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 In my last blog I looked at the qualities of a good piaffe shown by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl in the warmup area. (Click here to read it) This month I am looking at some of the problems that can occur in piaffe. This one is shown by Charlotte Fry whilst competing at the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohr_Vex4m4c&t=26s and the piaffe starts at 1 minute 7 seconds. In a correct piaffe the horse needs to engage its haunches, lighten it’s forehand and elevate the head and neck position. If the horse is prevented from doing this either by a lack of strength and balance or by the rider blocking the movement, the trot diagonal steps elevation and and straightness are lost. In this clip, as the rider approaches the piaffe from a passage, she makes a backward movement of her hands to bring the horse to piaffe. This action causes the horse to brace its neck and jaw and lose its forward momentum. To correct this the rider uses her spurs. The horse is now blocked between the rider’s hands and her legs and is unable to engage its haunches for the piaffe and the diagonal rhythm of the trot steps is lost (1 minute 7 seconds). (Picture 1.07 A) Due to the disengagement of the haunches, the momentum of the piaffe has gone and the rider is now using a lot of leg and spur to create some steps. Her hand position does not change and forces the horse to drop its head behind the vertical and place its weight into its forehand. (1 minute 7 seconds). (Picture.1.07 B) As the piaffe continues, the horse remains blocked by the rider’s hands and, unable to correctly engage his haunches, there is a continued deterioration of the diagonal trot steps. This results in the horse’s forehand swinging from side to side (1 minute 8 seconds). Picture 1.08 A This picture also shows the left diagonal breakdown with the hind foot moving off the ground before the forefoot and the fore legs stepping out to the sides rather than stepping cleanly up and down. The next sequence of pictures (1.09, 1.10 A and 1.10 B) shows the continued breakdown of the steps as the horse makes sidesteps in the forelimbs and rocks its shoulders from side to side In picture 1.12, the horse is blocked and diagonal rhythm of the trot steps is completely lost as the horse has all four feet on the ground at the same time. Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell ![]() With the Olympic games in Paris this summer, I am taking a look at some of the advanced movements that will be shown in the dressage competitions, how they should look and the problems that can occur. In my last blog I reviewed tempi flying changes, “A View of Tempi Flying Changes" (click here to read) and this month I am taking a look at piaffe. The piaffe is on Jessica von Bredow-Werndl’s Facebook page, showing a few steps of piaffe in a warmup arena, and can be found here; https://www.facebook.com/reel/389800653416534 Although this is only a few steps of piaffe, it is a good example of the movement. The horse is light and well engaged in his haunches. The joints of the hind legs are flexing and the feet are raised to the same height and move up and down without deviation. The rider sits softly with relaxed legs and the weight of the reins in her hands. The horse is able to place its head and neck where it feels most comfortable without the rider dictating the position. As the rider makes a turn in the piaffe, the steps remain the same. At the end of the movement, the horse moves calmly forward. Training Riders, Transforming Horses © Diane Followell This month I’m taking a look at some footage of dressage shown at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The video is of Canadian rider Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu riding the transition between passage and piaffe. You can watch the full test here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSYdsItiqU. I am focusing on the quality of the passage, the transition into piaffe and the piaffe itself. This is a complicated sequence of movements that require the rider to have great tact and timing of the aids. The passage starts at 5 minutes 37 seconds as the pair come out of the extended trot. The rider makes a backward movement on the reins which contracts the horse’s head and neck position creating a passage that lacks suspension. The steps are uneven, showing a breakdown in the diagonal movement of the horse’s legs because the horse is unable to correctly bring its haunches under due to the contraction in its neck and braced back. As they turn out of the corner, the horse’s inside leg hind is disengaged and it has braced its ribcage placing weight in its forehand. The horse loses balance and rhythm through the turn from the long side (5:44) As the horse approaches the piaffe transition, the rider makes several heavy backward movements on the reins, causing the horse to open its mouth and cross its jaw, and for the trot rhythm to falter (5:51). In the piaffe steps, the horse is contracted in its neck and disengaged in its hind legs placing weight in its shoulders with no engagement of the haunches.
