>>>> Here's another Icelandic in dressage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZvgTaBO94w
Where was that? That didn't look like any dressage test I've ever seen. What was up with those long, sharp serpentines? That horse was nowhere near doing that, falling in on the corners, not going straight at all. (What is the main tenet of early dressage? "Forward and straight!") In fact, I can't say that I've never seen that pattern in ANY dressage test, any level. In the standard tests, the pattern is supposedly set up to be appropriate for the horse's level of accomplishment...in other words, in the first few tests, most of the riding is straight and forward, with minimal turns. The patterns are defined, changing slightly every few years. The first circles introduced are 60-meter circles - circles that use the entire width of the arena. Tighter turns are considered too stressful for the low-level horses, and the text said that this was this Icelandic's first dressage show. Yet, this horse does those tight serpentines, as well as one small circle. Honestly, I can't even consider this dressage. No matter how well/poorly the horse and rider are doing, the test isn't appropriate. In contrast, here's a Training Level test. This is just the first one that a search on YouTube brought up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZZAZNkWC8 Note that the circles use the whole width of the arena, and aren't tight. Most of the work is at trot, with just a little canter, and some walk. I only watched this one once, so I didn't analyze it to death, but it's MUCH different than the Icelandic. I don't think the Fresian ever goes behind the vertical, and is slightly in front of vertical at times. There is actually an "Intro" level in many areas that comes before Training level - I think the horse never has to canter in Intro, if I remember correctly. Karen Thomas, NC
