Silent Dressage Guide

I couldn't find a good description of silent dressage, all written rules seem to assume that the readers already know what we are talking about.

A Training Guide by Katinka Teardrop

About this Guide

This guide is a general introduction to silent dressage and a training guide. It is not a rule set. It does not recommend or favour a particular style. Among the various rule sets listed in the reference section you will probably be able to find something to back up or contradict any possible style or variation. Different stables and trainers have developed their own styles over time, sometimes within, sometimes against the rules they claim to obey. Some of these styles may be older than the written rules. If you use dressage as a way to train your pony, to spend time with your pony, all styles are equally valid, or your own style is the only correct one. Either the glass is half full or half empty.

Field

TODO

1. Needs picture and description.

Definitions

• Field (Arena)

  The whole field, defined by the painted outline, including all elements and the Signs (which are outside the usable area).

• Pattern (Course)

  The figures as they are outlined on the field.

• Marker (Dot)

  The highlighted start- and endpoints of the patterns.

• Sign

  The signs with the letters A to J that line the field.

• Near End

  The small side of the field with the 'A' marker

• Far End

  The small side of the field near the slalom poles.

Dimensions

Sasaya's rules, and the SLDS rules derived from it, define the length of the line patterns as 10m, but leave everything else open. Ariel defines the specifications of her own field meticulously. Should you plan to build your own field, you are encouraged to look at Ariel's definitions to get a basic idea.

If you intend to participate in a test or competition you should always practice on the exact field that you will later perform on.

Routine

A complete performance consisting of entry, five behaviours and exit is called a routine.

Assembly

The handler and pony take position outside the field near the 'A' sign.

In the rule examples you can find calls for the pony standing left of the trainer or right of the trainer. Both stand near the A sign or on opposing sides. Equal distance to the sign and border, or pony behind and to the side of the handler. Whichever way you decide to do it, you will do it right for some and wrong for others.

When I lead a pony to the field on reins, it almost naturally results in the pony standing behind me on the side I hold the reins.

Bonus points if the pony assumes a ready pose.

Dressage Order

During competitions and tests the trainer will receive the dressage order once the team is assembled and ready. This can be in the form of a notecard, a dedicated HUD or in IMs. The dressage order will outline in which order the behaviours have to be completed.

• Example notecard here

Entry

The trainer and pony both step onto the field.

• The handler signals and both enter the arena at the same time.
• The handler enters the arena and signals for the pony to follow.
• The handler leads the pony onto the field.

• They stop between the outline and the figure 8.
• They stop inside the figure 8.

• They stop at the same distance from the outside line.
• The pony stops behind and to the side of the handler.

• The pony will perform a salute in direction of the Far End.
• They both perform a salute in direction of the Far End.
• The pony will perform a salute in direction of the judges.
• They both perform a salute in direction of the judges.

The pony salute can take the form of more or less precisely defined bow or curtsy. The handler either greets the same way or has more freedom to also greet by tipping the hat or something similar.

Behaviours

The handler guides the pony from pattern to pattern to perform the behaviours in the order specified in the dressage order.

Exit

Once all five behaviours are finished the handler will return to the point on the field where they entered. The pony will walk over when ready and stand relative to the handler as described in the Entry section. You will usually be expected to use the same style here that used before.

The trainer will signal the pony to bow to the judges. Either the pony or both salute the judges, surprisingly everybody agrees that they salute the judges and not somebody or something else.

Then both trainer and pony will turn around and exit the field. Or they leave the field walking backwards which is often seen in practice, but not described in any of the rules.

They can both turn on the spot, or the handler turns on the spot and the pony walks a semi circle to keep their relative position.

Behaviours

A pattern executed by a pony is called a behaviour.

Options in this sections have to be used consistently (i.e. choosing A once necessitate A on other choices).

1. The travers transition requires the use of Option B, the 'curvy transition' the use of Option A.

Forward Line (Passage): C and H

The pony starts from the C or H marker of the line facing the far end of the field. It walks along the line and stops at the far marker (D or G).

