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Saturday, August 06 2022 / Published in Weekly Feature

Small But Mighty: FEI Dressage Ponies

By George Williams

They may be small, but they are mighty in Europe. In many ways, their mightiness shines through in terms of the education they can provide to young dressage athletes. They, of course, are the FEI Ponies.

I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a class where rider after rider nailed the walk half-pirouettes like they did in the CDIP Freestyle class at the Future Champions competition in Hagen, Germany. In my humble opinion, walk half-pirouettes are not only one of the hardest movements to ride, they appear to be equally hard to judge and I say that from my experience as a rider and coach. That being said, they are one of the most fundamental, effective and foundation training exercises we have. A correctly ridden one narrows the base behind building strength, both in terms of carrying and pushing power. This along with the other demands of the movement creates a lift and freedom in the horse’s shoulders.

The key words here are “correctly ridden.” The Directive Ideas in the FEI Pony Riders Team Test state: “Regularity, activity, collection, size, flexion, and bend of half pirouette. Forward tendency, maintenance of four beat.”

That’s a lot of things packaged into one movement! It underscores how important this one exercise is to the development of a dressage horse and a dressage rider. As I said before, what impressed me is that I’ve never watched a class where I have seen so many good walk half-pirouettes one right after another. It becomes even more impressive when you consider that all the riders in the class were between 12 and 16 years old and they were all on ponies!

In Europe, FEI Dressage Ponies are a big deal. Unfortunately, not so much so in the U.S. I say unfortunately because the riders of these ponies are getting an incredible education. Technically, of course, they are ponies, but in reality they seem more like little horses, which is important, too. It’s crucial, if our younger riders are going to learn and develop into accomplished riders, that they learn how a horse should move through its back, and that requires good, quality gaits. Or at least it’s much easier when a horse has a longer stride, a naturally active hind leg and a good motor behind.

The FEI Pony Tests are designed to introduce the fundamental principles and tools necessary to develop through the levels and to be able to reach the top of the sport. The tests are demanding with simple changes, counter canter, lateral work and walk half-pirouettes. There is collection asked for in all three gaits, helping riders learn the role of collection in properly developing extended gaits. What became very obvious as I watched the freestyle class at Hagen was that in order to increase the degree of difficulty, the competitors were doing numerous canter-walk-canter transitions, both true canter to true canter and counter canter to counter canter. In order to score well, these transitions had to be spot on. What better way is there to develop the feel for collecting a horse than a good downward transition where the horse must shift their weight back, improve their longitudinal balance by carrying more weight behind and at the same stay actively forward into the new gait?

When you follow a methodical progression, such as seen in the FEI Pony Rider division, quality ponies that are size appropriate for their riders become great teachers. It would be wonderful to see the FEI Pony Rider division grow here as it has in Europe. It would literally give us a leg up.

Photo:

Dressage ponies are small but mighty.

Photo by Adrienne Morella, www.adriennemorellaphotography.com

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Tagged under: dressage pony, fei ponies, pony finals

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Dedication, perseverance and a support team like n Dedication, perseverance and a support team like no other—that’s Liz Lund’s recipe for eventing success. An accomplished eventer, breeder and trainer, Liz splits her time between Copeland Farms North in her home state of Minnesota, and Copeland Farms South in sunny Ocala, Florida. As Liz continues growing her business, she has only one mantra: Love what you do, and the rest will fall in place. 

Get to know Liz and her journey as an eventer and businesswoman at the link in our bio!

📸 Melissa Fuller #eventing #equestrian #dressage #showjumping #horse #horsesofinstagram #horses #equine #equestrianlife #horseriding #crosscountry #pony #eventer #jumping #equestrianstyle #eventinghorse #hunterjumper #equestriansofinstagram #dressagehorse #instahorse #showjumper #horselife #horsebackriding #horselove #pferd #horserider #horselover #ocala #eventinglife #sidelinesmagazine
It’s been a while since I’ve shown. After Indo It’s been a while since I’ve shown. After Indoors we turned the horses out and let them be horses. But now it’s time and I’m getting ready to head to Florida for the winter circuit. I’m feeling a bit anxious about getting back into the competitive state of mind, doubting myself and feeling more stress than I did when I was showing. Is this normal? What’s happening to me? What do I do to get back into the right place in my head? Why do I keep going back to this if it does what it does to me at the start of each season? - a Sidelines fan

"Throughout human history, people have enjoyed organizing competitions—the Ancient Greek Olympic Games go back to 776 BC. If you look around, you’ll notice that competition is everywhere in the modern world. Many historians believe that 'competitiveness' is a biological trait that co-evolved with the basic need for human survival. However, returning to a competitive state after time off from being a competitive athlete can be quite daunting," says sports psychologist Margie Sugarman.

"The proper mindset keeps you grounded in the present instead of solely focusing on the results. This automatically helps lower the performance brain state and allows for better focus, performance and results- Focus on what you can control."

Read the full column at the link in our bio!

📸 Ruby Tevis #paard #eventing #pferdeliebe #horsemanship #equinelife #jumping #horsepower #equestrianlifestyle #caballos #horsestagram #pferdefotografie #horsegirl #horseshow #equestrians #ponies #quarterhorse #horselovers #mare #thoroughbred #showjumper #equinephotographer #instagram #horsephotographer #equitation #horseaddict #horsetraining #horseoftheday #gelding #equestrianphotography #sidelinesmagazine
Emily Dulin has always been an animal lover, and h Emily Dulin has always been an animal lover, and helping others is in her blood. She’s the daughter of a Venezuelan ambassador and has spent much of her professional career working in social services and animal welfare. In 2015, Emily took on the role of chief executive officer of Brooke USA Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules, and helping the people that depend on them for survival worldwide. 

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Get to know Emily and how she helps working equines as the leader of @brooke_usa at the link in our bio!

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The February issue of Sidelines Magazine is here a The February issue of Sidelines Magazine is here and it's filled with love - including the love story of dressage riders Sarah Lockman Tubman and Lee Tubman! Thanks to photographer Kristen Scott-Crocker for the beautiful photos and Kimberly Gatto for sharing Sarah and Lee's story. 

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Also meet hunter-jumper rider and photographer Kirsten Hannah Lafforthun, artist Vanessa Whittell Equine-art, dressage rider Brett Ingram and Emily Marquez-Dulin of Brooke USA, which is a great organization to support - make sure to visit them! 

Meet Madison Ibach and Reagan Ibach, sisters who work at the Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort and have a huge social media presence - make sure to follow them on Instagram! We are excited to continue our Women Entrepreneur stories and introduce you to Gigi Stetler, President/CEO of Broward RV. 

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Make sure to sign up for a year's subscription to Sidelines by visiting our website, www.sidelinesmagazine.com so you can get a copy of the magazine sent to your house or barn every month! Enjoy reading this issue now - link in bio!
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