One of the challenges of competing in the summer time in dressage involves staying cool enough to ride well. When the temps climb high enough, show management will often allow riders to compete without jackets. But not everyone looks fabulously wonderful in a white shirt and white breeches while sitting the extended trot!
In a recent issue of Horse & Hound magazine, a new rather chic piece of equestrian apparel caught my eye. Made by Equetech, the same company in the UK that made some of my favorite competition shirts, it is a waistcoat / vest which looks like a double breasted tailcoat without the sleeves and long tails.
Personally, I think this is a very elegant looking alternative. And definitely very dressagey. But would it be accepted in the USA? Would it be allowed with the current USEF DR120 dress code rules? Would riders want to buy it?
I also wonder if Equetech will make a version with points, like on a tail coat. But that would be redundant, I guess, as the points on a tailcoat are supposed to make it look like the rider has a waistcoat on under the double breasted coat. Still, I think points would finish the look quite nicely. Just a couple triangles of gold at the waistline....
Time will tell. In the meanwhile, I am VERY tempted... My first thought: Time to email Dressage Extensions!. Let's see what they think!
One final thought about these nice "cool" alternatives to jackets.... It gives the jacket-less dressage competitor a place to display their USDF medals. And you know, for those of us who worked very hard to earn our medals, being able to wear them is kind of important. :-)
It's been a long time coming, but personally, I think this makes sense. Starting in 2011, the USEF Rules for Dressage, section DR120: Dress (page DR21) state that all riders must wear "protective headgear" while mounted unless they are riding in only PSG through GPS classes and are over 18 years old.
Protective headgear is defined as helmets made to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) / SEI (Safety Equipment Institute) standards for equestrian use and which carry the SEI tag. (PAS 015:1998 is the standard used in the UK.)
When it comes to this rule, the number of USDF & Olympic medals a rider has in his trophy case is not a factor. Wearing a tailcoat / shadbelly does not exempt the rider from the rule. Calibre of horse and / or rider don't make a difference, either. The rules, although complex when first read, are pretty basic. And so is the message. The USEF and USDF want riders to properly protect their heads!
If a rider is competing two horses, one which is doing 4th Level & PSG and the other who is doing PSG and I1, the rider MUST wear an approved helmet whenever riding the first horse, but can wear a top hat when riding the second. To help differentiate who can wear what when, some shows may decide to use different ranges of show numbers, or maybe even colored dots on bridle numbers. We'll see how the show managers in Region 8 help support compliance to the new rules.
I've had the pleasure of riding in my two top hats. Both are tight, unlikely to ever blow or bounce off while doing a test. They get very hot in the summer. They are tricky to get hair up into. And they have to be handled very carefully, protected from dust, rain, sweat, and so on. But they are ever so elegant to wear! However, I have also competed at Fourth Level and in USDF Regional Championship classes with a well fitted helmet and three point harness.
SmartPak and Charles Owen & Co, Ltd put together this short video on how to fit a helmet. I like that Renee asks about fitting a helmet knowing she will be putting her hair up to ride. Whenever I try on helmets, I put make sure I test the fit as if I were competing. Hair braided, twisted, pulled up, whatever I will be doing that year.
For those looking for more information & statistics about helmets and safety, check out the American Riding Instructors Association website about helmets. Very interesting.
I still have a couple of my old "hunt caps". However, they are simply display models now. Reminders of my equestrian past. Decorations. I wonder if the silk top hats will one day follow suit.....
For many dressage riders in New England, the NEDA Omnibus is a much beloved possession. The little black book. The season's bible. The favorite bathroom read.
Email and facebook notifications recently went out saying that the Omnibus Prize Lists were in the mail. Yippee! And as they arrive, the dormant competition itch will spring back to life, and with it, the need to put together our 2011 competition calendar and schedule of dressage activities.
Each year, I get at least two little black books. One as a member of NEDA, the New England Dressage Association. The other as an advertiser in the book. One copy will travel in my "Horse Show Briefcase", the other will move from room to room in the house.
So what makes this little book so important, so revered amongst the mountain of dressage & equine books in my library? Timely content specific to the dressage competition season. Aside from prize lists from each of the USDF Recognized dressage competitions in New York and the New Engand states, it provides the USDF & USEF Dressage tests (our USA national tests), all of which were redesigned for 2011 through 2014, movement requirements for dressage musical freestyles per level, information about how to qualify for NEDA Year End Awards, and lots of ads by local professional trainers & training barns.
