I am thrilled to say the Cowboy Dressage Judges Orientation was a huge success on Friday, February 15th in Medford, OR. A stellar cast of presenters spoke on various topics to fifty plus attendees, most of whom were women. I was surprised there were not more men since it is Cowboy Dressage, but was very happy to see that at least seven states were represented including two individuals from as far away as Wisconsin. 

Beginning with the video called “From Then to Now” and proceeding to the final session, an opportunity to judge videoed rides, the day was intense. Eitan made wonderful comparisons between both music and art and Cowboy Dressage. Presenter Garn Walker spoke at length on the progressive nature of exercises for successive training, the history of the dressage court, and Cowboy Dressage test figures. Although not in attendance, renowned horseman Jack Brainard appeared via a specially prepared video presentation to share his perspectives on what it means to be a horse show judge.

Then Jeff Sanders of Modern Vaquero Horsemanship in Fallon NV, gave a brilliant and very educational presentation. In it, he connected historic paintings and photos of European horsemanship with artwork depicting historic vaqueros and modern photographs of working ranch and dressage horses. His presentation also featured a wonderful pictorial essay showing the developmental history of the western saddle and an extremely informative discussion of spade bits. All in all, he did a terrific job connecting classical dressage training to the original American cowboy.

Of course Eitan himself was the highlight of the day. His warmth, love of the horses, and passion for the sport as well as his enchanting sense of humor brightened the day and kept everyone entertained. He made several critical points about the quality of the Cowboy Dressage horses’ gaits, stating that in general, “there has been too much slowing of the horses’ gaits, especially the jog and lope. There must still be some life in the gaits.” He also emphasized the overall importance of true partnership with the horse. I asked Eitan about how he saw the connection dressage and western work. “The thing dressage has to offer is the idea of having the horse in a surrounding where we have a tool to change patterns all the time. Those patterns must be consistent and include transitions. Without patterns, there is no training.”

In general, I must say I enjoyed the orientation very much. I hope this weekend has set the bar for the up coming judges training and certification program scheduled to take place over the next several months. The passion for the discipline was evident in all the presenters. The interest in the discipline was reflected in the participants’ willingness to stay engaged for the duration of the 8 ½ hour program. The most magical part of the day was being at a Cowboy Dressage event as an advocate of Western Dressage while seated with two or three board members from ORWDAA and Eitan himself. I believe in my heart of hearts that eventually there will be respect and collaboration between all Western Dressage enthusiasts such that a truly unique and valuable new discipline will emerge to the delight and ultimate good of our horses.  I look forward to continuing this journey with everyone who wants to see what the future brings for WD.

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 North American Western Dressage, to read articles, explore the 2013 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-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."