Dressage

I’m not looking for another horse but I still love to browse the ads. I find it particularly amusing to try to read in-between the lines and figure out what the seller really means.

Currently bitless bridles are not allowed in dressage competitions and are considered unconventional tack for hunters. You do see them in eventing (for the show jumping and cross country phases), in jumpers and in endurance competitions.

Increasingly I've seen discussion about the merits for changing the rules, especially in dressage, to allow the cross-under style bitless bridle to be permitted as an alternative to a bit.

Jamaica, a 17-year old Dutch Warmblood, nearly ended up on a dinner plate in Belgium. Instead, he flourished as one horse in Chester Weber's four-in-hand combined driving team and has now received the ultimate honor.

I have nothing against riding a horse in a bit. In fact, until recently, it wasn’t even an issue.

Long lining is a technique that many trainers use to start a horse or to introduce new steps in training.

With live streaming video of events such as Rolex and Badminton, I'm rapidly becoming an armchair equestrian.

Edward Gal and Moorland Totilas set a new world record with an amazing score of 92.3% in his Grand Prix Freestyle performance at the FEI World Cup FEI World Cup™ Dressage series at the Grand Hall at Olympia in London.

Moorlands Totilas has only just entered the ranks of Grand Prix dressage, but already he is collecting accolades and superlatives. Some consider the 9-year old black KWPN stallion to be the best in the world.

In another explosive performance, Edward Gal and Moorlands Tortilas received a stunning 90.7% in the Kur at the European Championships at Windsor.