Rollkur – contrary to what many riders think – is not a suppling process other than to “rubberise” the horse’s neck. This practice is considered very harmful by all the great Master Trainers of the last 2 centuries. It causes blockages to occur between the horse’s back and his shoulders, so that the energy from the hindlegs will not be carried “through”. This would explain the lack of engagement that we see in many competition horses today, where the front legs have a very stilted, exaggerated action and the hindlegs do not match them.
The alternative to Rollkur to supple the horse CORRECTLY is to work the horse on a long-rein with soft, yielding hands first in walk, later as the horse gets stronger, in trot and in canter. The importance of the rider’s leg acting at the girth to support the horse’s back is vital, throughout this process.
Until we can promote a better philosophy of riding – based on biomechanical truths – incorrect procedures like the Rollkur and all the other travesities – will continue to degrade Dressage as a Discipline.
The “Blue Tongue World Cup” video on You Tube this week is therefore very much a symptom of all that is wrong about Dressage Training today. People are bypassing the old, proven methods where the rider trains at the horse’s own pace (as promoted by The Spanish Riding School of Vienna) and are now using abusive shortcut methods in order to win over the judges.
What does this say about judging today?
What does it say about crowd pleasing?
What does it say about the education of riders?
CRC has often been accused of living in the past or being fuddy-duddy. Sylvia Loch has been accused of being an “old curmudgeon”! Isn’t that better than being actively cruel and ruining the lives of hundreds of horses?
People need to be educated as to what is pure and correct (i.e. classical) if dressage is to remain a reputable discipline. We don’t pretend to know all the answers but we have made a start and implore you to offer your support.
As a result of the Epona clip we have sent the following letter to the FEI
Sir/Madam,
The Classical Riding Club is aware of the enormous outpouring of public outrage prompted by the Epona (You Tube) film clip of a top
competition dressage horse being worked in Rollkur before a competition event. Scenes like these and the suffering of dressage horses could so easily be avoided for the future with the right checks and controls in place.I would refer the FEI to my courteous Letter to the Princess Haya, President of the FEI sent in August 2009.
Enclosed with this letter was a copy of ‘Making a Difference’ – Dressage Rules and Guidelines’ (published by The Classical Riding Club
in l998) in which ideas are offered which could revolutionise the present system of judge training and marking. Ideas borrowed and
implemented from this publication would go a long way to assist in upholding the FEI Object and General Principles of Dressage, which have
been too easily ignored or overlooked in the past few years.It was further suggested that dialogue with the Classical Riding Club and other interested international parties might lead to a state…
where as quoted from my letter ‘…we would swiftly remove those practices which have led to stressful training, robotlike performance
and of course the need for methods like the rollkur, etc’ which are bringing the sport into disrepute.In view of the present crisis of training, the Epona clip being just one example of some of the training travesties that exist at this time,
we now ask for a response to our friendly and peaceful endeavours to assist in these matters.The future integrity of the discipline depends upon openess and dialogue with all concerned. Please may we expect a reply?
Yours faithfully
Sylvia Loch
Director of The Classical Riding Club
Reply received from FEI:
Dear Ms Loch,
Thank you very much for your email.
The FEI is aware of the video filmed by Epona.tv at the FEI World CupTM Dressage qualifier at Odense (DEN) and posted on YouTube. FEI’s main concern has always been and will always be the welfare of the horse. We are taking the issues raised in the video and in the comments made by members of the public on social media very seriously and have opened a full investigation. The conclusions of this investigation will be made public in due course.
Kind regards,
Malina Gueorguiev
Communications Manager
Fédération Equestre InternationaleAvenue Rumine 37 NEW
1005 Lausanne
Switzerland
t +41 21 310 47 54
m +41 78 750 61 33
f +41 21 310 47 60www.fei.org
www.feitv.org
Post taken from Classical Riding Club website
kind of off topic… I’m very happy that there is discussion going on about the state of competitive dressage.
But sadly, despite the fact that many of us wish to learn to ride in a classical way, it is really difficult to find instructors who subscribe to gentle methods!
There are plenty of trainers who talk the talk, but don’t know how to walk the walk. I’ve met many very nice trainers who mean well, but then proceed to instruct me with the same old push/pull/kick/whip/deathgrip-on-the-mouth ideas. And so I go back to working on my own because I know that kind of force is not neccessary and I want to develop a harmonious relationship with my horses.
Not all of us can have a Sylvia for a trainer.
Is that “change” on the horizon!?
Sylvia: Thank you for representing the concerns of the public with your wisdom and eloquence. The many images of your horses in your books and videos speak to your expertise. I can think of no better standard for the FEI rules and all of us to humbly strive to meet. Thank you. Thank you.
Huge round of applause and thanks to Sylvia Loch and the Classical Riding Club for continuing to advocate for the horse and the art of classical riding! Shame on the FEI. It should not have taken the blue tongue video to make them take action, although it remains to be seen if real appropriate action is taken.
Thank you, Sylvia! For this letter and for all you do to promote and teach a soft, harmonious, and physically beneficial way of riding our horses. I was originally attracted to dressage years ago when my trainer read statements from the USDF rulebook about the harmony that is sought. I only knew what I was taught and over the years I began to wonder where the softness and harmony where. First I thought it was just that I wasn’t succeeding at what I was being taught and it would come. A new and more sensitive horse, however, showed me that I had to find a different way immediately! (Not that I was being taught anything like rollkur and I didn’t even use a noseband much less a tight one. It just seemed like it was always pushing pushing pushing, more more more.) I’ve been seeking out people with a more classical, softer approach and having a wonderful journey. I’ve been growing more concerned about the sport and the judging. I don’t understand why such incorrect rides are getting such high scores. I have great respect for judges and recognize the difficulty of their job, so I don’t like to criticize. Yet such practices as rollkur would not be an issue if the results were not rewarded in competition. At any rate, the one good thing about this whole blue-tongue incident is that hopefully the FEI and other governing bodies in individual countries will finally be pressured into doing something about it by the outcry.
Thank you Sylvia for being such a great advocate for our horses. Sometimes I am ashamed to be a member of the human race.
ditto
Thankyou Sylvia.
Amen Sister Sylvia!! I am curious to see just exactly HOW seriously the FEI decides to take the reactions posted through social media, and how seriously they take this “investigation.” Three cheers for You Tube and Facebook.
good post, thanks!
Couldn’t agree more – the day I force my horse to a shape and way of going that is unnatural let alone painful someone please shoot me
hear, hear
Many thanks Sylvia for displaying these letters. I especially liked your description about openess and dialogue as necessary components for future progress. I anticipate eagerly some major changes for the benefit of horses worldwide as we better educate everyone on the terribly destructive impact these so called ‘training methods’ have on our horses. The terrible irony is that it is TOTALLY unnecessary to force any horse to do anything against it’s will, and that the beauty of working in harmony with the will of the horse has so many benefits for everyone. We desperately need to stop fighting against the will of the horse and acknowledge our own inadequecies in order to learn how to work with these humble and willing partners. It is not only the horses that benefit when we take a step out of our egotistical agenda’s to reflect on how our behaviour impacts on another living thing, we all stand to gain so much, it is a sad reflection of the times we live in and our need for a quick fix.