Western horses jog. English horses trot. Dressage horses trot. Everyone knows that. What does that mean for the western dressage horse? The western jog was a gait that could be ridden for long distances over the range or on the trail that horses could sustain without exhaustion and which could be sat comfortably. The trot is a gait that covers more ground at a reasonable tempo. To deal with the dynamics of the gait and to unload the horses back, some riders learned to post. Western riders bred horses with flatter gaits so sat with greater ease, simply stood up in the stirrups, or loped. Today, horses rarely actually work and, generally speaking, are not used as transportation. Riding has become a pastime, not a necessity. Thus, our relationships with our horses have changed; they are now pets, friends, recreational items, luxuries, exercise platforms, money makers or hay burners, lawn ornaments, or sadly, used for personal gain and notoriety, and at worst, objects of abuse. Still, horse enthusiasts from all disciplines want to improve their relationship with their horses and western dressage promises to be one way in which they can do that.
One simple but primary problem with the integration of western riding and dressage is defining the gaits at which the work will be done. I conducted a very informal survey via email. When approached about this, riders voiced concerns that still need to be addressed. Riders and trainers alike clearly make a distinction between what is typically seen in the various western pleasure rings and what they want to see western dressage horses doing. I think it is important to share some of those comments to get a clear picture of what the riders believe the western dressage horses should NOT be doing if the word “jog” is used:
“snaky necked creepy crawling”
“the typical "jog" that looks like a lame walk”
“a 2 1/2 beat shuffle intended to be maximally slow and minimally expressive”
“Jog seems like an inactive gait.”
“my vision of jog is those poor WP peanut rollers looking like they are lame and drugged.”
“the jogs that I have seen in shows that have little or no suspension.”
“One Western Dressage test would take ten minutes to complete, if people were jogging around as slow as possible.”
Riders were also pretty clear about what it SHOULD be if the word “jog” was used.
“why not jog... So long as it's not the broken down gait we see at the western pleasure shows where they are barely moving but an actual true jog where the hind legs are still tracking up, then why not.”
“Personally I think as long as the general public understands what a TRUE jog should look like--that the word is fine.”
“The definition of "jog" is important to the discussion: a 2 beat gait of a slower tempo and shorter stride than a working trot.”
“IMO I think you should have jog in Western dressage. It's in almost every other western sport, and it can be done correctly.”
Some Riders thought the word “trot” should be used. Usually, this sentiment was accompanied by concerns about what the word jog has come to mean so by using the word trot, people felt the gait would remain truer to dressage.
“It seems to me that the Western gait should be called trot. In trot, there is impulsion and the ability for the horse to raise his topline.”
“I believe that the Western dressage horse should trot rather than jog. Dressage is dressage, and the trot should be a two-beat gait with a moment of suspension. I can see having both a collected trot that riders in western tack can sit, and a working trot that they probably will have to post.”
“I think that it should be called trot, because it is basically Dressage in Western tack/clothing. Correct?”
“I have been told that a jog is a lazy trot that western horses learn to do to defend their backs from cowboys that don't post. If that is true, it doesn't seem right that any dressage horse should jog.”
The issues inherent in the development of this discipline are compounded by the fact it is still so young. Public presentations and media exposure that are inconsistent within the discipline as well as with the principles of dressage (modern, classical OR practical) have made it difficult for the riding public to know what the western dressage ideal should be. This conflict was identified by a comment from southwest Oregon:
“I'm having a hard time understanding Western Dressage anyway. I saw a western rider put on a demo and I videoed it. He did many of the basic dressage movements with a horse that was very over collected...”
