I feel like there is this never ending war between different disciplines. The hunters think dressage is evil. Dressage think hunters is the worst. Every single discipline in equestrianism has stereotypes and every discipline thinks theirs is the best. So since I have ridden dressage and hunter/jumper, I thought I would share some of the stories and myths I've heard about hunter/jumper and dressage. It's pretty funny to hear what these disciplines have to say about each other. Please know these are not my personal opinions and I don't think any of them are true to the whole discipline. There are always bad people in every kind of riding, and as long as we all love and treat our horses right, you are good as gold! As well I don't blame the people who said these things or think they are bad people/riders. I'm sure they have reasons to think as they do.
First I'll talk about what I've heard some dressage people say about hunter/jumpers.
MYTH 1- Hunter/jumpers can't really ride. They just parade around an area on push button horses.
TRUTH- Of course hunter/jumpers and ride! Some of the best riders I've ever met ride H/J. So many amazing riders ride H/J and can get on any horse and look amazing! As well, hunter horses are not as easy as they look. It takes a ton of work to get the horse looking flawless around a course of 8-12 jumps!
MYTH 2- They cover their horses in tack to make them work better.
TRUTH- If that was true, how do so many H/J riders ride tackless, bridleless, bareback? There are some riders who do this, I know, but so many ride amazingly without the use of overbitting, spurs, whips, martingales, draw reins, etc... Artificial aids are not the spawn of the devil, and when used correctly can be very useful for training purposes.
MYTH 3- All hunter kids are spoiled brats.
TRUTH- Yes, there are many spoiled hunter kids. There are also many spoiled dressage kids. No need to say more.
MYTH 4- Hunter/jumpers ruin horses.
TRUTH- I've seen so many dressage horses ruined by bad dressage riding. Yes, in every discipline there are horses being untrained by inexperienced riders, but it is really not fair to pin it on hunters and jumpers. Many wonderful horses are trained really well by hunter/jumpers. And many hunter and jumper horses can do dressage too!
Now for the dressage myths I've heard from hunter/jumpers-
MYTH 1- Dressage riders saw on their horses mouths to make them appear round.
TRUTH- Okay, there are some dressage riders who resort to using this method, but many others don't. When a rider rides proper classical dressage, the power to be round comes from the hind end, not seesawing on the horses mouths.
MYTH 2- Dressage riders are prissy and scared to jump.
TRUTH- Any rider who has ridden dressage knows this is not true. In fact any rider would know that to be in the equestrian sport you can't really be prissy. Dressage has it's own kind of thrill, the power and connection you have with your horse is unbelievable. It's such an amazing feeling when you and your horse are working in perfect harmony to perform a movement.
MYTH 3- Dressage riders rely to heavily on their hands to control a horse.
TRUTH- This is kind of the same idea as truth 1. When riding proper dressage, you shouldn't even need hands. You rely on your seat and legs to control the horse.
MYTH 4- Dressage people ruin horses.
TRUTH- Notice this is the same thing dressage riders think about hunters. Both disciplines produce wonderful amazing horses. Some dressage riders do ruin horses, but so do some hunter/jumpers! And as said before, many dressage horses excel at hunter/jumpers!
So as you guys can see, these two disciplines really aren't that different when it comes down to it. Both are extremely difficult and require a different set of skills. I'm so happy I got to experience both hunter/jumper and dressage because it has truly made me a better rider. I strongly recommend trying different disciplines because there is so much to learn in horses! The more you know the better you will be. Remember we are all part of the same sport. We do this because we all love horses. It doesn't matter what saddle you ride in or the class you show in, we all love horses. This love should unite us not divide us! So remember next time you diss the hunters or call out the dressage riders or say anything about any other rider, that we all love horses and we are all in this together. Okay this blog got really cheesy really fast. Oh well! Hope you guys enjoyed!
Annie
No comments:
Post a Comment