Beyond dressage technique, this discipline calls for:
- an artistic sense
- a musical ear
- creativity
- emotion
In short, the aim is to create an original choreography to a piece of music, and to carry the technique higher by conveying artistic emotion.
Riders are not placed in categories, so they may compete in whichever category they wish, with horses from different categories (amateur, pro or open pro).
Riders compete as JUNIOR or as ADULT. → Article 4 of the rulebook.
Riders must behave correctly towards their horse. (penalties may go as far as expulsion from the FDA)
Every horse will have a chance to take up Artistic Dressage.
The only requirements are those that apply to every horse: identification papers and a certificate of good health.
Every breed, every type of horse can express itself in Artistic Dressage.
Clearly an Arabian will not dance like a Friesian, but the variety of music makes it possible to build choreography that is as different as it is interesting ...... the Arabian can draw on its quickness and use fast music, while the Friesian can use slower, more strongly measured music.
It is this great variety that makes Artistic Dressage a more media-friendly discipline than classical dressage.
The Artistic Dressage arena is nothing complicated. What matters is not its size: it is the place.
For an online competition, choose somewhere that suits you and suits your music: a meadow, a courtyard, a wood. It is not a backdrop — it is part of the program, and those are the videos people watch to the end.
The dressage arena is not allowed for online competitions: its letters are the signature of another discipline, and our dance must be recognisable from the very first image. Nor is the indoor school: it is the trainer's workplace, and it looks like schooling rather than a performance.
One piece of advice: the wise rider keeps the choreography tight. The pair stays clearly visible on screen, and the video is the better for it.
The music - or rather, the musics... Every style can be used, but music written for dancing on foot is generally the best suited. Waltz, tango, salsa, latin, classical, slow numbers, rock: everything is possible, each with its own degree of difficulty.
Every rider will find the style and the music that best suits the partnership of rider and horse.
The music may be shortened, but not modified. The length is from 3 to 4 min 30 max. Some online competitions set the music, which calls for imagination in the choreography.
Recommendations and tips:
Choose slow music for your first attempts; as your horse moves up a level, you can take on bolder music..
Watch the tempo as well. Your horse has a rhythm it prefers, and if your music is not in its rhythm it will be harder to hold a rhythm that does not suit it..
Choose music with clearly marked musical phrases, so that you have time to make your transitions more easily and do not lose the beat of the music.
Artistic Dressage dress is chosen to match the music used for the choreography.
The outfit must be stylish and show the partnership off well. We want to stand for French elegance.
What the judges like:
Stylish outfits that do not hide the horse (the movements must be shown off, so do not hide the horse)
What the judges do not like:
When the outfit becomes a costume.
When the colours do not go together.
Artistic Dressage sets out to be a discipline of good taste, and to stand for the most elegant side of France.
Alexandra and her Portuguese mare
Justine and her Thoroughbred
Florette and her KWPN mare
Isabelle and her Pinto horse
Example of an arena for online competition.
Example of an arena for online competition.
Training or demonstration arena.
