just wondering

[loki]

&nbsp;I was just wondering something. My friend took me to a dressage show and it looks like a lot of fun. So i was wondering how to get started but just for fun not competeing.<edited><editID>loki</editID><editDate>38388.9244212963</editDate></edited>

[Patricia]

If you have no idea of the concepts behind dressage training....I would recommend taking some lessons.&nbsp; It is a lot more work than it looks....but I sure enjoy it and love seeing the improvement in my horse.&nbsp; Showing is not my priority but my horses training and fitness is.&nbsp;

[*rickie*]

I would say, get a good coach, and explain to her that you want to try it out, and see if you really do like it. Without a GOOD coach, you won't properlly understand Dressage....and then it won't be appealing to you. Maybe even find a coach with a "school master" so that you can get a taste of the upper level movements.....that might make Dressage even more appealing to you. <br /> <br />Let us know how it goes!

[Judy F]

It is important to understand that dressage is method of training both the horse and rider to achieve their optimum performance -- not necessarily in the dressage ring but in everything they do. For the rider, it is best to learn on a trained horse, a 'schoolmaster,' so you can get the proper feeling for the aids and the movements. A green horse will benefit from being ridden by an experienced rider, if only your coach for 20 minutes at the start of each lesson. This is what Christalot Boylen recommends and she's right.