied continuous bit pressure showing with the sides of the curb at roughly a 45-degree angle.
 
Pulled in by the rider’s hands, the horses had contracted neck and head position. This forces the horse to drop its back and disengage its haunches. Regardless of what the legs are doing, the horse is not correct. In this compressed frame, the horses make flawed movements to accommodate the rider’s demands. Some of the common faults that I could see across horses were,
 
Swinging of haunches in passage.
Swinging haunches in collected trot.
Tight, restrictive shoulder movement.
Tight reins, horse flapping its bottom lip.
Unbalanced corners.
Overuse of the leg to keep the horse moving, in an effort to counter the tight rein contact.
Uneven steps in piaffe, hopping and loss of rhythm.
One horse kicked out in the canter transition.
Breaking of the diagonal leg paring at various times in the trot work.
Tail swishing.
Forelegs behind the shoulder in piaffe.
Flying changes not straight, haunches swinging.
Bouncing of haunches in piaffe, horses show different lowering of the haunches depending on their conformation and level, but bouncing haunches show disengagement.
Uneven steps in the hind legs in passage.



​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

​Along with many other equestrians, I have watched the first day of dressage competition at the Paris Olympics. I have been interested in the opportunity to see the scores as the test progress, and to compare them to the expected movements according to the FEI rules.
 
Here are some of my thoughts on a few of the piaffe movements ridden and the scores allocated. Whilst I have only commented on three horse and rider pairings, these types of piaffe are being shown by many other combinations.
 
The timings given are from the Discovery+ coverage of the full days event.
 
For reference the judging criteria as described in “The FEI DRESSAGE JUDGING MANUAL Effective from 1 January 2024” is below;

Table below sets out the faults in piaffe and the scores that should be allocated.

Taken from “The FEI DRESSAGE JUDGING MANUAL To be considered in connection with the FEI Dressage Rules and the FEI Dressage Handbook Guidelines for Judging. Effective from 1 January 2024”.
  
Nanna Skodborg-Merrald riding Zepter.
 
Piaffe at 16 minutes and 54 seconds.

- The horse’s forehand is swinging from side to side.
- Loss of rhythm.
- Horse’s nose swinging from side to side.
- Horse bracing through the neck and jaw.
Score 7.6
 
Piaffe at 18 minutes 9 seconds.
- Swinging haunches.
- Loss of rhythm.
Score 7.8
 
Emma Kanerva riding Greek Air.
 
Piaffe starts at 3 hours 13 minutes and 50 seconds.
 
- Horse is on its forehand.
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted. The muscle on the underside of the horse’s neck is braced.
- Haunches swinging.
- Tail swishing.
 Score 7.7
 
Piaffe starting at 3 hours 15 minutes and 5 seconds
 
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted. The muscle on the underside of the horse’s neck is braced.
- Haunches swinging.
- Uneven steps in hind legs.
- Tail swishing
 Score 7.4
 
Marcus Orlob riding Jane
 
Piaffe starting at 3 hours 5 minutes and 49 seconds.
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted.
- From the front view the left hind leg is seen swinging out.
- Uneven steps behind with the left hind leg making a backward movement and the right hind leg stepping up and down.
- Loss of diagonal steps.
- Horse bracing through the neck and jaw.
 Score 7.4

​​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
 

​It is sad to see that competition dressage is in the spotlight yet again for all the wrong reasons. The footage of Charlotte Dujardin shows her whipping a horse with a lunge whip multiple times to improve its canter. This is totally unacceptable and unnecessary. Horses will willingly do what they are physically able to do and what they understand through training.

This latest scandal is not the first video showing a professional, world renowned trainer or rider maltreating their horses, and yet nothing has changed. Over decades, the FEI and British Dressage have consistently failed to respond to the mounting evidence of abusive training. They continue to reward riders showing horses that are blocked through their necks and back, disengaged in their haunches, producing paces that are uneven and incorrect. Spurs are used to force the horse forward, bits are used to pull horses in from the riders hands and nosebands are tightened to prevent the horse from showing any sign of pain.

Rather than tackling the issue head on and changing the judging and scoring, the FEI brought in rules to show that they are serious about tackling animal cruelty. The recent blood rule, where a horse is eliminated for having blood in its mouth or on its sides, fails to acknowledge the simple fact that no horse should ever have blood anywhere on its body as a result of being ridden. 

Current competition training methods circumvent correct dressage principles. The rapid training used by many competitive riders today takes little account of the original dressage training goals on which the competition was based. The horses are pushed to perform and become mere vehicles for the rider's ambition.

Charlotte Dujardin now joins an ever increasing list of international riders who have been seen to be abusing horses and she will not be the last. Some of these riders are still competing despite being investigated on more than one occasion. When will the judges start to penalise riders showing horses in distress through incorrect movement and training?  When will the FEI and British Dressage  step up and make the huge changes necessary for competitive dressage to be once again focused on the horse and correct training principles? 

©Diane Followell, Classical Dressage Trainer.
Training Riders Transforming Horses