Dressage

[unsureofneighbour]

Anyone else watching?

It always amazes me how incredible these horses and riders are. I wonder if they all started riding numb ponies as kids and had to flap their legs to get them to move like the rest of us

I’m obsessed!

Can anyone let me know the scores. We've had a power cut wahhhh

Germany
GB
USA

At the end of second round

The points have disappeared though sorry, just the order of the top 3

Thanks did lottie fry not do a good test?

How much is rider skill and how much is horse? Do the riders train their own horses? Could you put an excellent rider on a unknown dressage horse and then would the rider be able to make it dance? Sorry if daft questions despite being a sport obsessive I've never really watched dressage.

She did, but Isabel Werth outdid them all

How much is rider skill and how much is horse?

Both. The combination has to be right. A top horse with a shit rider or a world class rider on a mediocre horse just wouldn't be the same.

Do the riders train their own horses?

They train with them.

Could you put an excellent rider on a unknown dressage horse and then would the rider be able to make it dance?

No: unless a horse had been taught they won't know how to respond to certain commands.

Thanks, interesting. Finally if the horse knows the commands but you swapped it's rider would it still perform? Amazing really, do the horses get a medal?

@AndthreeTomsaredancing

Thanks, interesting. Finally if the horse knows the commands but you swapped it's rider would it still perform? Amazing really, do the horses get a medal?

Yes, but there is no substitute for a horse and rider who have trained, bonded and grown as a team together.

I've really enjoyed it, normally I'd watch the gymnastics but the feed wouldn't load so I watched the dressage and now I'm hooked although have no idea about rules/skill etc it's just good to watch.

I take it horses are shipped, that's quite a journey

They're flown

The American team did a tiktok showing part of the journey for the horses, I'm sure it was from stable to plane they showed

Isabel Werth travels with her horses on the cargo plane they are flown on. She's the only rider that does.

That's mental, but makes more sense, I wonder what they think about it. off to find tik tok videos
Werth is forever my favourite then.

All the horses have their own personal grooms travel with them. They know their grooms from home and the horses welfare is their top priority. They quarantined for several days beforehand.

@Bryonyshcmyony

Thanks did lottie fry not do a good test?

She did a fantastic test but made an early mistake, cantering instead of trotting out of passage.

Ah thank you

I did hear that the person who bought Vallegro for how ever many hundreds of thousands of pounds it was has bitterly regretted it as the horse just won't go for them! The only person who could ever get a tune out of Vallegro was Charlotte Dujardin apparently - even Carl hester couldn't get him to go as well as he went for Charlotte. It is true that some horses and riders just 'click' and have an amazing partnership.

Valegro has retired hasn't he?

@blobby10

I did hear that the person who bought Vallegro for how ever many hundreds of thousands of pounds it was has bitterly regretted it as the horse just won't go for them! The only person who could ever get a tune out of Vallegro was Charlotte Dujardin apparently - even Carl hester couldn't get him to go as well as he went for Charlotte. It is true that some horses and riders just 'click' and have an amazing partnership.

See I love that

Yes but it's not true. Vallegro stayed with Charlotte and Carl and is retired.

@Naaaaah and Bryonyshcmyony I knew he had retired but thought he had moved elsewhere - am a bit out of the loop with horsey things these days! Don't think I could name a showjumper to save my life now but when I was younger had all the posters of them and the eventers on my wall

@Naaaaah

Yes but it's not true. Vallegro stayed with Charlotte and Carl and is retired.

Aw don't ruin it for me, I'm going with blobbys truth, the one thing this last year has taught me is that truths are there to be chosen.

Magnificent German perform as watching with much interest as forever a fan and keen amateur rider and indeed a big fan of the prestigious classical riding academies - Spanische Hofreitschule Wien, Cadre Noir,
Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre and Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre. Also fan of Hong Kong Jockey Club activities. I am more polo and modern pentathlon though.