A special report from Christopher Hector…

Last weekend, at Olympia, the short Grand Prix test designed by Richard Davison was revealed to the world, but before it took place, some of the world’s leading dressage identities were united in their opposition to this latest attempt to dumb down dressage.

Here’s what the world’s number one dressage rider, Isabell Werth, had to say:

“I have always said, this shortened test is not the option. I don’t believe it’s true that we will get more media, more spectators, more sponsors, if we cut the test. We have six minutes for the Grand Prix, and to do it in three makes no sense, and the most important thing is that it is worse for the horses because we can’t show the horses in the way we should show them: first of all we have to show the basics, and then we have to show the Grand Prix exercises in a proper way – and in three minutes it is just rush, rush, rush, and it is more difficult then for the weaker nations than the top nations. It makes no sense at all, and I am quite sure, it can’t be the future.”

“I said, if they show me a contract for one hour premium time with the short Grand Prix, then we can discuss it, but it is nothing, just political stuff.”

But why is this happening, I have met no-one who thinks it is a good idea…

“It is just a few who think we have to do something new, and make something which in their opinion is more interesting, but I am sure it is not the truth, they are just trying to change something but what they are doing makes no sense.”

Monika Theodorescu is German national coach and a former Olympic gold medallist, she says the new test is not even a Grand Prix…

“I’ve been reading through that Grand Prix and I’ve been practicing it this week with one of the riders who is going to show in London, and I think it is just not a Grand Prix.”

Everyone says this is a bad idea, so why is it happening?

“We’ve been through this many times already. I don’t think this latest move is the right way, because I don’t think there will be many more spectators. If there would be a TV contract to prove that TV really wants this, and they will really show whatever short version on TV, if there really is a contract, then we could think about it and restructure a new Grand Prix, but this one that they are doing in London, it’s maybe one minute shorter, and I don’t think it is a nice test and it has nothing to do with Grand Prix.”

“Mr Kemperman (Frank Kemperman, director of the Aachen CHIO, and chair of the FEI dressage committee) says ‘why do we need three times piaffe, if I have seen it once, then I have seen piaffe’ – but there is one transition coming from extended trot to passage and piaffe, there is another transition coming from passage to extended walk, which is very difficult, there is the next transition coming from collected walk to passage, then piaffe again and then going into canter from passage, and all these things are important. It’s not just piaffe here, piaffe there, it is all together, and we need all these exercises to school the horses, to have a proper training of the horses, proper riding and also the judges need it to get the horses apart. I just don’t think it’s a Grand Prix what they do there, it’s a test with piaffe / passage, but not a Grand Prix.”

Christoph Hess is one of the key spokesmen for the correct principles of dressage, a trainer, an international judge, a lecturer and educator, Christoph travels the world spreading the message of civilised, horse friendly, dressage, he is no fan of a shortened test, in fact, he has a few things he’d like to add…

We saw here at Frankfurt how the walk pirouette in the Bürg-Pokal was crucial in showing the education of the horse, but we have this push from the FEI to get rid of all these ‘boring bits’ – is this dangerous to dressage?

“I agree 100%, but first I have to say, I like that we have more than one Grand Prix, but I think that it is very important that we have all these movements so the judges can see, is the horse trained in the right direction, yes or no? At the end of the day, if we just have movements on the straight, medium or extensions in walk, trot, canter, piaffe and passage, it is not a Grand Prix.”

“I think you are right, we need the pirouette in walk, maybe only one pirouette, we need rein back at least, or schaukel which is much better, which is much more of a challenge, and one movement that I know no-one likes it, but flying change in medium canter, and one more thing, I like it very much if during the test, maybe on a circle line, you give the reins. I think we should see that suppleness is more important than three times piaffe, I think two times is enough, with transitions – I love it, we need it, but I think we need the basic things as well.”

“Another thing I like very much is in the extended trot and canter, is to give the reins, and re-take the reins, so you see that the self carriage is there, the good riders I am sure they have no problems, but to bring the not-so-good riders into the right direction.”

This issue is important. We live in a world where everything is being dumbed down. What the marketing gurus, who are the FEI, don’t seem to realise, is that a large part of the appeal of equestrian sport is that it is not instant whiz bang of the moment, it has the appeal of an earlier time, a time when it was considered a virtue to take hasten slowly, to do things correctly, it’s very ‘old fashioned’ feel, is a large part of its appeal. Dumb it down and you still won’t get some massive TV audience, all you will do is wreck something that remains beautiful and difficult and enthralling, a living tradition of horsemanship, and correct equitation.

Want to see the test? Hit the link:

http://dressage-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Short-Grand-Prix-Update.pdf