The spanish riding school at Wembley this wknd...thoughts?

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Farma

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I just wondered if anybody else went and what their thoughts were on some of the performances?
While some of it was inspiring esp the standard of the riders, some of it ...not so much, I just wondered if anybody else thought the same?
 
i thought it was ok but wouldn't rush back. I don't like Nicky Chapman so that didn't help. I did find Lee and Carl entertaining but as for the spanish RS, once you have seen one white stallion you have seen them all!
 
Farma said:
I just wondered if anybody else went and what their thoughts were on some of the performances?
While some of it was inspiring esp the standard of the riders, some of it ...not so much, I just wondered if anybody else thought the same?
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Phew, I thought it was just me!

Quote supertrooper: Why were you disappointed? It was all very samey (if that is a word?!) I think I would of enjoyed it more if they had actually spoken to the audience and explained how they trained their horses to do x,y and z instead of parading around.

I really enjoyed Carl and Lee's performances, they both just have such presence in the arena and wish they could of done some more!!
 
But they have to imagine their audience would have little or no knowledge of horses. I personally think anyone with a little knowledge would be bored but I bet if you ask the same question in NL there will be a lot more happier customers.
 
I didn't find it samey. I thought it was beautiful, I was fascinated the whole way through and I loved the music and the history behind it also. I would go again, I thought it was inspirational.
I enjoyed also Carl and Lee, thought they were fab but in a totally different way. They were modern and I thought it went well with the tradition of the Spanish horses. It's amazing to think in the 1500's it would have looked the same, incredible to see where dressage has come from.
On a separate note I though Lee did a great job on a horse that was clearly NOT a dressage horse, he really showed his class as a rider.
Big thumbs up from me!
 
I didn't go this time but saw them about 5 years ago at the NEC.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, although some parts I can see why you might think they were samey but it was basically fascinating. I did think it was beautiful to watch though. It would be interesting to hear a commentary/explanation but that would make it a very different show. What they are doing is an artistic performance, it should be equivalent to going to the ballet. They are not offering a clinic or demo. If you go expecting to learn about dressage then you will probably be disappointed as that isn't the aim, just as you don't go to see swan lake and expect to come home having learnt how to do a pirouette. As a performance, and as art, taken as a whole with the music as well as the dressage it is a wonderful spectacle.

If you would like to learn more about high school dressage and have more of an interactive experience I can recommend a trip to the Royal School of Equestrian Art in Jerez Spain. Not the same as the Spanish Riding School of Vienna but you can see high school dressage performed on Iberian horses, some of their session include a commentary, and if you go at the right time you can also watch them training which includes seeing some of the apprentices riding and being taught by the instructors. I've been twice and watching the training was absolutely brilliant!
 
I didnt find it samey but I have to say there where parts when some of the horses were so tight in the neck with the side reins I found it uncomfortable viewing. Perhaps there is a reason for this I am unaware of?
Generally the riding was totally stunning though and of a standard that you rarely see.
 
Totally agree that it should be looked at as a performance. I went about 10 years ago to the actual school in Vienna - maybe in that setting with the grand chandeliers etc it makes it seem like more of an artistic performance. But it was very impressive and not at all samey.
 
My husband and I attended one of their performances this September in Vienna. We also took a tour of the stables and watched their morning exercise. To be frank, we were a little bit disappointed about the pure dressage bits because we are used to see such high class horses in competitions nowadays (and as dressage riders ourselves, we tend to see every little fault easily) they seemed to us like sweet but average (and a little bit plain) dressage horses. But the other parts of the performance (airs on the ground, long-reining, quadrille etc.) were nevertheless breathtaking and inspirational. It was also nice to see horses playing up, bucking and generally being pains in the a... :p I guess horses will be horses no matter what their breed or training is :D
One of the photos I took during the show (it is strictly forbidden to take photos so it's not the best of pictures, sorry!)

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I thought Lee and Carl were fantastic. I wasn't so impressed with The Spanish Riding School, I felt they just came in and 'shuffled' around for a while then went out. Then for a few demonstrations they all ambled around the arena as though they were schooling at home and you had to concentrate and hope you could gather who was going to do a certain movement.(Airs above ground demo)
Apart from the quadrille at the end there didn't seem to be any structure.

Wouldn't go again, but I would go and watch the freestyle to music with the lights and funky music
 
Thank god it wasnt just me then! Everyone I have spoken to has said how great it was but I was very under whelmed by friday nights performance.

I thought the spanish horses dressage was very average (although I am no expert but maybe compering to Carl Hesters horse that was first in?), the horses shuffled in, one looked very short striding compared to its colleagues (lame on both fronts perhaps?), all were woolly, one had a sore/mark on its branding (and at 23 years old I am guessing this isnt a new brand) and one had a **** stain on its neck. Not what I expected for £65 a ticket really.