The next sequence of pictures shows the horse with its right hind leg moving straight up and down, whilst the left hind leg swings outwards. At the top of the step there is a circular movement of the foot, and the left foot moves inwards as it is replaced on the ground. The horse starts to swing its haunches from side to side with greater disruption to the diagonal pairing in the stride. The piaffe is incorrect and beyond improvement (sequence of stills from 5.52 to 5:55). Training Riders, Transforming Horses © Diane Followell In a previous blog I looked at the causes of a horse rearing whilst in the middle of a dressage test, What Went Wrong? In this month’s blog, I wanted to look closely at a piaffe shown in a grand prix freestyle competition and the qualities that the horse shows in the movement in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch? =QElJ6Og6bp8 I am focusing on the piaffe that begins at 1 minute 8 seconds. Before this piaffe, the horse is in passage and to bring the horse into piaffe, the rider makes a backward pull on the rein (1:09) whilst simultaneously using her spurs and bracing her body backwards. This has the effect of compressing the horse through its neck which puts the horse on its fore hand, disengages its haunches and disrupts the diagonal steps (below). Consequently, the horse can only bounce its haunches up in the piaffe as it’s front legs barely come off the ground (1:13) and there is no elevation of the neck and withers. Unable to correctly engage its haunches the horse is now fully on its fore hand as the front feet land significantly before the hind feet and the rhythm of the diagonal steps is completely lost. Through the piaffe, the horse swings its left hind out to the side whereas it should move up and down under the body of the horse. The rider makes continual backward movements on the reins, blocking the horse and creating resistance in the horse’s jaw, neck and back. Due to the incorrect movement in the piaffe, in the transition out of the piaffe, the horse makes two canter strides before picking up passage steps(1:22). In a correct piaffe, the horse moves its centre of gravity back, the hind legs flex more and the fore hand becomes lighter and more elevated. The haunches should not bounce higher than the withers. The front feet should be raised higher than the hind feet, or the hind feet and front feet should come to the same height if the horse’s conformation or level of training does not allow for the former. If the hind feet are raised higher than the front feet, it is a clear indication that the piaffe is on the fore hand and incorrect. The pictures below show two horses with different conformation showing correct piaffe steps and the piaffe shown by this horse and rider for comparison. © Training Riders, Transforming Horses
Lightness is a characteristic of classical dressage, sought by riders throughout the centuries. For me, lightness is the ultimate goal of dressage training, it brings a unique expression to each horse throughout their work, and it directs all my work and teaching. When a horse is truly light, dressage is elevated to another level, something that, once you have felt it, is never forgotten. Lightness means to be nimble, with a lack of weight, or a lack of weightiness or force and each of these interpretations are relevant to classical dressage. Horses are naturally weighted towards their forehand, and through correct training, the horse gradually learns to use their strength to bring their balance towards quarters. As training progresses and the horse engages their haunches more towards collection, their forehand elevates, and the horse becomes more manoeuvrable. This lightness in the forehand can ultimately create piaffe or even a levade. The aspect of lightness in character should not be dismissed. Both horse and rider should enjoy the work. Where training becomes an effort with riders becoming stronger and the horse becoming resistant, the joy of dressage is lost. Without lightness in movement, dressage horses become physically blocked and laboured, unable to produce the full beauty of which they are capable. The pictures below show two very different piaffes, the bay horse is heavy in the fore hand, it’s head and neck are blocked, which has disengaged the hind legs which are stepping to the side, and the fore leg is drawn too far back under the horse’s body. The horse shows resistance throughout its body The grey horse also shows a piaffe but in a completely different way. There is lightness in the fore hand, the hocks flex as the hind legs are brought under the body of the horse and the head and neck are elevated with the poll raised. There is no tension or resistance in the movement. © Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
![]() What is a correct piaffe? Over the years I have seen many horses performing piaffe, and the way each horse creates the steps can make the movement look very different. Some horses have the strength to lower their haunches and show strides with good elevation, whilst for other horses the piaffe steps are much smaller and less elevated. It is easy to be impressed by horses who make big extravagant steps, but is the piaffe still correct? A true piaffe should show: -
