Amateur Dressage

I'm back home now after spending three days attending the Palm Beach Derby.  As a total newbie to the Florida dressage scene, I didn't really know what to expect or what I would get out of it.  I knew I'd enjoy watching the horses but wasn't entirely convinced the trip would be worth the hit on my very tight budget.

My third day attending the PBD flew by - I spent most of the day either watching the Grand Prix warm-up or watching Grand Prix rides.  As with my first two days, it was hard to soak up everything.  There really was a lot to watch and there were "big name" trainers and riders everywhere I turned.  I zipped back and forth between the warm-ups and the show arenas so frequently that I didn't get to spend too much time shopping....  Maybe next year J

As I mentioned in my first blog post about attending the event, the weekend started off on a very sad note with Courtney King-Dye's accident.  I had the good fortune to see her ride in Las Vegas at the World Cup and she had been one of the riders I was most looking forward to watching over the weekend.  Her accident is beyond sad and I don't know what to write about it or how to process it except to hope that she recovers.

Her accident has sparked a dialogue about wearing helmets in dressage.  Many of the Canadian riders, Olympic riders no less!, rode and showed in their helmets.  Ashley Holzer showed a PSG horse on Day 2 in her shadbelly and helmet.  Jacqueline Brooks rode two beautiful GP tests in the CDI on Day Three in her helmet.  And, it didn't really look unusual (see picture).  The crowd was small (smaller than I expected) but they gave her a warm round of applause when she had completed the test and rode by, expressing appreciation for her decision to wear a helmet at that level of competition.  I thoroughly appreciated and admired the leadership shown by these two very well-known riders to wear their helmets in competition at this event. Their actions will encourage more riders of all levels to wear helmets.  It would have been much easier for them to continue to wear the traditional tophat, but their example will make a difference.

In terms of personal learning this weekend, I realized that attending this show was worth the effort and time.  Being able to watch so many excellent riders all day long was enlightening in a way attending a clinic or watching one or two rides at a show is not.  Watching Olympic and international- and national-level riders ride and warm-up all day long was simply great learning.  I'm not sure my own riding will necessarily improve by leaps and bounds just because of this weekend, but I'll continue to carry with me the visuals of horses who really moved forward, really worked over their backs, and riders who sat well and solidly and rode with precision.  As an adult amateur rider who rides late in the evening after a full 8-hour workday, I have not had the opportunity to be immersed in the dressage culture in this way before. 

Thinking of immersing oneself in the "dressage culture" reminds me of foreign language students who begin language study in a classroom and, eventually, need to travel abroad to really learn the nuances of the new language.  As much study and practice as one can do independently or with guided help, being there is an essential step in learning.  So it was for me and I can't wait to return!

Ciao for now! et, à la prochaine ;-)