Dressage

Dressage

Marlies van Baalen and Kigali doing an extended trot
Highest governing body	International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI)
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Individual and team at international levels
Mixed sex	Yes
Equipment	Horse and horse tack
Venue	Arena, indoor or outdoor
Presence
Country or region	Worldwide
Olympic	1912
Paralympic	1996 (para-dressage)

Dressage (from French: training) is a form of horse training and riding. The horse and the rider must complete a sequence of activities and moves in a very good way. Dressage riders use a special English-style [en] saddle.

Dressage is an Olympic sport for individuals since 1912 and for groups since 1928.

Its governing body is the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).

Arena

Dressage is made on an rectangular arena. There are two sizes of arenas: small and standard. The small arena is 20 by 40 m (66 by 131 ft) and is used for low-level horse competitions. The standard arena is 20 by 60 m (66 by 197 ft) and is used for high-level competitions. Letters are placed around to show where the horse and the rider must make a move.

Competition

Usually, the judges decide the moves the rider and the horse must make. Judges give a mark up to 10. The horse and the rider with the highest final percentage win.

However, there are other types of competitions as well. When the rider decides what moves to make, it is called a freestyle and it is set to music. When two horses and two riders compete together at the same time in the same team, it is called Pas de Deux. When there are four horses and four riders, it is a Quadrille.

Para-dressage

Para-dressage is dressage for disabled people. It is a Paralympic sport since 1996.

References

Other websites

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dressage.

• Dressage at International Federation for Equestrian Sports
• British Dressage
• US Dressage Federation (USDF)