K Joy Kimler

The Dressage Test K Joy Kimler

As a spectator of Dressage, one could find the viewing of a test insipid unless you know someone who is competing. Learning about the sport and getting an inside track on what is happening adds understanding and interest. As a student of Dressage, learning a new movement is exhilarating. No words can adequately describe the feeling when you first realize you and your horse are a single unit; moving together, reading each other's minds. The Dressage Test came about as I pondered on the letters lining the dressage arena. I took into consideration the conscious thoughts of the rider and the response of the horse. When I completed my NCCP theory #2, the instructor singled out the riding coaches. As a group so many of the accepted theories do not apply as you have another mind to think of. Foot balls, basketballs, a bat and a ball do not change, but the horse has a mind of its own. You have to decide whether it is the horse or the rider who is struggling with a concept. I started putting all of these queries into my book The Dressage TestIt grants spectators and students of Dressage an inside look to see what is happening inside the mind of the rider and the sub sequentially the response of the horse.