My First Dressage lesson!

[*JumpIt*]

So I have my first dressage lesson on Saturday and I am SO excited! I am a hunt seat rider but I want to improve my flat work and how my horse uses herself.

Since I am a hunt seat rider I only have a c/c saddle with a super shallow seat but I am borrowing one of the school barn's AP saddles until I am able to purchase a dressage saddle.

I have no idea what to look for in a dressage saddle, any tips?

Even though I am very excited, I am a little nervious. What should I expect? What are some big dressage no's no's?

Thanks!

[Holly Jeanne]

Congrats and good luck! When I switched over to the dark side from hunt seat :lol: I spent a great deal of time working on sitting up straight and not leaning so expect that possibility. I also spent a lot of time (still do) on more active contact on all fronts. Transitions, lots of transitions. :) Have fun!!

[Equibrit]

Wait a little time until your body adjusts to the new position and then go saddle shopping. Your body will then know what it prefers! In the meantime, try all the dressage saddles you can get your hands on; that way you will find out what you prefer - not what somebody else thinks is great.

[chestnutmarebeware]

Ha, ha! I feel your pain. I'm a hunter rider, but I was given a dressage horse who didn't like to be "fiddled" with, so his owner thought he's be happier as a hunter. She gave him to me free and clear, on the condition that I took a series of lessons with her dressage coach before I took Will home. BTW, that trainer happened to be a girl named Shannon Barnes, who I believe is ow married to Steffen Peters! :lol:

Anyway, I didn't own a dressage saddle, so I rode in my close contact saddle. First she lowered my stirrups so far that my feet kept popping out. I spent half my time fishing for lost stirrups. Talk about awkward! Poor Shannon—she spent the entire first lesson yelling "HUNTER LEG" every time my legs started creeping back up. Her next favorite saying was "The two-point position has no place in dressage!!!" Hee, hee!

She finally gave up telling me to do something at "R" or whatever letter, because I would have to halt, scan the arena to I found the appropriate letter, then start all over again.

Finally, on the second lesson she showed up with a bungee cord, which both Will and I eyed with suspicion. She proceeded to fasten one end of the bungee to my left stirrup, ran the cord under Will's belly, the attached to the other end to the right stirrup. She said, that's where my leg should be. All I know is that my legs hurt so much at the end of the lesson that when I dismounted, I collapsed into the dirt and needed help to stand! :lol::lol: That was when I knew that 20+ years of riding hunters was not going to translate easily into that elegant dressage position!

[thatmoody]

20 years of ANYTHING doesn't translate well to an elegant dressage position!

On the other hand, I had no problem with the stirrup length after riding wester for 20 years, but the lack of a saddlehorn caused me a bit of consternation!

The letters threw me, too, so I went home with an arena diagram and set them up in my living room. Now it's automatic but those darned invisible letters get me all the time! I swear they sneak around the arena and MULTIPLY!

[SmartAlex]

I have ridden saddleseat all my life, so I'm used to long stirrups and an upright position. However, I've become more serious about teaching myself and my horse some basic dressage and I've realised I've spent too much time just going along for the ride. The more I think about what side of my butt my weight is, and getting inside leg and outside leg onto my horse the better things go. The days I have a really good ride, I can feel it in my legs for the rest of the day.

[merrygoround]

Wait a little time until your body adjusts to the new position and then go saddle shopping. Your body will then know what it prefers! In the meantime, try all the dressage saddles you can get your hands on; that way you will find out what you prefer - not what somebody else thinks is great.

Amen to that!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AppendixQHLover]

I am a hunter rider also taking dressage lessons.

My legs hurt so bad right now because they are not used to the position.

[Equibrit]

The most likely reason your LEGS are hurting is because you are using them to balance, instead of relaxing them. You HAVE to balance on your BUTT for dressage and drape your legs down each side until you need them. Your ass should be sore and your back and abdomen muscles should ache!

[KatieStanley]

The most likely reason your LEGS are hurting is because you are using them to balance, instead of relaxing them. You HAVE to balance on your BUTT for dressage and drape your legs down each side until you need them. Your ass should be sore and your back and abdomen muscles should ache!


THIS IS SOOOO TRUE! I just started Dressage 3 months ago and haven't been able to sit comfortably since I finally started "finding the right position"...good luck with that...to me that was the hardest part....the positioning...and I'm still not great at it :lol:

But you will enjoy it...it's def a challenge coming from HUS :yes:

[Equibrit]

I have an exercise for all you young HJ types. Find a 4 board fence and climb up until you can sit on the top board with your feet both on the same side. Adjust your position until you can sit there without any other part of your body touching the fence except your seatbones. THAT is how your position and balance should be for dressage. Your arms have to be in the correct position to hold reins.

[SmartAlex]

The most likely reason your LEGS are hurting is because you are using them to balance, instead of relaxing them. You HAVE to balance on your BUTT for dressage and drape your legs down each side until you need them. Your ass should be sore and your back and abdomen muscles should ache!


My legs hurt because I never needed them before. Not because I'm balancing with them. :yes: They are used to draping ALL the time ;) My butt hurts too. And my lower back... let's not even go there. :cry:

[HoosierHorseNut]

She finally gave up telling me to do something at "R" or whatever letter, because I would have to halt, scan the arena to I found the appropriate letter, then start all over again.

When I read this part, I thought of this that I stole from somewhere on the internets:

Top Reasons Why Dressage Arenas Are Lettered the Way They Are:

8. After riding 500 20m circles in rapid succession, who can remember the alphabet?
7. The letters are consecutive and in alphabetical order, in a now extinct language spoken only by early 18th century Hanoverian carriage horses.
6. The very first dressage arena was designed by the lowest-bid contractor.
5. The letters were originally laid out by beleaguered riding pupils to facilitate pranks on their instructors, in which the pupils would pretend to be schooling various movements and figures while actually spelling out slanderous curses, in German, against their cruel and heartless instructors, their diabolical horses, and whatever silly person invented this dressage thing in the first place.
4. The letters are actually advertising billboards paid for by Sesame Street (This piaffe-passage transition was brought to you by the letter G!).
3. Well, the letters are supposed to be in alphabetical order, but somebody's Trakehner keeps getting out at night and rearranging them.
2. The other letters in the alphabet are there all right, they're just invisible--what do you think your horse has been spooking at all these years?
1. What, you mean they're NOT in alphabetical order? Hey, that would explain why nobody else seems to understand how I've organized the office files...


"A fat bay mare cannot have enough kisses!!"


I suspect the selection of letters has something to do with finances. We know for a fact that they could only afford to buy two vowels.


All fat bay mares can hardly ever kick.

[thatmoody]

I particularly like #4.