Plus as I am on full whinge mode now ... Nikki Chapman is so annoying, and NO Nikki it isnt harder to canter without stirrups than trot so shut up, and Lee Pearsons pony was so fat it was incredible. Moan over.
 
I wonder if having seen very modern masters as a warm-up act took away some of the pleasure for you? I saw them the previous weekend here in Brussels, and was delighted with the performance. There was no warm-up act. I saw them 5 or so years ago in Wembley and thought the performance much better this time. I know there have been a lot of political goings-on, but one upshot seems to be a more crowd-pleasing show. It could however be a venue thing, I think Foret National where they showed here is a lot smaller than Wembley so gives a different feel. There was quite a lot of voice-over during the show here, explained a lot, and the footage they showed of the stud was stunning. I was also pleased to see some tail-swishing going on, and the odd bit of naughtiness, as one poster said, proof they are actually horses! I also loved seeing how they built up the power with lateral work and piaffe before the airs above the ground. For those very interested in this kind of show there will be a show of the four classical schools in Paris next year: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182475875176330
 
The Spanish Riding School do not profess to be a demonstration of competition dressage but showing the art of classical dressage. The horses are not bred for competition and are not the big flashy movers that we see in that sphere, their forte is collection and should be appreciated for what they are and what they stand for.
The pas de deux and the quadrille are about the symmetry and timing, the work in hand, on long reins and the pas seul is extremely skillful - to perform all the grand prix movements WALKING at the horses quarters is true understanding between horse and handler as is riding the same movements with one hand (and no altering the reins).
The side reins have to be at the length required for the extreme collection of the airs above the ground so are short for walking before and after. They can't be forever shortening and lengthening them in the demonstration and the horses are trained and conditioned to cope. The walking about is the preparation and recovery, not just wandering about and they can't all be performing their bit at the same time or the audience wouldn't see half of it.
The analogy of the ballet is excellent and those who expected to learn or wanted "flash" were perhaps a little misguided, however this art form has had and still has a great influence in the competition world.
 
oldvic said:
The Spanish Riding School do not profess to be a demonstration of competition dressage but showing the art of classical dressage. The horses are not bred for competition and are not the big flashy movers that we see in that sphere, their forte is collection and should be appreciated for what they are and what they stand for.
The pas de deux and the quadrille are about the symmetry and timing, the work in hand, on long reins and the pas seul is extremely skillful - to perform all the grand prix movements WALKING at the horses quarters is true understanding between horse and handler as is riding the same movements with one hand (and no altering the reins).
The side reins have to be at the length required for the extreme collection of the airs above the ground so are short for walking before and after. They can't be forever shortening and lengthening them in the demonstration and the horses are trained and conditioned to cope. The walking about is the preparation and recovery, not just wandering about and they can't all be performing their bit at the same time or the audience wouldn't see half of it.
The analogy of the ballet is excellent and those who expected to learn or wanted "flash" were perhaps a little misguided, however this art form has had and still has a great influence in the competition world.
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Exactly!
 
Agree with old vic.
It's not dressage like it is today, it's where dressage came from. The thing I found fascinating is that if we were watching a performance 500 years ago it would have looked the same, with the same type of horses.
Classical dressage comes from training horses for war, the control they had over the movements and in the quadrille was insane, in those days having that control would have meant the difference between life and death.
Of course it's not going to be everyones cup of tea but I think you do have to look at is for what it is which is not modern dressage with warmbloods. It's an incredible display of horsemanship, the sort of horsemanship that won battles, built empires and shaped our world to make it the way it is today. It's our history and our history with horses. We are extremely lucky we get to see it, that those people go to the effort to keep it alive and we should enjoy it and support it.
It's not just some White horse 'shuffling' around, that shocks me :(.
 
Well said Firewell.

The SRS don't do any competitive dressage as it conflicts with what they do, but the Royal School of Equestrian Art in Jerez do compete, and have had some success although they acknowledge that what they do and the horses they use are not the ideal for modern competative dressage.
 
I totally second the recommendation of the Real Escuela in Jerez de la Frontera. The training sessions are open every weekday morning when there is no show. A tour of the stables, tackroom and saddlery is included in the admission (which I think is currently 10 euros.) But the best thing is just to sit and watch the students being taught - sometimes by one of the professional riders who is also schooling their own horse simultaneously. Riders and horses from the school have been in the Spanish dressage team in recent years, and the head rider Rafael Soto is a major local hero. The PRE horses are gorgeous and I find the whole thing very inspiring. The show is pretty good too, but as some said about the Spanish Riding School, it is absolutely a performance, not a clinic.
 
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