Why is dressage such a precious sport?

[LEC]

Reading about dressage turnout etc - why is it such a precious sport? Out of all the horse sports they have the least competition prize money even top eventers can now earn more! Its also a much smaller sport than all the other Olympic disciplines yet people seem to be paranoid about them.

Sjers, NH racers and polo ponies are worth far more money yet seem to have far more normal lives?

 

[Madam_max]

I have no idea. Will be interested to see the replies.

 

[BigRed]

I don't know why you think a top dressage horse is not worth much money, I think you will find the top class horses change hands for shed loads of money. I have watched horses sell at Verden Auction in Germany for 500,000 Euros and they haven't even been in a competition yet !

 

[scrumpygus]

I suppose that with dressage its all about the 'show' so the turnout of the rider and horse affects the overall asthetic view of the dessage test. Whereas when you watch showjumping its more about action so people care a ittle less about the turnout?
Just a guess.

 

[millitiger]

i don't think lec was saying they aren't worth much money- just that in general to buy a top sjer/ racehorse etc would be far more expensive than buying a top dressage horse.

 

[oofadoofa]

Perhaps it's the sort of people that do dressage

 

[LEC]

I am not saying they are not worth a lot of money but the sport itself is worth nothing (prizemoney etc) - too me its a ridiculous inflated value and I have no understanding of why. Laura B goes out and spends £1 million on GP horses but why? Its bonkers and makes no sense. Kauto Star cost less than that and has won over £2 million. In fact for the same money you could have Kauto and Master Minded when they were first picked up!!

 

[milliepops]

[ QUOTE ]
I suppose that with dressage its all about the 'show' so the turnout of the rider and horse affects the overall asthetic view of the dessage test. Whereas when you watch showjumping its more about action so people care a ittle less about the turnout?
Just a guess.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the post refers to the other kind of turnout, i.e. time in the field, as opposed to beautiful plaits...

 

[ihatework]

It's because the white bandages that are surgically attached to a dressage horses legs get muddy when the horse is turned out!

 

[Halfstep]

[ QUOTE ]
I am not saying they are not worth a lot of money but the sport itself is worth nothing (prizemoney etc) - too me its a ridiculous inflated value and I have no understanding of why. Laura B goes out and spends £1 million on GP horses but why? Its bonkers and makes no sense. Kauto Star cost less than that and has won over £2 million. In fact for the same money you could have Kauto and Master Minded when they were first picked up!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess it is going to the Olympics, winning a european medal, etc. And they can afford it......
prize money is pants but a good dressage rider even if they don't have Bechtolsheimer - like money can earn a good living - look at Anky, who is the wealthiest sports person in Holland.

 

[LEC]

Anky is richer than footballers? **Lec tries to think of another famous dutch sportsperson**

 

[ester]

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps it's the sort of people that do dressage

[/ QUOTE ]

you got those white bandages yet

 

[JDChaser]

It's about winning the competitions, not the prize money. Like why owners of football clubs will pay 20 million quid for a player (or whatever

) so they can get together a team to win all the titles. As far as i know they aren't playing for money in football?

 

[ester]

http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup/FACupPages/FACupPrizeFund20082009.aspx

1.8 million to the winner plus the television fees for each match.

 

[JDChaser]

sorry i spoke then!

ETA: Allthough.. 1.5mill doesn't really make a 20 million quid transfer fee worth it, does it?!

 

[FigJam]

[ QUOTE ]
As far as i know they aren't playing for money in football?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not as such, but by being a winning team you can earn a fortune in tv deals, sponsorship, merchandise, season tickets etc.

I've always wondered this too. Although (as I've said before), in my mind ALL horses have a value and just because my horse's market value may be a fraction of Totilas'/Denman's/Tamarillo's, she needs the same care and would cost the same to fix if broken. No matter the horse, the injury affects it the same as any other horse, why is it more ok for one horse to be injured just because it's worth less on the market?