NEDA members who are new to dressage will also find lots of basic USDF rules information. Reading the USEF Dressage Rulebook is still highly advised, but the Omnibus provides a good quick start. They will also find listings of some of the local Schooling Dressage Shows.
Another great tool for the dressage enthusiast / competitor / trainer is the new 2011 USEF Dressage Test Book. With the new tests now in use, getting to grips with them as early as possible is a wise thing, especially for those of us who have a tendency to sometimes go off course. The new book contains the new USDF Introductory Level Tests and the new USEF tests for First through Fourth Levels. Unlike the 2007 through 2011 version, the new booklet has a cool cover. Like the older version, the price is still only $5.00 plus shipping when purchased via the USEF using this order form. And it is still only 4 x 7 inches in size, which means it can go straight into the coat pocket for reference while riding!
So, for the moment, I sit here waiting for the postman to arrive. In the meantime, my competition horses are scheduled to get their required Coggins tests for 2011 as well as their spring vaccinations which will help protect them from disease as we travel around the region. We are getting back into serious goal minded work. And if winter insists on keeping its grip on us much longer, the clippers may be put to use very soon.
And so it all begins once again. A new year. And with it, thoughts about new goals.
By the end of 2010, Piper Warrior and I had achieved our 2010 dressage goals, and then some. We made it to the 2010 USDF Region 8 Championships in 3 categories! And we finished 2010 with several National & New England Dressage Association (NEDA) year end awards, including:
Champion - NEDA Year End Award, USDF Freestyles
Champion - Top Scoring KWPN Dutch WB at the NEDA Fall Festival / USDF Region 8 Championships
Reserve Champion - USDF All Breeds, KWPN First Level Freestyles, Vintage Rider
3rd Place - USDF All Breeds, KWPN First Level, Vintage Rider
3rd Place - USDF All Breeds, KWPN Training Level, Vintage Rider
4th Place - USDF Region 8 First Level Freestyle Championships
Multiple High Score of the Day show awards
The 2010 NEDA Year End Championship for USDF Freestyles came with a massive championship ribbon and a gorgeous embroidered Mountain Horse jacket. Very nice!
For the USDF All Breeds KWPN Reserve Championship title, we received a really nice 2 1/2 inch USDF silver medal on a red ribbon. That was quite a surprise. Now that I know about them, I'd like to earn some more All Breeds medals! Gold would be nice....
Looking at Piper this morning, it is a little difficult to imagine the woolly black warmblood will be ready to compete again in four months time, but that is part of this year's game plan. Well, that's only if he does not sell before then. (Click here to view Piper's online for sale ad.)
And the plan for Big Ben is for him to enjoy lots of dressage arena time before he is sold. (Click here to view Ben's online for sale ad.)
For another youngster in our barn, Jeddien's daughter Bea, training begins in earnest this year.
And finally, we have a number of students who will be competing this year, training for and pursuing their own riding & competition goals. Whether their goal is to perfect 20 meter circles at home, develop a more confident trail horse, have a few enjoyable outtings with their horse, or compete in the 2011 USDF Regional Championships, we'll have fun working on progress and success together.
Today, January 1st, 2011, it is a whooping 55 degrees outside!!!! Our woolly horses are outside, rolling in the melting snow, and enjoying a sneak preview of weather not meant to arrive in New Hampshire for another few months. It's all a bit surreal.
When your horse is a wonderful dressage partner, one with whom you have enjoyed years of dressage education, fun, and success, the retirement of that amazing equine can a difficult thing to accept, embrace, and enjoy.
Since the 2009 USDF Regional Championships, Jeddien has not competed. Training continued, but with Piper coming along well in his training and two youngsters in the pipeline (including Jeddien's daughter!), it has been easier to accept that Jeddien is pushing 20 years old, struggles to maintain her girlish figure, and quite frankly has nothing else to prove in life.
And so, without planning, without any fanfare, Jeddien quietly retired from competition. She still gets ridden occasionally, but no longer is she asked to try to work towards the next level, Prix Saint Georges. She continues to go hacking, which she totally loves, and happily lets my dressage students have a feel of the upper level movements.
Surprisingly, and as a magical Swan Song for the old mare, Jeddien was accepted into the "Dressage Today" magazine's video clinic with Axel Steiner, "O" judge. She is in the November 2010 issue, page 16. The photo Mr. Steiner and his wife, professional photographer Terri Miller, critique is shown above. I smile everytime I see it. Carole MacDonald always seems to capture perfect snapshots!
Jeddien's History
Jeddien (Bustron x Uriant) was born in Holland June 21, 1991 on a small sheep farm. She and her mother, Enia, were the only horses on the farm. Interestingly, Jeddien truly hates sheepskin touching her body, squealing and kicking out at it. I'm sure there's quite a story there....
