By April Clay, Psychologist

A classic, but anonymous quote describes the sport of dressage the following way: the passionate pursuit of perfection by the obsessively imperfect.

It’s a tongue in cheek definition which says it all. The dressage rider is an artist in the world of horse sport. An individual who seeks to create perfection and beauty, a goal which is never quite satisfied.

Psychologically speaking, there is of course a great deal more to be said about who the dressage rider is, and what talents they both possess and seek to develop. If you are an aspiring dressage rider, how do you rate on the following skills?

Attention to Detail
In some sports, huge errors can be committed and still not make or break a winning outcome. We have all seen hockey teams surge back from no score to high score to definitive win. But in the sport of dressage small details are important, and especially at the higher levels can mean the difference between winning and losing. This is likely why the sport attracts people who love attention to detail and creating subtle changes toward excellence.

As you can imagine, this is easy breeding ground for the perfectionist. As a result, the successful dressage rider will need to be able to contain those aspects of perfectionism which can damage their performance potential while still working diligently at their craft.

The perfectionist trap is this: first you set impossibly high goals, feel badly because you’re not reaching any of them, berate yourself and then set some more goals and tell yourself to try harder. It can mean becoming demoralized, feeling like giving up and even depression. The wise rider must first accept that perfection is an unreasonable goal as it is impossible to define. It is better to work with the idea of excellence, which may be defined as of high quality. This means becoming satisfied with outcomes which although all different, are effective in their own right. Dressage riders must take care to set goals which reflect this quality, and understand that “detail” does not always mean exact. In this way their sport esteem stays in tact, and they are able to keep striving but remain flexible in their expectations.

Relationship
Dressage might be described as an individual team sport. In no other horse sport is the relationship between horse and rider quite so important. What is being judged is the quality of the conversation taking place between team mates.

But of course you remain the leader in this partnership, and this means respecting and knowing the language of the horse. In other words, since your equine buddy cannot pick up an English language course at the local rural college, you’re really going to have to be aware of your communication skills.

Like the ability to stay present. When you are not in the present with your horse, consider yourself to have become “unplugged”. The conversation connection has been lost, and needs to be regained. Effective riders learn not to punish their horse for their lapse in focus, but take responsibility and get back on track. No doubt you have experienced this one yourself with your friends. How annoyed are you when you are trying to talk and they start gawking at someone else or get that glazed “I don’t care and I am thinking of something else” look in their eye?

As with people, in our communications with our horses, there are plenty of opportunities for double messages. The effective dressage rider is sensitive to this possibility and can make adjustments when needed. Consider the person who says, “I’m not mad at you” but has their arms firmly crossed. This is much like the rider who says, “Yes I want you to go forward” (applies pressure) but grabs and snatches at their horse’s mouth. Mixed messages can arise from a number of different situations. There are times when our emotions lead us to behaviours we are not even conscious of. A nervous rider may do her best to calm herself but the energy and tension flowing through her are interpreted as subtle speed up messages to her mount. Sometimes a lack of skill or consistency of skill causes our intentions to be fuzzy and hard to interpret. As with the novice rider concerned with upsetting his horse, who applies such faint pressure nothing is received on the other end. A successful dressage rider learns to check and re-check their message’s accuracy and clarity.

Fine muscle control
When sports require a high degree of technical skill, it usually follows that the athlete must be able to achieve a somewhat relaxed state, void of excessive tension that might interfere with fine motor function.

So no, the dressage rider does not need to sport Popeye sized muscles for success, but fitness, awareness and control over muscle tension is a must.

To achieve this end, the rider needs to possess good body awareness. Would you say you know what your base line tension is like when you start out for a ride? How about what happens to this if you run into frustration or fatigue? And then there is the factor of horse personality- every horse will respond differently to your body’s energy. Some highly sensitive types feel your messages with loudspeakers, while the more laid back kind need you to up the volume now and then. Who are you presently working with?

So, the dressage rider must know how to alter the state of tension in their body on command. This may be achieved by practicing breath techniques and or meditation. For certain, a commitment in training must be made to learn effective muscle control.

Coping with subjective scoring:
Think about sports like figure skating, synchronized swimming and competitive dance. These share one common denominator with dressage- they are scored subjectively. With this type of scoring, it can become easy to worry about how you are being perceived. Of course if this worry escalates, it can interfere with performance. Dressage riders must be able to block these thoughts as they would any other distraction. They need to come prepared with a focus, and if that should deviate, be able to lead their mind back to where it should be. This can be achieved by practicing the correct focus under pressure induced conditions, like a mock competition.

It can also be helpful to develop a strong internal scoring system. That is, being very clear about your own expectations and how you intend to meet them. Directing yourself with your own goals can keep your mind off what others may be thinking. Moreover, when you inevitably get hit with some judging feedback you think is unfair, you’ll be better prepared to move on.

In a sport where a lot of judgement abounds, sometimes it has a way of seeping into the culture of the sport. Meaning some athletes buy into the judging game, and like to practice on their fellow competitors. This can become a distraction if you buy in, or damaging if you become a victim. A strict self policy of supporting not judging fellow riders allows you to both contribute to a more pleasant competitive atmosphere and frees up your focus for more important tasks, like the irresistible pursuit of the perfect ride.

copyright April Clay, 2007