Common faults in piaffe are:-
Phillipe Karl has a diagram in his book "Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage" which shows some of these common problems. (See right) These faults can occur because the horse is asked to piaffe too early in their training, when they are not strong enough to make the steps or they are asked to give more than they are capable of. The horse becomes compressed into the piaffe which results in these types of errors. That is not to say that every piaffe will look the same, some horses find the movement easier than others and have more expression in the steps, whereas other horses will have small, almost shuffling steps. Looking for the qualities of a movement can show that the less spectacular piaffe is more correct than some of the dazzling steps we see at times. In the pictures below at first the piaffes look similar, but when you look in detail at the position of the horses, you can see that the chestnut horse is blocked by the rider’s hands. The head and neck are compressed causing the fore limbs to track too far back under the horses body, the back is blocked, the haunches are lowered but the hocks are braced and you can see the resistance through the horse's mouth and tail. The grey horse is in a similar position, but he is correctly engaged, more open in the head and neck, elevating the forehand and flexing his hind limbs with correct weight transfer towards the haunches and with the fore legs stepping down vertically. Have an objective look at some videos of different horses in piaffe and see if you can spot the differences and which are more correct. ©Training Riders, Transforming Horses
Over the centuries, classical riders have studied the work of their predecessors and expanded the understanding of the techniques and skills that have been passed down. Throughout, there is one quality that they all sought to achieve from every horse; lightness. This aspect of a trained horse makes them maneuverable and easy to ride and it should be the focus of every trainer’s work. When you have ridden a horse that is truly light it becomes the most important quality that you search for in your training. Lightness is developed through a steady, systematic approach to using classical training techniques. The horse needs to be balanced and supple, so they can move their weight towards the haunches and develop self-carriage. This involves the horse and rider balancing themselves and working together. Once true self-carriage is achieved, lightness becomes apparent. Lightness brings a softness to the impulsion and a unique expression to each horse throughout their work. The ultimate demonstration of this lightness is “descente de main” or descending the hands. This is where the rider is able to lower the hands, releasing the contact, and the horse remains in the movement, without interference from the rider. This quality has been over-shadowed in today’s competitive dressage world, it takes time and builds on a pre-existing foundation of creating a balanced, supple horse. Nuno Oliveira emphasised the value of working a horse on correct, geometric circles with the weight of the reins being sufficient contact. The rider must have a well-balanced seat and supple back in order to have exact control over the leg, seat, back and hand aids. Developing lightness begins with the early work, centering round applying the training techniques in an appropriate way for each horse. Setting up correct basic foundations starting with circles is the key to the correct progression of dressage. Nuno Oliveira said that horses learn many things when ridden correctly round a circle, as this begins to supple them, places them round the inside leg to the outside hand and starts to engage the inside hind leg. From correct circle work and riding correct corners, shoulder-in develops more easily, and these 3 movements form the basis of dressage and more advanced work. It is worth remembering that when problems occur in advanced movements, they are often resolved by coming back to correctly ridden circles and shoulder-in. In these pictures, the black horses are heavy and blocked in front, whereas the other horse is light. Look at the lengthening of the horse’s frame, rather than the hooves, the contact in the rider’s hands and the position of the horse’s head and neck. In the pictures below, the horses are all in piaffe. The horses in the first two pictures lack lightness, whereas the horses in the last picture show lightness. Notice the rider’s hands and connection to the bit, the position of the withers, neck and head as well as the general outline of the horse. © Training Riders, Transforming Horses
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AuthorDiane Followell Classical Dressage Trainer ![]()
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