Dressage....more than a pattern...it's a sport!!

First off just wanted to update everyone that our travels back home from Florida were very smooth, no truck troubles or traffic problems, not even a flat tire!!:)  Horses had a little holiday upon arriving home and are starting to build back into their working routine.  I wanted to take this time to write a bit about something that I've observed a lot over the past few years and I think is becoming somewhat of an epidemic in the North American dressage world, I'm seeing a lot of people who view dressage as riding a pattern or riding movements and are losing the total concept that dressage is about developing the horse as a complete athlete, building up their strength and suppleness through consistent training.  I see a lot of riders spending time practicing figures or going through the motions but not really training their horses bodies.  In order to train the bodies of our horses there has to be a consistent developmental process which strengthens them over time and creates stronger and more supple athletes and, consequently, better movers.  I hear a lot of people saying their horse isn't 'nice enough', realistically obviously some horses are more gifted athletes than others however there are plenty of good quality horses on this continent and even in our own backyards but as riders we have to train good quality horses to become better horses, proper training and development ensures the horses gaits continue to improve as they move up the levels, a horse doing a shoulder in at second level should not look the same as a horse doing a shoulder in at the PSG level which requires a far greater degree of collection and engagement.  Trainers have to have a good sense of how much to expect from a horse at their level and  when is an appropriate time to up the demand, they also have to have quick timing and reflexes to make corrections when needed and to reward immediately when the right reaction is attained.  I think sometimes trainers are viewed as people who 'put a horse through their paces' or 'get horses to the show ring' and no doubt there are trainers out there who are simply going through the motions of the job and/or are in it just for the competitive aspect, but successful trainers put far more thought into the training process and where things are going in the long run versus when they next go up the centreline at a show.  I know I personally spend a great deal of time at the end of my day going over each and every ride and figuring out what I could have done better, did I ask too much, did I not ask enough, should I add more variety or try a different approach, what worked and what didn't, all questions that I ask myself at the end of each day about each horse and/or rider (depending if I'm training from the saddle or coaching from the ground).  Lastly, dressage is a sport at the end of the day!  Every horse and rider is on a different path and thus a different conditioning plan.  A rider who is training casually at the lower levels should not expect that a rider and horse who are training at the FEI levels will train the same way, similar to humans at the gym, some people come for a casual workout daily, 25 mins on the treadmill and some light weights and others come for a full on workout, same applies to riding, the workout must match the level and/or goals for that particular horse and rider and must keep in mind any physical limitations a horse might have, horses training at a higher level will have to push more and be more reactive than horses at a lower level and a trainer has to have a game plan of when to push and when to plateau, they have to have a large toolbox and know which tools to use for which situation and when to use them, and trainers should also (no matter how experienced they are) continue to seek out the help of more knowledgeable trainers, I see lots of trainers who rarely take lessons or seek out help and firmly believe that to keep ourselves sharp we need to continue to seek out help ourselves, "being a trainer" is simply not enough, one has to "be a trainer who is continually evolving".  Anyhow, some of my observations and opinions on the sport, for what they're worth;)