Dressage test question?

Question

I have never done dressage before, but I am curious about it. Can someone explain all the levels to me? Or link a website about each individual level? Thanks in advance =)

Answer 1

http://www.newrider.com/forum/archive/in...

Answer 2

http://useventing.com/education.php?sect...

this is the United States Eventing Association's

website, go to the competitions section on this page, they have the dressage tests in PDF files.

Answer 3

http://www.shanestack.com/dressage-level...

hope this helps :D

Answer 4

Just clarifying what cece said:

She wasn't talking about getting a bad score in a test, she was talking about training a horse properly for dressage.  By "level" she meant levels in the training scale, not levels of competition.  (this website has an explanation of the training scale if you go down a bit: http://www.artofriding.com/articles/trai...  ) If you start dressage, your horse will already be trained for it and all you have to worry about is learning to ride a test properly.  You shouldn't move up before you're ready (common sense!), but the judges won't force you to move down if you're terrible.

Answer 5

That's an interesting site listed above.

The higher the level the more advanced the work of horse and rider.

The rider is training the horse to respond without resistance to his aids. The rider must understand how to use his aids correctly and follow a systematic programme of training his mount.

If you try and skip a level in training, ie perform lateral movements (horse moving forwards and sideways) without engagement of the hind quarters (hind quarters swinging in under the body of the horse), the lateral movement will lack elegance rhythm etc. And the rider would need to go back a level to two and correct this.

At the first level the horse is expected to work off the riders aids without resistance, nice smoth transitions upwards and downwards. The horse needs to be showing some bend - or at least not incorrect bend. The judge is looking for the rider applying the aids correctly and the horse to be submissive, flexible, have impulsion and candence (contained energy).

The second level is similar to the first - simply great flexibility etc is required and you'd expect the horse to be moving straight by this level.

From then on up the levels contain lateral movements each requiring the horse to be correctly trained at the lower levels to enable the lateral movement to be carried out correctly.

So the dressage tests are set upon the systematic training of a horse and rider.

Hope this makes sense?? Happy riding :)