Classical Attraction Dressage Society

Classical Attraction Dressage Society Dressage with a Purpose

PRESIDENT, Cathy Suffecool VICE PRESIDENT, Stephanie Kame SECRETARY, Claudia Grimes TREASURER, David Crawford EMAIL, cadsrider@gmail.com WEBSITE, www.cadsdressage.org

by Cathy Suffecool

I have a question for you. When you were just starting to ride and just learning about all the different types of riding, how many of you thought “Dressage? I’ll never use that when I ride!” Kind of like when you had to take Geometry in school, still using that?

What if I told you that there is a style of riding that is being referred to as ‘Dressage with a purpose’? Yes, you read that correctly. Dressage with a purpose! It doesn’t matter what saddle you use, whether you wear jeans or tall boots, a pearl button shirt or a dressage coat. This is truly an amazing sport to watch grow in our area.

I know, I can hear some of you now. “I like riding obstacles.” “I like riding outside in a field not an indoor arena.” “I want to challenge myself and my horse” Is that about right?

How many of you have had to open and close a gate while you’re riding? Cross a bridge? Pick up a large branch and move it while mounted? Ride around trees that are close together? Let’s not forget that really scary thing! You know the one that looks normal to you but looks like it could breathe fire to your horse.

These are some of the challenges that you can work with while doing Working Equitation. Classical Attraction Dressage Society (CADS) is proud to be the only club in Ohio that hosts USAWE recognized shows and schooling shows that follow all the national guidelines. We truly feel that if you want to learn the sport, start by learning it correctly and from the top people in the sport.

We’ve held several clinics with Erica and Howard Peet, Wayne Hipsley, and Carlos Carnerio over the past several years. It is so amazing to watch riders come into a clinic that have never done Working Equitation before. They are a little nervous, a little unsure of how their horse will react to the obstacles, kind of like the first day of school. By the end of the day, it’s a whole other story! They’ve started to figure out how to work the different obstacles correctly, how to get their horse to do the obstacle correctly, and the confidence level is way higher than it was at 9 a.m.! The other way to know if people are relaxing into the sport, the volume goes up! More cheering and laughing!

Remember how I compared this to geometry? This is where your ability to make straight lines, both forward and sideways, comes into play. Can your horse stop square? How about carry an 8-foot pole toward a bull? (It only looks scary!) And we’ve all been out for a ride where we may have to have these skills.

Want to see how it’s done? On Aug. 21 and 22, CADS will be having a Working Equitation Schooling Show. Our judge will be Erica Peet for the entire weekend. Each day will be its own complete show. Plan on coming to join us and see just what the excitement is all about!

View From Cheap Seats (continued)

unassuming intrusion bumbled my routine just enough. I’d absent-mindedly shut the tail gate on my way back to the cab. While unhitching a gooseneck trailer. At a horse show. Not at home. Not alone. I did it here, now, all because my normally lonely and tedious procedure was unexpectedly accompanied by innocent banter with a friend. My simple act became a calamity the moment I heard the thud and Bessie shuddered to a halt. Reality hit me with exactly what I’d done. And I’d done it good, too. Not only had I run the tailgate firmly against the kingpin but the impact bent the center into a jagged point. Now, the handle’s release mechanism couldn’t let go of the tail gate pins!

I tugged. I stood hunched on the bumper trying to power lift the handle with all my strength. I backed away from the coupler and tried to push the tail gate open with my feet from within the bed, my body braced against the kingpin assembly. Meanwhile, my buddy had been waiting for me to appear from behind the barns so that he could thread his trailer’s way back next to mine. When several minutes passed, he jogged back to determine the hold up. I’d like to believe his words were sincere when he said it could happen to anyone but the initial look on his face said anything but. He was kind enough to yank open my bed so I could slink out from under the trailer hitch with my own tail gate between my legs. I spent the whole show hiding Bessie’s britches to protect her dignity. This was all on me. And it is still by far the most humiliating error I’ve ever made with a trailer and I was first to bump into our own barn backing a client’s horse trailer…with the client in the passenger seat…while instructing her on how to back up her puny two-horse trailer!

MOVING? TAKE THE CORRAL WITH YOU! Place Mailing Label Here (from last issue)

New Address ________________________________________________ City _______________________________ State ____ Zip ___________ Mail to: Horsemen’s Corral, PO Box 32, Lodi, OH 44254 or email address change to: michelle@thehorsemenscorral.com