I think all horses deserve decent turnout, I know land availability can restrict this, but surely that just means taking on less horses to the yard in the first place? They are sociable, living animals who are designed to be outdoors. Reading the other thread about horses only ever getting out to graze in hand or in small pens with high mesh fencing made me feel really sad.

 

[ester]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry i spoke then!

ETA: Allthough.. 1.5mill doesn't really make a 20 million quid transfer fee worth it, does it?!

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, no I couldnt believe it was nothing so just did a google (should be working really!

)but that was less than I thought it might be!

 

[dressager]

Blimey good dressage horses cost a fortune, most still regard dressage as elitist. As these horses are big movers and hence prone to injury it's not surprising they're often wrapped in cotton wool. There's a big difference between a racehorse being raced for a few years compared with dressage, where the general aim is to keep the horse sound and working into it's teens.

I don't think dressage enthusiasts do it just for the money like in racing etc, it's so much more than that! The joy of owning such a stunning, well trained animal is priceless. And I know loads of dressage people that do turn their horses out, yes even the advanced ones!

 

[burtie]

No-one's told my mud covered oik he's precious, but then we only compete for fun and enjoyment!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

first of all i think a top dressage horse costs just as much as top sj'ers.....iv heard of a few changing hands for a good few million.....but thats by the by......

i dont get it either.....i couldnt keep any horse cooped up 24/7 and all of mine go out, and always will, even when (not if, when!!!!) star gets to GP he will go out at 7am and come in at 3pm. however im never going to be in the situation of having spent hundreds of thousands or millions on a horse so will never have that sort of investment to protect, maybe id feel differently if i did.

perhaps im also more sentimental-Star spent a lot of time stabled as a racer, so i feel he now deserves as natural a life as i can give him without restricting my competiton aims.....

 

[siennamum]

I know dressage riders who deliberately overfeed & underexercise their horses to retain that 'explosive' element. You couldn't do that into a fence, but if you never leave an arena then you are reasonably safe (apart from prizegiving)
I suppose if you do make a horse that loopy, and you breed it to move in an exagerrated and impractical way then you are running a bigger risk of it inhuring itself.
The other element to my mind (and this will pi** some people off) Is that you can do dressage with less knowledge of horse care than other disciplines, you can succeed with horses that are treated as machines, especially if you have lots of money. Certainly I know some dressage people who couldn't gallop across a field on a sharp horse or jump a stick but can win novice BD.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

yes, but i doubt they would win above adv med.....you need good balance, good timing and good knowledge of how to set a horse up once you get above that level, in order to have the test flow and thus get good marks. unless said numpty novice has got a trianer tuning the horse up 2 or 3 times a week even the most expensive schoolmaster wont heave their sorry ass round a PSG for more than a couple of shows, as they will realise the rider isnt in charge/doesnt have a clue and will slowly regress to the riders level

and TBH just because someone isnt brave enough to gallop or jump, doesnt mean they arent an extremely skilled, and talented rider, they just prefer to get their kicks from a precision sport rather than an adrenalin sport if you know what i mean-some people love to jump a huge fence, i get the same rush from perfecting a half pass.

i dont think you can make such sweeping statements but i guess people do......dressage riders are wimps....eventers cant see a stride.....showjumpers cant do flatwork........

 

[LEC]

Why do rubbish riders like Katie Price and Toni Terry choose dressage?

 

[Gamebird]

[ QUOTE ]
Anky is richer than footballers? **Lec tries to think of another famous dutch sportsperson**

[/ QUOTE ]

Ruud Guillit (showing my age and lack of ability to spell in Dutch) and was Thingy van Nistelroy Dutch? There was a darts player called Roland Scholten, but seeing as he was also landlord of our local in Stamford I suspect he was far from rich!

Thought of a couple more but turns out they're Belgian

. Yes, famous Belgians!

