A little background: I’m primarily a jumper rider with my own horse and a lease at a strictly h/j barn. I’ve been wanting to try dressage to help strengthen my flat work and learn some different aspects of flat work to improve my riding since it’s the foundation of jumping. I would ideally like to find a low level schoolmaster to lease and possibly do a show or two. I already have a trainer in mind that I trained with a long time ago but I have not contacted her yet.
I will be sticking with current trainer for jumping and nothing will change with my involvement in that. I would like to have a plan of action before I start talking to current trainer and contact dressage trainer.
So…
1.) How should I tell current trainer I would like to try dressage? I know I would have to tell her because something would slip out and I wouldn’t want her to feel like I’m going to leave her or I’m planning to. I want her to know that nothing will change with my current involvement at current barn but I know that in h/j land that most trainers expect 100% loyalty.
2.) Should I take a couple lessons with dressage trainer on one of her horses before I dive right in to looking for a lease? Or should I just contact her and tell her I would like to find a lease?
3.) Can I use my jump saddle (at least in the beginning)? I’ll eventually buy a dressage saddle if I get really into it but in the meantime does a jump saddle work?
4.) For an older low level school master with some maintenance, what price point would I be looking at?
5.) How do dressage show prices compared to USEF h/j shows? I’m assuming they’re probably similar.
6.) Are there any faux pas I should avoid specific to dressage as I begin my journey?
Sorry if some of these questions are dumb and/or asked frequently.
Just tell her what you wrote. Don’t make it sound like a big deal. You are planning to be just as involved as ever with your jumper but looking to expand your horizons in addition. That’s all she needs to know.
Yes! If she has a horse you can take a few lessons on, regardless of level/training, it would be immensely helpful for you to make sure you gel with her. It will feel weird and new and wrong at times, so don’t let that deter you. Make sure you like how she teaches and feel like you are learning.
Yes. No reason you can’t learn dressage in a jump saddle. They’re even legal at shows through 4th level. That said, saddle fit is very important- moreso in dressage when the rider spends lots of time sitting, so don’t be surprised if she asks you to ride her horse in the saddle that has been fitted to him.
This depends entirely on what area of the country, and what availability is like in your market. Leases are harder to find in dressage than h/j land. For an older horse with some maintenance that could teach you training and first level, you may be able to find a free lease (with you paying all expenses/maintenance).
Generally speaking, cheaper, but not always. At a big rated show, you might pay $50 per class, and show twice per day at training level. If it’s a Saturday-Sunday show, $200 for classes. Another 50-75 for office fees, drug fee, etc. Another $200 for a stall. Then your shipping and trainer fees obviously.
So, you currently have a horse and you also lease a horse (so you’re riding 2 horses) and you want to do a second lease on a dressage schoolmaster? Are the two horses at the same barn? So the dressage schoolmaster would likely be at a different barn because you say the current barn is H/J only?
I’ll start with the saddle since that’s the only piece I feel I can comment on.
You can start with your jump saddle, but you may find that:
It doesn’t fit whatever horse you’re riding. Especially if you’re riding someone else’s horse, try to use the saddle the horse is already being ridden in.
The stirrup bars are too far forward for you to get your leg under you, so your saddle is actually working against you
It’s not so comfortable when you’re riding with longer stirrups (suggestion: lengthen your stirrups over a number of rides)
It may encourage you to tip forward, so again, you’ll be fighting the saddle
The dressage saddle may feel weird at first. You might feel like your thighs are being pushed down, and that you’re locked in place in the seat, and that you’re reaching for the stirrups. It can be a very different feel, and what you like in a dressage saddle when you start might not be what you like once you are more used to it.
For example: I started my dressage as an eventer. I had Passier AP jump saddle. It had no blocks behind the knee, so I was able to get my leg back without issue, but I still had a tendency to tip forward. Then I bought my first Dressage saddle. Also a Passier. An OLD Passier, so it had NO thigh blocks, a pretty flat seat, and a slightly forward flap. I could actually jump in it if I wanted to. Fast forward a bunch of years and I am now riding in a dressage saddle with a much larger thigh block than I ever thought I’d like, a pretty straight flap and a much deeper seat than I ever thought I’d like. It also happens to be a treeless saddle, but that’s because my current horse likes it. My stirrups still aren’t so long that I’m reaching for them like some folks I see, but I’m comfortable in it. I like the security of the slightly shorter stirrup since horsie tends to have an occasional moment of insanity and I prefer to stay in the saddle.
