I see the Baroque horses growing in popularity for dressage here on the West Coast. Several Andalusian breeders are showing up with some lovely prospects, and those that have the resources to hire FEI capable trainers have horses in the FEI classes. I’ve seen a few Lusitanos recently that were lovely and also showing at FEI levels.
Most people in the Baroque horse world classify the Lippizans, Andalusians, Lusitanos, Friesians, and Knabstruppers and their derivatives as Baroque breeds. The Baroque horses tend to be more up-necked, have brio (flair, whatever you want to call it) in their movement, and were all originally bred as RIDING horses (the Friesian only became a driving horse in more recent history, in response to the industrial revolution). They are generally ancient breeds, long preceeding the Warmbloods and the European concept of regional breeding programs for the Olympic sports. The original dressage movements (including the high school movements) and the Baroque horses seemed to go hand-in-hand. Modern (competitive) dressage and the Warmblood horse are both relative newcomers - and as dressage evolves, so do breeding programs, both Warmblood breeding programs AND Baroque horse breeding programs.
At a recent show (mid sized show, 3 rings, 3 days), the PSG class top 3 on Friday consisted of an Andalusian, Warmblood, and Friesian cross. I’m using Friday because it had the largest number of entries (I think it was 12) in the PSG class. At another large show (that runs concurrently with a CDI show) we saw a Lusitano, an Andalusian, and a Friesian cross in the PSG ring with the Warmbloods - and generally, at a show like that, only the serious competitors come out at the higher levels!
Some of our trainers are starting to realize these horses are great competition horses for the rider who wants the gentler mind, yet the ability to be competitive at the regional/State level. Does this mean we are going to see a proliferation of these horses at the Olympics? Probably not, although a few of them are breaking into the international scene (Rociero quickly comes to mind). But there is a reason a big, reputable sport horse breeder like Iron Springs added Friesian stallions to their line up, and that we are seeing some international calibre trainers starting to investigate the baroque horses and bring some of them into their barns.
Market forces (i.e. what wins in the show ring) helps to direct what we breed for. If you look at a Warmblood from 100 years ago, you wouldn’t recognize the modern, light, airy horses of today. So why is it any surprise that the Baroque breed standards are also shifting to accomodate modern competition? And, in reality, with some of the horses (Friesians are a breed I’m pretty familiar with), the standard is really moving back toward its origins as a riding horse, although it is getting lighter in bone and type (just as the Warmblood is).
pattir - your horse is lovely! I also have one of the heavier boned Friesians, but he is uphill and leggy, and a big, lofty mover. And I have a Friesian/Warmblood cross who is quite Baroque in appearance (and just started showing PSG). I agree, we don’t need to see the breed turn into a Warmblood, but it is nice to see it moving back toward the riding horse type - better backs and loins, and the canter being bred back in!
I believe some Warmblood breeders will always feel the Warmblood is the only horse that can “do” dressage, and you will run into much more breed bias on this forum than you will in the show ring! However, I think, when you look at the FEI dressage tests, the higher up the levels you go, the more level the playing field - the collected movements become more and more important. The biggest barrier to overcome is to see qualified riders and trainers working with the talented Baroque horses.
There was a poll recently on this forum and on the “other forum” asking to rate favorite breeds for dressage, and on the other forum, the Baroque horses scored almost as high as the Warmblood horses. Kind of interesting to watch the scores.
All in all, I don’t see a decrease in popularity, I see a growing acceptance and even excitement about Baroque horses - but I can’t speak for the entire country, just for the California shows.
I have quite an affinity for these breeds and was wondering (potentially) if any trainers/judges would be prejudiced against them.
Or listed as ‘private treaty only’…