It would be easy to nod my head and agree with Birgit Popp–she stands for classical riding and training of the horse; she praises Dr. Reiner Klimke, one of the few widely accepted modern masters; and she speaks out against abusive training methods (see “Who’s Responsible For Maintaining The Classic Principles Of Dressage,” Sept. 2, p. 34).

But she also represents a sector of the dressage world that refuses to face an important reality–that dressage is evolving as a sport and that the last chapter on training in the modern world has not yet been written.

Ms. Popp claims that the training technique known as riding “deep and round” is incorrect, not classical and downright dangerous to the horse, even though it is espoused by Dr. Schulten-Baumer (recently awarded the honorary but highly significant position of riding master by the German federation) and used by his major students, including individual Olympic champions Nicole Uphoff and Isabell Werth, as well as by his son, team gold-medal winner Uwe Schulten-Baumer.

Nearly every major show jumper has used “deep and round” for the last 30 or 40 years, as have most competitive dressage riders. No one seems to have retired a horse because of this technique.

But there would be no Forum from Ms. Popp–and no rebuttal from me and others–if Dutch star Anky van Grunsven, the champion of everything now, weren’t so successful at using this technique. Van Grunsven and her trainer, Sjef Jansen, have made no secret of their training regimen.

And now–using this technique–the Dutch team may be finally ending the German stranglehold on dressage. They came within .6 percent of winning the gold medal at the European Championships in July, and a month later they finally succeeded in winning the Nations Cup at Aachen (Germany).

The uproar that’s followed is sort of like the audience reaction to the premiere of Sacre de Printemps and Nijinski, or John McEnroe winning Wimbledon, or Bob Dylan going electric: uproar, disbelief, shock, pandemonium and then, that most human of emotions–scorn.

Misdirection Appears
Ms. Popp defines “rolling up the neck” as “biting the chest.” The photo shows van Grunsven riding Salinero in a deep position, and the caption states that “biting the chest” has nothing to do with classical principles.

But the reality is that “biting the chest” is a vice of self-mutilation, origins little understood, seen mostly in young stallions. “Biting the chest” has nothing whatsoever to do with training techniques, and here the misdirection of the commentary starts to appear.

Ms. Popp complains that the judging is at fault, that the decision to popularize dressage has resulted in spectacle being rewarded over correct. But everyone, including Sjef Jansen, uses the classic training scale as foundation for schooling. No one can properly train a dressage horse without that time-tested reality.

Nevertheless, dressage has always evolved. The early, baroque era featured musical spectacle–and so we now have the World Cup competition. (No one would be happier than me if the Grand Prix still counted as part of the final score, along with the freestyle.)

Jansen has remained, by his own choice, an outsider in the elite world of dressage. He makes no bones that he came to horses late, that he thinks of dressage as a sport first and foremost–but then adds that he did start at a classical riding school in Belgium. He acknowledges the importance and correctness of classical principles as espoused by FEI rules and elsewhere, but then adds that he came to a conclusion similar to that drawn by Dr. Schulten-Baumer and others–that using the technique of “deep and round,” in addition to the rest of the training scale, might be the answer for the modern dressage horse.

His training regimen definitely puts the emphasis on the athleticism involved, as well as the clear responsibility of the rider to be equally athletic, instead of on the nobility of dressage as an art form.

“Deep and round” is a technique for gymnasticizing the horse. Today’s competition needs obedience, harmony, balance, rhythm–and superior gymnasticizing. The modern dressage horse must be elastic and supple, and he must show clearly superior gaits to get those high scores.

Gymnasticizing is in part about range of motion, pushing the physical boundaries. Anyone who’s ever watched the warm-up regimens of world-class ballet dancers, figure skaters or gymnasts has seen positions and exercises that definitely look extreme. But this regimen results in spectacular performances that transcend mere athleticism and approaches art.

Why Not Explore?
It wasn’t so long ago that figure skating was also more of a pleasant diversion, despite its Olympic status, watched by few and understood by even fewer.

There were the compulsory figures–judges got on the ice to check how perfect the spirals and loops were–and then, suddenly, someone decided to add jumps. Although no one thought women could jump at all, the first triple Axel by a woman was performed in 1989, the first “impossible” quadruple jump by a man in 1988.

Does anyone watching Michelle Kwan or ice dancers Torvill and Dean or gymnasts such as the Hamm twins honestly believe that they have in some way tainted their sport, merely because they explored what was possible?

If one starts with “deep” being an abomination, the “great Satan of dressage,” the source of all problems, then, sure, trainers must stop using it, judges must stop rewarding it, and who knows, maybe van Grunsven can eventually be beaten (just as she just was, at Aachen, by the same judges Ms. Popp “blames” for the present situation).

Would it be better to return to the system where all the judges sat together and decided beforehand who would win? Shall we return to the system where judges vote only for their own countrymen? Shall we return to the system of videotapes, scores to be announced sometime later?

I firmly believe that today’s judges are the best the sport has ever had and that the systems of training them are definitely better than anything in the past.

Ms. Popp, like many others, wants to insist that only her way is right–that other ideas are abusive and cruel. She goes on to insist that the judges are at fault, that everyone who disagrees with her is at fault. But that’s what humans have always done.

That’s what met Picasso when he produced cubist art, what met figure skaters who tried to introduce a “story line” to their routines, to ballet dancers who stepped out of the box.  And there is no doubt whatsoever that when it comes to horses, the humans involved must possess humor and humility. Equine sport may be one of the few endeavors, if not the only human endeavor, in which we successfully communicate with another species and show the result of the communication in performance.

Lita Dove, of Moorpark, Calif., chose to concentrate on dressage when she realized it was the most complete way to communicate with the horse, if not always the easiest. She divides her time between running her own farm and writing, putting together her memoirs and a blog.