A French term meaning “training”, is one of the oldest equestrian disciplines, with roots that trace back to ancient military maneuvers designed to make cavalry units more agile and effective in battle. Today, it has evolved into a highly refined sport, recognised as one of the three equestrian Olympic disciplines alongside show jumping and eventing. Dressage is often likened to ballet on horseback, emphasising fluidity, harmony, and a deep, intuitive connection between horse and rider.
The core objective of dressage is to develop a horse’s natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximising its potential across all disciplines. Hence, our flat work and dressage rallies are not only for riders that are interesting in riding dressage tests, but just as much for those jumping or just interesting in improving their partnership with their horse or pony.
Our flat work and dressage rallies are open to everyone off the lead rein and happy in an open space in a group of four. We have a wonderful group of dressage instructors from event riders to dressage trainers and riders.
We also organise Test riding rallies where you will have the opportunity to ride a Pony Club dressage test and get feedback. These are usually organised ahead of the Area competitions in the Summer as well as the Spring Festival at the beginning of the year.
Pony Club Dressage tests starts with the Walk & Trot and goes all the way to Open so there is something to work on for all levels. We have a passionate and supportive group of riders competing in Area competitions as well as Regional Championships and Pony Club Championships with very strong team and individual results.
We are always looking for more combinations to join our dressage rallies even if you are not interested in competing – dressage is a foundational skill and benefits all disciplines
We will be running some Team Training sessions for anyone interested in competing at Area Qualifying competitions for the National and Regional Championships in 2024. If you have any specific questions about dressage rallies or how the competitions work and qualification queries, please contact our Dressage Coordinator.
If you are interested in competing as part of a Vine team at the Area Dressage competition, please do ensure that you’ve read through the rules which can be downloaded from the Rescources Hub. The Vine PC Branch Team Selection Policy can be found here.
DRESSAGE RALLIES
These rallies are open to all riders who are able to walk, trot and canter off the lead. They are aimed at improving general riding skills, flatwork for jumping, or working towards a dressage test for competition. Rob Trobridge and Sophie Altmann have been teaching our Vine dressage riders for quite a few years now, are fantastic at keeping the sessions fun, informative, and active. We are fortunate to have professional event riders, past Vine member; Georgia Bartlett, and Will Furlong coaching the children this winter too.
The regular group rallies are great fun. Our instructors are skilled at keeping energy levels up, and smiles on faces as they subtly introduce the dressage movements, and improves accuracy.