How many times a week do you ride? If time and money are not constraints, if you can ride two horses a day, if trainer can ride your jumpers on dressage day, go for it. If you are working 9 to 5 on a budget, not really feasible
There are not very many beginner level dressage horses out there. But you sound like you are already a competent rider, and most dressage barns will have a school master they can use for competent riders changing disciplines.
As far as lessons versus leasing, you can sound all that out when you interview various coaches. In general, dressage programs are less managed than h/j and the riders need to develop good schooling skills.
Coming from h/j your big challenge will be sitting the canter and learning to sit the lengthened trot. You may need several longe lessons to get this. Most h/j riders have learned to get out of the tack. In dressage, this translates to the dreaded “tipping forward.”
The dressage horse will have his own saddle. Fit is super important for a dressage horse. You won’t be allowed to bring your own random saddle unless it is magically a perfect fit. Dressage also goes better without sheepskin and thinlines and bump up pads getting in the way.
If you want to prep for dressage practise riding the sitting canter.
Any horse can be used for dressage. If you are doing flatwork at the hunter jumper barn you are already doing dressage.
If it is your own horse I do not see why you cannot trailer your own horse to the dressage instructor.
The easiest is to have a lesson on the dressage instructor’s horse. I do not really see the point in having 3 different horses to ride. You are better off riding the same horse every day than 3 horses once or twice a week.
Well, for sure any horse can do dressage, but OP has not elaborated on what level she is currently competing at with her jumper. It might not be ideal to haul her jumper offsite (if she even has the equipment to do that) once a week if she’s competing grand prix on him. If OP wants to learn dressage, she has the time and the resources, why not lease a schoolmaster? Especially if OP wants to really learn dressage rather than just improve her and current jumper’s flatwork. We tell people all the time on here that a older schoolmaster is a excellent way to learn.
OP - just be up front with current trainer, outlining what you have here. You’re an adult - you get to decide what is the best for your continuing education. A trainer that is secure should be fine if you tell them you are not looking to leave the h/j world, you just want to get a more dressage specific education in addition to your current training.
As others have said, somewhat dependent on where you are located, a lower level schoolmaster is typically leased on a care lease - i.e. you’re paying the expenses, but not a lease fee in addition, unless it is a really special horse. Especially if you’re okay with some older horse maintenance.
Where you may find issues is finding someone willing to do a offsite lease, if you have a barn that you’d like to base out of.
I think you’re going to find that there are fewer faux pas to be committed at a dressage barn than a h/j barn.
You’ll find that riders are often more bitchy about riding alone or with only one other horse. It shouldn’t matter, but after attempting for weeks on end to work on half pass lines with other riders who cannot be bothered to stop staring at their horse’s neck long enough to pay attention to where they are going (you know that head might fall off if you don’t stare at it the whole time) it gets tiresome. Our “courses” use the whole ring including the rail, so it’s more difficult to stay out of the way by staying on the rail
Your attire while schooling is usually less scrutinized - clean and functional usually works rather than being sure you have polished boots and hunter hair with a net over it. You’re welcome to dress as you have been, but you won’t get the side eye for not.
Generally, be considerate, clean up after yourself, and stay observant and you’ll be fine.
Saddle-wise, you can start out in your jump saddle, but it likely depends on two things. One - the configuration for you - blocks and position of the stirrup bars could be very limiting. Two - if you lease, particularly a schoolmaster, the owner may be particular about the way the saddle fits and want approval over what saddle you use with the horse.
I haven’t shown h/j, but my understanding is that depending on the rating of the shows you’ve been going to, it may be comparable or slightly cheaper. You’ll usually ride in a couple tests a day at about $50 per, office fee of about $40, extraneous fees that’ll add up to somewhere less than $100, and stabling at about $200 for the weekend. Your trainer will have their own fee structure, but unless it is a very fancy program, those fees will probable be lower. Paid grooms are much less common, stable decorations are usually less elaborate and I’ve never paid for them, though there is often a more “everyone pitches in to set up” mentality. Dressage people in my experience don’t do a crapload of extra stalls you’re expected to split. My barn once took 12 horses and we did it with 3 tack/feed stalls.
We have a high level jumper around here who competes dressage on the same horse (and lots of lower/mid level jumpers do the same, but it is unusual to have someone at a high level in both).
Lots of people and horses perform at a fairly high level in both jumpers and dressage: eventers.
But for someone new to dressage it absolutely makes sense to find a dressage specialist horse for lessons rather than try to put dressage buttons on a jumper. Also the jumper trainer is not going to like the jumper going out to another barn to get dressage training that could interfere with how the jumper trainer rides.
Good lower level dressage training helps with jumping. Bad dressage training messes them up. Be 100% sure what you’ve got before letting them train your own horse.
