I must say, I’m enjoying watching this far more then main event dressage. It’s so much more relatable and real world. The horses are 109x more relaxed too.
If I could dial the clock back 30 years I would have gone this route.
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I can’t believe how silent the audience in the arena is. You can hear every. single. squeak. of the boots against the saddle. Those horses and riders must have ice in their veins to get through their tests. Incredible.
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@Pehsness come to the dark side! I’m back eventing after being out of the saddle for 38 years 
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I was actually contemplating a thread in eventing - “is there baby eventing for chickens?” LOL. My current coach is a retired eventer… I may just have some new aspirations.
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Yes there is!!
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Yes! I compete at the novice level, so jumps no higher than 2’11”. It’s so fun and there are a ton of older adult ammys that compete!
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Possible because the test is only 3rd level equivalent.
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Yes, starter and tadpole divisions are now offered at unrecognized and starter is now a recognized division at many recognized events
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There are also Amoeba classes with jumps max height of 18 inches.
I may have found a new discipline…heck WE has higher jumps.
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It is pretty quiet in there but I also am seeing lots of very happy, relaxed horses. The only tail swishes were on flying changes and not on every horse. I think I saw one horse tense in the jaw (out of the 20-30 we saw) and 1(?) in a double bridle. Really lovely tests and happy horses and riders. 
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Agree! This is fun to watch.
Michael Jung just had a fantastic ride on Chipmunk, but I can’t help but wonder what would have been if Julia still had the ride. 
If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching the Hoof Dreams documentary.
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I think that’s the appeal. This looks achievable with a happy horse.
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Right?? The horses look so alert and focused and just happy. As do the riders. All saying thank you to the gate crew and shrugging off any errors.
I’ve never watched eventing dressage but this is great.
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I haven’t watched much, that’s for sure, but it is a breath of fresh air from a lot of the pure dressage I see at shows (no offense!).
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I’m happy to see happy horses but a third level test ridden conservatively isn’t a super captivating thing for me.
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Lol, I’m loving it.
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Back when Novice was as low as you could go, I considered riding a dressage test a necessary evil to get my ticket punched to do cross country. Then I found fox hunting.
Isn’t it great that we have so many equestrian sports to choose from to watch and ride? Something is out there to suit just about any type of horse person.
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Question: What is the “string” that several of the male riders have from one of the buttons on the back of their jacket to somewhere on the saddle? Boyd had it as several others.
Mary
Just came here to say that some small mistakes aside Ros Canter’s test was phenomenal. IMO everything modern dressage should move towards.
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Ok, I really enjoyed the eventing dressage as well! Peacock coverage is awesome with Lucinda Green.
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