The last several weeks I’ve talked about how to get started in western dressage. If you are curious, you’ve checked out the website, taken advantage of the free basic membership by becoming a member, read the rules, reviewed the tests, read the articles, participated in the Forum discussions, found WD groups on Facebook, visited YouTube and chatted with your friends about it. Maybe you’ve contacted your local barns or your local USDF GMO and they are interested in adding Western Dressage classes to their current show class list or show premium.
Here in the Inland Northwest, the first WD classes are happening at local level dressage shows with USDF licensed judges. They were a little apprehensive about judging the western dressage so we sent them the NAWD 2012 competitive rules as well as sample tests from each level and links to the website where they could read the articles about Western Dressage. One of the judges responded “Thank you for emailing me all the information re: WD. I will be more comfortable now (judging WD) after reading the rules.” Recognizing her concerns and supplying her with the information she needed made a big difference in her willingness to judge the classes and then the addition of the WD classes became a reality. NAWD is committed to ensuring that qualified judges continue to judge the discipline and that they feel as comfortable doing so as riders feel when riding in front of them.
As the discipline grows, more and more people will become familiar with the fact that two worlds have collided despite everything that has kept them apart: geography, time, tradition, history, training, philosophy, methodology and just plain closed mindedness. Bringing these two worlds together peacefully and to a positive end result has been impossible until now. At this point it is still difficult for many reasons. One major difference may be that European Dressage training has a long and well respected history and has traveled along one trajectory. Some say that today there are two schools, modern competitive dressage and classical dressage, and even if there are, they are still very closely related. Western training on the other hand has developed over time in a more tree-like fashion and has many branches that western riders can explore. Still, good western horsemanship is represented by a specific body of training and use of the word ‘dressage’ in its more literal sense to mean training, allows a certain tentative acceptance of those western ideals. A challenge for dressage purists to be sure. The challenge for western riding enthusiasts is to acknowledge dressage as a respected and valuable type of progressive training that produces a specific way of going as a result of accurate execution of specific exercises. Our beautiful western horses deserve a venue in which the manner in which they produce that work is acknowledged and respected.
Western Dressage is struggling to find its identity. Acknowledging "irreconcilable differences" at this time between the two parent disciplines as well as within western dressage itself allows all the different manifestations of the sport to maintain individual integrity and gives consumers choice in the matter of what they do. It also provides choice in the show arena which appeals to different breed show organizations as well. Several distinct demographics exist and NAWD’s mission to bring the two world's closer together continues to drive our actions as we attempt to bridge the gaps between those two worlds. Two distinctly different trajectories may ultimately emerge, but both may have sufficient support to become valid, respected expressions of western dressage. Closed minds close doors, doors to communication and productive growth within the discipline. Next week I will update you on specific areas where boundaries are beginning to dissolve at the organizational level. It is an exciting time for the whole horse industry!
If you have feedback regarding this column or any questions related to Western Dressage, please send email to [email protected].
If you would like your western dressage story to appear in this column, please email 200 words and a 300 dpi .jpg photo file of you and your horse with credits to [email protected].
For more information about North American Western Dressage, to read articles, explore the 2012 Rulebook, see the tests through 6th Level, or start your free basic membership visit http://www.northamericanwesterndressage.com, and join them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/NorthAmericanWesternDressage.
Michelle Binder 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."