Thus, not only is it necessary to define the terms, it is necessary to give a clear picture of what the definition describes. Emphasis needs to be placed on aspects of the gait that define the qualities found both on the training pyramid and that are consistent with the natural qualities found in our western working breeds. These qualities were well reflected in one comment the survey received:
“If purity of the gait is still a requirement, then the tempo and length of stride shouldn't be as important as the pure two beat cadence and the straightness of the horse. If the horse is traveling straight and balanced, then he should be able to shorten his stride into a jog which will be more or less ground covering depending on his natural stride without violating the principle of riding the horse forward and straight. I think there is a distinction to be made between shortening the gait and suppressing and disrupting it, which is the usual tendency in the jog.” (Lindsey Gallant, Portland OR)
With all these ideas in the minds of riders regarding just this one aspect of developing the discipline, imagine the magnitude of the whole project that faces USEF, USDF, WD organizers, judges, trainers and riders! For NAWD, the solution to this issue was to use the term jog-trot. It was hoped that using both terms will add forward thinking movement to the western riders idea of the gait, and remind the dressage community to respect the comfortable ‘rideability’ of our western working horses. Like the USEF Dressage Division rules define trot, the 2013 NAWD Official Rulebook defines jog/trot as follows:
Part IV: Article 1 Section 1.01 The Gaits of the Horse
Copyright 2013, NAWD All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from NAWD
(a) JOG-TROT
(i) The jog-trot is a two beat gait on alternating diagonal limbs (left hind and right fore simultaneously, followed by the right hind and left fore) separated by a moment of suspension. The regularity of the tempo and rhythm of the jog-trot must be maintained in all trot movements. Deviations in the pattern of footfalls or irregularity of the rhythm is a serious fault of the gait. The jog-trot should be free, active and loose, and transitions into and out of the jog-trot should be performed in a relaxed manner with suppleness throughout the horses body and without hesitation or tension.
(ii) All jog-trot work is to be executed “sitting” unless otherwise specified in the test.
(iii) The quality of the jog-trot is judged by the regularity of tempo and rhythm and the elasticity of the steps. The same rhythm, tempo and balance should be maintained in all variations of the jog-trot.
(iv) The following jog/trots are recognized: collected jog-trot, working jog-trot, medium jog-trot and extended jog-trot. Both passage and piaffe are variations of the jog-trot.
When dressage principles are properly applied to our everyday training the result is not circus tricks, it is not a dressage horse wearing a western saddle, the result is unique; beautiful, harmonious and rewarding. A final comment from the survey sums it up quite nicely when this young USDF dressage competitor speaks her mind about the western dressage that is happening in the barn where she rides:
“I think that the Western Dressage should not have the form of a flat and on the forehand horse, but like what ******** was doing on ******* the other day. That was pretty! Riding that kind of trot, also, makes me want to ride it and it may make other people want to ride it too.” Voila, Western Dressage!
To see what that young rider was talking about, there is yet another new video on this blog channel at http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5wCjvq53-kHybrTVawJDKg Is it perfect? No. Is it a high res professionally produced work of art? No. Does it show a variety of possibilities for jog, jog-trot, and 5 other variations on trot? Yes. So take a few minutes and see if it helps you answer the question: “To jog or not to jog?” If it is not enough, peruse other WD vids on YouTube, there are more and more WD videos available for you to watch!
I welcome your input regarding anything you have read in this blog, your rescue horse’s story as well as your western dressage story at [email protected].
For more information about Western Dressage, to read articles, explore the 2013 Rulebooks, see the tests, or start your memberships visit NAWD at http://www.northamericanwesterndressage.com, and join them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/NorthAmericanWesternDressage. Find Cowboy Dressage online at www.cowboydressage.com, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/eitanbethhalachmy. Locate International Performance Horse Development Association at http://www.iphda.com/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/IPHDA1. Finally, WDAA’s website is http://www.westerndressageassociation.org/
Michelle Binder-Zolezzi is the founder of the Relational Riding Academy. Relational Riding is a program that utilizes dressage as fundamental training for all horses performing in all disciplines. She has been an ARIA certified Instructor since 1989. She is currently working on her second book “Relational Riding: A Horsemanship Tutorial,” and has completed work on two professional video productions, “Any Horse, Any Rider: Relational Riding: A Universal Foundation” and "Understand Riding From the Ground Up."