 

[FrodoBeutlin]

In a way I agree, you can get to the top in dressage with money alone (or almost alone) -- a few examples spring to mind

As for the turnout issue, I don't know -- I like to think that I will always turn my own horses out but then again, I have never spent and will probably never spend 200k on a horse, so I really cannot say that I'd do the same if I owned a *really* expensive horse. Probably I would, but as I am not in that situation, I think it's unfair of me to judge.

Another thing we tend to forget is that a lot of dressage horses coming from the continent might actually not be used to being turned out at all. I remember when a friend of mine tried to introduce her older, advanced horse to the paddock -- he genuinely hated it, he was incredibly stressed and things didn't improve, not even after a number of days and in the end she decided to keep him stabled, which was what he was used to and what he clearly preferred.

As for prices, I really don't think dressage horses are cheaper than sjers! At the top end they easily go for a few millions, and top-quality youngsters are incredibly expensive. Indeed, I would say that at the auctions, 99% of the time the price highlight is a dressage horse, almost never a showjumper

 

[only_me]

cos its the "safest" form of riding, apparantly

plus the fact that they get to bling their ponies up in pretty pink jewels

 

[jessamess]

I think it's stupid how people think people choose dressage coz it's ''easy'' or ''safe''

People choose it coz thats what they LOVE to do and have a passion for it like someone who loves eventing or sjing... I show coz I LOVE it and I wouldn't do it other wise... I'm not worried about the prize money ect ect I love the deep level of preparation and detail that goes into producing top class show horses and the feeling you get from it

Alot of people just see 'their' sport as the best (as you would) and think that in 'their' sport the horses are treated to best ect. I know people who have sjer's and they never get turned out, my friends eventer never goes out either.... I know dressage horses though that live out in the summer!??!?!

Top horses in ANY discipline cost ALOT I mean I'm in the 'arab showing world' and a top horse UNBROKEN was sold to Europe for £15 MILLION!!!! ANY horses cost alot at top level!!!!

And someone said ''I know people who over feed and don't exercise dressage horses to give the explosive movement'' But in show jumping you can get those special boots that make horses kick out or what not so whats the difference!?!?!?

I know a show jumper that can't ride my show horse either!??! She can't get him in a correct outline ect ect people learn to ride different horses for their discipline doesn't mean to say they are a better rider than a dressage rider!??!?!

People do dressage because that is what they LOVE to do... Like you eventers do eventing coz YOU love it!?!?!?

xx

 

[only_me]

heck, not being judgemental! I said "safer, APPARANTLY" key word there - even working with horses on the ground is risky!

I meant that the celeb riders are choosing it because it is the "safer" (in speech marks!!) option - which do you count as safer for a high paid celeb - event or dressage?!

Please dont get really upity at me!! And i event for fun too you know!! I also do dressage for fun (actually, more for entertainment puposes when sending tapes into you've been framed)

 

[jessamess]

I know I wasn't being all mad ha ha!!! Just saying ha ha I think celeb's is a different story as they don't want to break many nails on the xc courses would they

HA HA!!!

I think ie Katie Price likes dressage as it seemed as like a 'high end' sport isn't it ha ha

xx

 

[CoachinaCar]

My horse is International Dressage Horse, he goes out in the field everyday, hacks a couple of times a week, jumps once a fortnight.

I think one of the worries is the length of time it takes to produce a horse to grand prix dressage in comparison to other diciplines and finding the right type of horse, if a horse can jump it does not matter if it is a pokey mover but a dressage horse has to have good natural movement, finding that with a good trainable temperarment is not easy so once you have found one you are going to look after it very carefully, they usually have the best of care and are turned out in pens rather than paddocks so that they cant get up to much speed and are encouraged to settle to eat rather than go mad.

I turned mine out in a normal size field but kept an old pony to turn out with him as an anchor to keep him calm however my thoughts were that if he cant run round a field or hack out or jump without injuring himself then he was unlikely to be a good dressage horse either.