Olympic spur to interest by young in horse dancing

Following the British dressage team’s Olympic and recent Paralympic success, dressage or horse ballet as it is so often described has captured the imagination of the public.

For those not familiar with the terms “piaffe” and “passage” dressage is now viewed as the equestrian equivalent to Strictly Come Dancing (minus the left-footed celebrities looking for a career move). More people than ever before are tuning in to watch these equestrian athletes strut their stuff.

However, British Dressage, the governing body for the sport is anxious to get across the message that it is not all top hats and tiaras and they are keen to encourage the next generation of young riders who have been inspired by the Olympics to give the sport a go.

Since the Olympics they have had inquiries from young riders keen to become the next Charlotte Dujardin, the 27-year-old who took individual gold riding the Rudolf Nureyev of the equestrian world, Valegro.

British Dressage northern development officer Sarah Huntridge believes that the Olympics has finally got people talking about dressage and provided young riders with a positive young role model to aspire to.

“Young riders need their idols and with Charlotte Dujardin’s background as a working pupil, it demonstrates that success in the sport is possible for riders without lots of money behind them,” says Sarah.

“We have had an increase in inquiries since the Olympics but we believe that this is just the beginning, with our aim being to ensure that dressage is seen as a more accessible sport and with the help of riding schools we can ensure that everyone has the opportunity to take part. After all, if you ride in a riding school arena you are doing dressage, perhaps not at Olympic level but it is where it all starts.”

One village riding school in North Yorkshire is hoping to build on that Olympic legacy and plans to encourage new young riders into the sport as well nurturing the talent of those already on the rungs of the competition ladder.

Snainton Riding Centre, near Scarborough has had to adapt and evolve with the changing times over the last 45 years.

Charlotte Wilson, who is a partner in the family run centre and an experienced competitor herself says they have seen a significant demand in dressage since the Olympics.

“We could not believe the large number of young riders attending our unaffiliated competitions this year and we have been impressed by the standard of riding and commitment that they have shown to be putting in to their performances, particularly as many of them are new to dressage or only have weekly lessons on one of our riding school ponies, so time to practice is often limited,” says Sarah.

Although the centre has been running both affiliated British Dressage competitions and unaffiliated competitions for the last eight years, it is only this year that they decided to run a Junior Championship for young riders as they had noticed a marked rise in the number of young riders keen to compete, both on their own ponies or those borrowed from the riding school for those not fortunate enough to have their own. This year’s Junior Championship was won by 14 year old Laura Robinson riding her own pony, Dandy. The pair are new to dressage but have been having lessons at the centre and Laura is keen to follow in the footsteps of the Olympic riders.

“This is our first year competing in dressage and I have really enjoyed it so I hope we will be able to go further,” said Laura, whose sister Beth is a working pupil at the centre and also competes in their dressage competitions.

With so many local young people wanting to have a go at learning how to make a horse dance the centre has teamed up with British Dressage to offer their Young Riders Training Scheme (BYRDS) which exists to promote and foster training for the under 25s.

Riders from all backgrounds from as young as six will be able to take part in training, theory lessons and clinics as well as competitions during the school holidays designed to fully develop their skills and understanding about the way a horse moves and just how to achieve a good performance.

They will also learn that it takes years of hard work, skill and determination to reach the levels of our Olympians but that it is not impossible.

Amy Clements, Yorkshire development officer for the British Horse Society (BHS) believes that the London Olympics have helped to inspire a generation.

“We hope that this rise in the sport’s profile will encourage young people to take up riding and follow in the footsteps of their 
sporting role models,” 
she says.

“Many of our BHS Approved Riding Schools in Yorkshire have seen an increase in participation and we hope that one day they will be able to say that they were the birthplace of a future Olympian.”

Snainton Riding Centre is certainly hoping that it will be one of their talented young riders who heads off to Rio de Janeiro in 2016, 
but in the meantime they 
will be one of the many riding schools across the country to continue to work with British Dressage to make the sport more accessible and build on the nation’s new love of horse dancing.

“Our aim has always been to develop an understanding between horse and rider that goes much further than simply ‘sitting on top looking pretty’,” says Sarah.

How to find your way into the saddle

As part of the British Equestrian Federation’s (BEF) Olympic Hoof Legacy Project they have set up Take Back the Reins to encourage those inspired by the performances at the Olympics who have never been on a horse before to give riding a go.

For further information on the scheme visit their website www.hoofride.co.uk

To find out more about British Dressage and their young riders scheme contact northern development officer Sarah Huntridge on 01765 676373 or email [email protected] or visit their website at www.britishdressage.co.uk

For more information on Snainton Riding Centre and their BYRDS programme contact Charlotte Wilson on 01723 859218 or visit their website www.snainton ridingcentre.co.uk

If you are just starting out and are looking for somewhere to learn to ride then visit the British Horse Society website at www.bhs.org.uk which has a list of approved riding centres in Yorkshire.