From the French word, dresser, meaning to train or prepare, comes the equestrian discipline commonly known as the English style of riding, dressage. It’s an intimate dance of communication between horse and rider, and one riding discipline that can be practiced for many years at increasing levels of nuance for decreasing levels of communication visibility. In other words, the more expert the dressage performance between horse and rider, the more invisible is the exchange of instruction between them.

“Dressage is a great discipline for Type A personalities,” laughs Patty Hambling, president of the Calgary Area Alberta Dressage Association (CA/ADA.) “In dressage, progress over the years is analyzing and breaking down every little aspect of the discipline into precise movements — oh, my right leg should be an inch forward, my left foot should be an inch back.”

This kind of precision yields a beautiful lilting performance for the enjoyment of audiences, certainly, but more importantly to the millions of riders who practice dressage, this discipline yields a horse whose movements are supple and balanced and actually supportive of the animal’s own longevity.

“One of the top goals of dressage is conditioning the correct muscles in the horse so the horse’s movements are relaxed and comfortable — and in the end, we make the horses last longer,” explains Patty.

Dressage training strengthens and improves a horse’s natural movements, as all movements of dressage are things horses do naturally on their own, with an emphasis on balance and responsiveness. Many equestrian enthusiasts agree dressage is an excellent foundation discipline preparatory to many other equine disciplines later practiced. Using subtle driving communications through the legs, seat, whip and spur complementary to the restraining aids of seat, weight and hand, the horse in dressage learns to shorten its frame, becoming more collected. With the horse’s bodily frame more compact — the hind end coming up more underneath the horse, the back rounded up and the neck arched — the horse finds itself more easily responding to the rider’s cues, as it’s springier on its feet and more balanced.

As in any discipline, international levels of dressage competitiveness are for the dedicated elite and very gifted horses. In Canada, from Calgary, AB, Crystal Kroetch and her Lymrix are vying for this kind of internationally recognized status.

“Representing my country has been a dream of mine for many years,” says Crystal, “and training has been my lifelong passion. Lymrix and I are soul mates — he is only eight years old and already he is training the Grand Prix (Olympic level).”

Now working with six-time Olympian and world renowned dressage aficionado, Robert Dover, Crystal has been told Lymrix is an international Grand Prix horse, “with a serious chance of medalling.”

“This is one of the most talented horses I have seen in a long time,” boasts Dover, adding Crystal and Lymrix “could be strong contenders for the World Equestrian Games (WEG.)”

In 2010, the WEG happen in Lexington, KY, and Crystal hopes she and Lymrix will be there competing in dressage. Another Calgar ian, Bonny Bonnello and her 13-year-old Canadian Warmblood Pikardi are vying for a spot at the next WEG and are also training with Dover over the winter in preparation.

Most riders who take up dressage are not aiming for world class competition. “I would say the vast majority of dressage riders are amateur riders whose plans aren’t to go to the Olympics,” says Patty, adding, “They just want to

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