The Dressage Dales Thread from Last Year.....

[piperpony]

I read the whole thread just now with great interest - seems it was a hot topic at the time and also one very close to my heart!! I found it when I plugged piaffe and dales pony into google.

I was really interested in the debate over extended paces v collection that went on and I wondered how everyone has been getting on with their ponies and the training of them to do more advanced work. I so nearly "there" teaching Piper to piaffe that it's tantalisingly close - hence the googling, I wanted to see if I could find anyone who had er, completed the exercise so to speak. Anyway, yesterday, after having a great ride out on a very "up" and full of himself Piper we were trotting home and suddenly out of nowhere came this extended trot. Piper's one fault is that his brain and his legs whizz along at a great old speed and this really doesn't help with the extensions. Anyway - maybe it really is that thing whereby if the extensions are not there naturally you don't see them until you have the collection?

Also of interest was the debate on instructors to go on with who would take a dales pony seriously. Stephen Clarke I have never been to but have been told he would be good. If you are in Surrey there is a lady called Alison Craig who is just fantastic and the perpatrator of Piper's piaffe - she gave me the guts to try and has fabulous depth of knowledge. There are others I'm sure - the yard "stock" instructor visibly dribbles every time Piper does renvers while he's teaching someone else and mutters that he should be out competing and he's good and well known and very converted to the potential in fat hairy ponies!!!

On that note I'm off to play with the pony!! Would be really, really interested in anyone's thoughts on this and also to hear how everyone is getting on.

Fi

[Debbie]

;D Yes, go out and enjoy the boy!!!

With Blossom (Kilmannan Blossom), she's already done piaffe quite beautifully but not undersaddle. She's done it in the field, and everytime we're doing something in her field (like creating the field shelter, or changing or fixing something like the fence or her water trough), she has to be in the middle of it. When I try to see her off she goes into this HUGE action like she's really going to go somewhere....but never takes off. We end up with piaffe.

All I can say is I've seen her piaffe, and canter in place as a yearling ~ and its MASSIVELY impressive!!!! The only things I am doing as a 'support' at that time, she's keenly wanting to see whatever it is we're doing, so not wanting to leave the area. At the same time I'm giving her motions to vacate the area with emphasis....and we end up with the piaffe.

So totally not helpful for dressage where it is action on command, but there's the little bit of happenstance around Blossom's piaffe.

Good on you for converting that fellow to the hairy's potentials They are built for dressage, and they are quite capable of it. Of course not all, but then, not all Quarter Horses are suited for cutting cattle either.

Hope you hear from the others who've done dressage (or even aspired) with their dales I always love hearing about Piper!!!