The Mattafin Autumn Dressage Festival offers a master class in the skillful art
The sport requires extreme concentration, and requires horse and rider to perform a series of fixed movements from memory.
The Mataffin Equestrian Centre set the scene for the Mataffin Autumn Dressage Festival last weekend. To the untrained eye, the sport appears to be a rider on a horse moving between designated posts. This could not be further from the truth.
The sport requires extreme concentration, and requires horse and rider to perform a series of fixed movements from memory.
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This essentially means hours of training for the horse and rider to build rapport and establish a bond, to enable them to master the complex movements.
This was evident over the two-day event as the competitors showcased their mastery of the artful discipline. Movements considered simple, require subtle leg movements to essentially “ask” the horse to canter left or right.
Dead silence set over the venue as the riders mounted their horses, their faces outwardly composed, but the discipline evident in the execution of the moves.
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These involve contact, engagement, flying changes, half-passes, riding half-pass, leg yields, pirouettes and a host of other equestrian terminology, which were executed to near perfection.
The judges were kept busy as they allocated scores after each performance. In the prelim to novice category, Cloe Turner, who rode Smirnoff Spin, achieved a 76 per cent score and received a rosette for her exceptional performance.
Alexandra Butcher’s efforts earned her a 70,9 per cent score on Django in the elementary to medium category. Helle Wagner, who was riding Voigtskirch Socrates, scored a 66,1 per cent in the advanced and up category.
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The synchronised movements between horse and rider in action were a sight to behold. The unspoken bond between
them even more so and the Mataffin Autumn Dressage Festival offered this up in spades.