With the help of Frits Donderwinkel, I imported Jeddien into the UK in March 1994 after viewing two videos of her. She passed the vet check and I purchased her for a mere 5500 UK pounds, about $8000. I started her and trained her. We competed and won together in the UK through Advanced Medium Level. We qualified for the Regional Championships, both Summer and Winter Seasons, nearly every year and competed at Medium Level Restricted and Medium Elite at the Winter Championships at Solihull. When my husband and I moved to the USA in 2005, Jeddien came with us, as did Piper Warrior.
In the UK, Jeddien and I trained with Robert Pickles, FBHS. We attended clinics with Christine Stuckleberger and Jan Nivelle for dressage, a Parelli UK instructor, and Tim Stockdale for showjumping. Yes! Showjumping. In one competition at Merrist Wood College, Jeddien earned a double clear ribbon on her first time out over a colored course! She loves to jump!
Once Jeddien understood what was expected, she won the majority of the competitions in which she was entered. She even had her photo in UK's "Horse and Hound" magazine twice! In her final show at the 2009 USDF Region 8 Championships, she walked away with two 3rd Level Reserve Championship titles!
In 2006, Jeddien gave birth to a stunning little chestnut filly who was sporting four even white socks! Born with legwraps on! Bea Yewtee is by the late "Da Vinci", a gorgeous gray FEI stallion who stood at Cornell University in his later years.
It was a year later that Jeddien first competed in the USA, starting at 3rd Level, then 4th, and for one weekend, 1st and 2nd, and only then so I could earn my USDF Bronze Medal. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, she competed in the USDF Region 8 Championships at 3rd Level Open / Professional, coming 3rd, 7th, and Reserve Champion respectively.
Jeddien was also the very first horse several riders ever rode, including my husband who went on to train at a British Horse Society approved Riding Center in the UK. Jeddien is thoughtful and careful with all new riders and has been the source of a lot of smiles. Most recently, she let a first time young rider invent his own game of equestrian soccer where they, together, scored goals with her big Parelli ball. He thought it was much more fun than doing 20 meter circles at the walk!
The Future
So now, the plan is simple. We will continue to ensure Jeddien enjoys her life, well into her senior years, on our horse farm in New Hampshire. She will continue to be pastured in the daytime with her little gang of geldings and stabled indoors in the evenings. She will, of course, continue to run up vet bills, dental bills, saddle fitting bills, and farrier bills. It's a good life, an easy life, and one which she enjoys.
Nope, there was no retirement party for Jeddien. But some fellow competitors have commented to me about her absence from the show ring... Relief, maybe? I like to think so. :-)
Jeddien is a wonderful unique character, a true chestnut mare, a real star and prima donna dressage queen, and my Horse of a Lifetime! As Axel Steiner put it, I have been blessed to have such a willing and generous equine partner! She is also a beloved member of our family, now and always.
In a recent issue of Horse & Hound magazine, a new rather chic piece of equestrian apparel caught my eye. Made by Equetech, the same company in the UK that made some of my favorite competition shirts, it is a waistcoat / vest which looks like a double breasted tailcoat without the sleeves and long tails.
For those looking for more information & statistics about helmets and safety, check out the 
Each year, I get at least two little black books. One as a member of NEDA, the New England Dressage Association. The other as an advertiser in the book. One copy will travel in my "Horse Show Briefcase", the other will move from room to room in the house.
NEDA members who are new to dressage will also find lots of basic USDF rules information. Reading the USEF Dressage Rulebook is still highly advised, but the Omnibus provides a good quick start. They will also find listings of some of the local Schooling Dressage Shows.
By the end of 2010, Piper Warrior and I had achieved our 2010 dressage goals, and then some. We made it to the 2010 USDF Region 8 Championships in 3 categories! And we finished 2010 with several National & New England Dressage Association (NEDA) year end awards, including:
The 2010 NEDA Year End Championship for USDF Freestyles came with a massive championship ribbon and a gorgeous embroidered Mountain Horse jacket. Very nice!
Looking at Piper this morning, it is a little difficult to imagine the woolly black warmblood will be ready to compete again in four months time, but that is part of this year's game plan. Well, that's only if he does not sell before then. (Click here to view 
In 2006, Jeddien gave birth to a stunning little chestnut filly who was sporting four even white socks! Born with legwraps on! Bea Yewtee is by the late "Da Vinci", a gorgeous gray FEI stallion who stood at Cornell University in his later years.
