​The World of Dressage

Dressage (noun) :

the art of riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility, and balance​

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Created in Ancient Greece, dressage quickly became an advanced cavalry technique aiding the power of the Greek military. Xenophon, a student of socrates, applied his learning to the mastery of horse training. By rewarding horses for their good behavior, rather than being punished for their mistakes, Xenophon developed a high level of trust, and therefore obedience, between him and the horse. With that bond, Xenophon was able to create a series of complex maneuvers that the horse would perform in order to evade an oncoming attack. 

 

And thus, Classical Dressage was born.

 

The practice of dressage rose and fell with the popularity the cavalry unit's employment with in militaries around the world. When the modern era arose, battle tactics began changing. With more sophisticated battlefield movement, the tight control of dressage became even more necessary. Although the advanced movements performed by the horses outmatched any infantry attack,  cavalry eventually became obsolete due to the high cost of caring for the horses.  Modern infantry became more effective on the battlefield and soon dressage trasitioned from a military tactic to a modern sport.  

 

By 1912, dressage was included in the Summer Olympics with the riders still mainly military personnel. A conversation between a commander of the United States Cavalry and the great instructors of Europe occurred following the 1912 Olympics regarding the availability of dressage instruction to civilians. This quickly became a trend in Europe, and once the United States Cavalry disbanded in 1948, the sport took off. 

 

With Modern Dressage, some of the advanced movements the Xenophon developed for the military were no longer included in competition. The sport became more streamlined in order to allow more fluidity between the movements demonstrated for the judge. With the streamlining of the sport also came the streamlining of the top competative horses transitioning to a better suited physique for the modernized sport. 

 

Today dressage exists as a highly competative sport designed to showcase the top Equine and Human althletes in the world. Though differing greatly in appearance to the first dressage rides, today's sport still holds true to the original philosophy of Dressage:

 

To create a powerful bond between horse and rider resulting in complete trust, harmony and obedience resulting in the optimum athlete.