Putting dressage to the test

Ever wondered why some people win time after time? Polly Bryan investigates what goes into being a great test rider - and how you can become one

- Polly Bryan

WHAT does it mean to be a good dressage rider? Many would say horsemanship, being able to ride with empathy and feel to guide your horse into a relaxed, correct way of going.

But what does it mean to be a good dressage test rider? It’s about channelling those same qualities in a competitive environment, but what does this involve? What is it that makes the world’s top test riders – think Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Jessica von BredowWerndl – stand out in the ring?

For five-star judge Isobel Wessels, the answer is simple to understand, if less easy to execute.

“Good test riding is about being able to show in the ring the best from the horse that’s available on that day,” she says. “A good test rider knows when they can push for a bit more from their horse, and when they should ask for less. They also know how much they can push, without sacrificing harmony and lightness.”

European gold medallist Gareth Hughes makes the distinction between training a horse to be rideable, “which is all about feel and technique and knowledge”, and the challenge of showing off that rideability while presenting a series of prescribed movements to a panel of judges.

“We can walk, but most of us can’t walk like a model on a runway,” he points out. “A very good test rider can present the lines in a test and be clinical in how they do that, while also letting the horse’s personality shine. It’s an art form.