NEXT month sees the first anniversary of the online dressage site Interdressage. com, where riders compete via video for rosettes and prize money.
You can enjoy the thrill of competitive riding from the convenience of your own home in the monthly competitions.
So how does it all work?
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It's easy to enter, just visit the website and choose which classes you wish to compete in. You can pay online or by post.
You then video your test and transfer this to disk. Simply post this to Interdressage for judging or, if you are more technically-minded, you can upload your video to You Tube and email Interdressage with your link.
All tests are judged by British Dressage listed judge Glynis Mills. Whether you are without transport to events, suffer from competition nerves or just need some encouragement and positive feedback, this could be of interest to you.
The dressage tests can be downloaded free of charge from the interdressage website or for those who prefer to learn a test in diagram format, they can now be purchased from www. dressagediagrams. com.
The introduction of Style and Performance Tests (a combination of jumping and dressage) to the Interdressage schedule in February this year has proved very popular, catching the eye of Janine Sones from Battsbridgeboxes, specialists in the manufacture of two horse vehicles.
Battsbridgeboxes are now the sponsors of the Battsbridgeboxes Style and Performance Grand Prix offering £150 to the winner in addition to the usual Interdressage prize money offered at 20 per cent of total entries. The Grand Prix will be held in December and is open to all riders attaining 60 per cent or more between now and November in any Interdressage Style and Performance qualifying class.
These tests are designed to encourage the correct approach to jumping in a controlled and assessable way. They are marked in a similar way to a normal dressage test but with added marks for both the horse and rider's jumping technique.
"We hope that we will encourage riders to view show jumping as an extension of dressage rather than as a totally separate discipline. We want to emphasise the importance of balance, suppleness and rhythm when introducing jumps into the equation, " said Karina Hawkridge, freelance riding instructor and founder of www. interdressage. com.
The style and performance tests will include anything up to four or five fences and can be ridden in any tack providing it is correctly used.
Each month there are classes open to Bitless Bridle users as well as any tack classes along with the more traditional snaffle-only classes.
For more information please visit www.interdressage.com
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