By L.A. BERRY
The public face of dressage has not always been a pretty one of late. In February, former Olympic rider Cesar Parra was suspended by the FEI from national and international competition after video footage went viral of “abhorrent abusive training techniques.” Images showed horses, some hobbled, being struck on the neck or head while ridden, or with a whip while on long lines.
Nor was this the preamble to the 2024 FEI World Cup™ Finals that the dressage community had hoped for.
One rider, who finished just off the podium, pondered if lower scores and less brilliance were the inevitable results of new expectations from riders to (essentially) be kinder to their horses.
Then and Now
The Plaid Horse spoke to international dressage rider David De Wispelaere—who has returned year-round to Wellington, FL, after more than a decade training and riding horses at his farm in Belgium and giving clinics throughout Europe—for his take on the state of the discipline.
“I ask my horse to dance with me. We do not set foot into a boxing ring,” says the author of two books on dressage: Riding with Feeling, a working guide, and My Horses Have Something to Say, a 2021 autobiographical look at training and competing very gifted horses, while holding a mirror up to today’s sport.
De Wispelaere has competed at the Grand Prix level since 1988, embarking on a winning streak that included the Grand Prix at Devon with Hanoverian mare, Daktari, and U.S. Intermediare I (1989) and U.S. Grand Prix (1990) National Freestyle titles with Hanoverian gelding, Highness. He closed the 1990s with victory laps at NEDA and WEF with Rheinlander gelding, Figaro.
The Seat of the Matter
“I don’t need to win. I learn something every time I teach. I don’t want to mess with that. I like doing clinics. I love helping people find harmony with their horses,” says the 63-year-old horseman, whose introduction to dressage came about through the Happy Hoofers 4-H and Mendon (NY) Pony Clubs of his boyhood.
“I learned it as ‘ballet for the horse.’ That horse and rider should appear as one. Those words stuck with me.”
From a VIP seat overlooking last winter’s Wellington classes, he took in a scene that has “exploded” with more PSG and Grand Prix-level horses, and more new trainers.
“Incorrect training isn’t just a USA problem. I was in the Netherlands, land of the Rollekur. But if you need a bit or spurs for more precision, it implies you’re not riding with your seat,” notes De Wispelaere. “When asked if I want to borrow spurs I politely say no, thanks, I have a seat.”
If lower scores are the result of more empathetic riding, “That means judges reward extravagant movement at the cost of a horse’s physical or mental well-being. We shouldn’t reward tension.”
“Our industry promotes taking well-bred, beautiful horses, then squeezing in training short-cuts (because time is money) that lead to abusively ridden, extravagant movements. The most abusive riding is from professionals,” he adds. “They’ve learned how to train fast, with force, and do well in competition. Which helps imply they’re ‘winners.’ Personal ambition shouldn’t be at the cost of the horse.”
“Everyone who makes money [in this business] contributes to the excess. Less is more. If it looks easy and harmonious, look to the horse,” says this classically trained horseman.
“Your horse is the only one that has to look happy. That’s better than winning.”
Looking for a gentler, more classical approach? Put this on your reading list: My Horses Have Something to Say by David De Wispelaere, only from XenophonPress.com.