Backward Line: D and G

The pony starts from the D or G marker of the line facing the far end of the field. It walks backwards along the line facing the far end at all times during the figure and stops at the near marker (B or H).

Slalom (Agility): E and F

The pony starts from the E or F marker, facing the poles. Slaloms are done by alternatively going left and right around each pole, making a full turn at the far side, alternating left and right back, and stopping on the original marker.

• Option A: The pony does a full turn at the end of the slalom to face the poles again.
• Option B: The pony stops facing the outside of the field.

Circle (Volte): C, D, G, and H

The pony starts from the near (C, H) or far (D, G) marker and walks three full circles coming to a halt on the same marker it started from. The pony starts to walk towards the sign that shows the letter of the figure.

• Option A: The pony begins by facing the poles, and turns towards the direction of motion (for instance, towards the "C" sign for "circle C", that is, clockwise around the circle) and turns to the poles again when it finishes the figure.
• Option B: The pony starts and ends facing the direction of motion.

Figure Eight (Serpentine): B and J

The pony starts at the central marker facing the far end and starts moving forward to the sign with the letter of the figure (B or J). The pony walks until it completed the figure '8' three times and stops on the central marker.

Transitions

The process of the handler guiding the pony to the next behaviour is called a transition. In most cases this means to walk to another pattern, but exceptions are possible on the lines where both behaviours can be executed on the same pattern.

Straight Line

The pony turns on the spot on the end marker of the finished figure then walks a straight line to the start marker of the next figure. On the marker the pony again turns on the spot to face into the correct direction.

Curvy

The pony starts walking from the current marker in the direction they are facing, then travels in a smooth, often S-shaped curve to the next marker, approaching so they already face the correct way. This is usually considered the easiest transition to execute.

This transition method can be extended to require the pony to travel along the middle axis of the field (through the markers of the serpentine and vaulte) whenever plausible.

Travers

A systematic approach to transitions developed by Safra Nitely inspired by RL dressage.

Rules

1. Pony must not walk over the white markings that outline the edge of the arena.
2. The pony should take the shortest route around the edge of the arena between any two tasks.
3. Ponies can legitimatly travers directly between 2 start points if they are on the same intersection between two of the side fence markers.

Exceptions

1. The pony should always enter the "Figure 8" at the A marker, proceeding smartly to the starting yellow spot.
2. Pony should always leave the figure 8 at either directly to the B or the J marker depending on where the owner / trainer is starting the next task.
3. Pony should always enter the Circle task facing the same direction as the Trainer, using the marker nearest to the trainer.

Clarification

1. Pony should always enter the walk backwards line from the nearest marker, so that they do not "travel"

Command

The handler commands the pony through the routine silently, that is without using verbal instructions.

Position

The main form of command a handler uses during a routine is their position on the field.

The pony will start the next behaviour from the marker the handler is closest to. If there is more than one direction to do the pattern the pony will start the way the handler is facing or away from the handler (which ideally should be the same).

Signals

Whip signals and such. Timing.

Judging

This could be easily it's own subpage. Judging is also not strictly speaking a part of training.

Competitions

Usually competitions and tests will have three judges.

As mentioned before, make sure to practice on the exact same field that the competition will be held on. Make sure you know and understand the rules used. It never hurts to talk to the judges beforehand, to verify they use the same interpretation of the rules and what style they prefer.

It is not unheard of to encounter judges who are in ignorance of the written rules, assuming honestly and in best faith the style they have been taught and practiced for years is the one described in the rules.

References

Sasaya Rothschild's Dressage (1 + 2) 2007-01-13
(FFF) Dressage Instructions 11/17/08 V2 by Button Wright, Izumi Vought and Heidi Carpenter
Ariel Erlanger's Silent Dressage Rules and Information from 2012
Safra Nitely's Silent Dressage with Travers from 2012
Mikky Heron's Dressage Rules from 2014
SL Dressage Society Rules and Policies