Saturday, October 9, 2010

Help - what the heck is that, oh dressage folks?

I know NOTHING about dressage. But I know when something is way cool. On this video from WEG of the spanish horse and rider, what is that cool move he's doing at 5:32?





Color me a Fuego fan.

13 comments:

Gabriella Elise said...

Those look like lead changes across the diagonal to me. But I'm not a dressage person. That's just what it looks like. =)

~MunciEquestrian~

Wolfie said...

Absolutely stunning. Like you, I know NOTHING about dressage, but I got goose bumps watching it again. This Spanish duo has brought back the romance to dressage. They look relaxed, soft and working as a team. IMHO, this is how dressage should look.

Jeni said...

That is a flying lead change at every stride. I've not seen it done one handed though... interesting.

Muddy K said...

That's a canter pirouette, a required movement in advanced dressage tests. Imagine the strength of the horse to be able to do it!

jill said...

One-tempe changes I believe. Horse changes leads every step.
Really beautiful. IMO this horse should have won the freestyle.
But, I don't know much about dressage either. To me, this ride was much less tense and more fun to watch than the others cus the horse seemed to enjoy it too!

Carol said...

WOW! Magnificent!!! I read that he was THE crowd favorite at the WEG and I can see why. Thanks for posting. The horse is changing canter leads with each stride at 5.32. The movement is called one tempis. Canter lead changes are called tempis and starting at Prix St. George they include three tempis (changing every three strides) and two tempis (every two strides) and the most difficult, one tempis, aren't done until the highest level - Grand Prix. The fact that the rider is doing it while riding with one hand makes it even more impressive.

Anonymous said...

Those are what are called one-tempi changes - flying lead changes every stride. It's a lovely horse and lovely rider, such a contrast to all the ugly artificial throw-the-legs out-in-front while the riders haul on the horses mouths that you see these days in upper-level dressage.

Dawn can do these in the pasture - a lot of horses can - but to see this level of precision and joy is lovely - and note that the rider is riding one handed.

Shirley said...

What he is doing there is every stride lead changes- with the added flair of doing it one handed, which is impressive!

Fantastyk Voyager said...

VERY NICE! LOL- he almost got unseated at the end when he took off his hat and spooked the horse.
At 5:32 those are flying lead changes at every stride. Earlier he performed flying lead changes every three strides. If you've ever watched a good western pole bending race, the horses do it there too. My first horse, Alfie, learned to do it automatically from bending in and out of the poles at a dead run.
Dressage is like dancing, isn't it? That gray horse is my dream ride. I want to go to Spain or Portugal and take a dressage lesson on an Andalusian or a Lusitano and do the "Spanish Walk" passage and "trot in place" piaffe. The collected canter in a tight little circle is much like a slow motion rollback. It's called a pirouette. This horse in the video is Grand Prix level. See here for all the definitions of the different movements: http://www.flyingchangefarm.com/dressage_definitions.htm
For the rules on this event see here: http://www.usdf.org/docs/competitions/handbook/Chapter8.A-Freestyle.pdf

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

I was going to guess he was just showing off how well trained Fuego is by removing one of his natural aids (his hand) from the rein. That is very rare indeed to see a rider do that during a performance. I was quite impressed!

He almost fell off at the end during Fuego's spook bolt, though. What a good seat he has!

And I can't help by cry every time I watch a horse moving through the dressage movements like that. The extreme beauty of the horse as art in motion, always makes me cry.

~Lisa

Crystal said...

Wow that was very beautiful, thanks for posting!

Sarah said...

I LOVED Fuego's performance and his tempi changes! I honestly wish dressage at this level was scored differently...I personally think that little Andalusian stole the show:)

Cedar View Paint Horses said...

I don't care who ya are - cowboy, eventer, show mom, stable boy - this is something you just have to respect.