British grand prix dressage rider and trainer Anna Ross discusses brideless dressage, the stretch debate and two sad farewells
Ten years ago, the trend was clear: short reins won gold medals. Today, we can ride grand prix in a snaffle, we’re trialling a stretch movement at grand prix and the first bridleless dressage competition has generated enormous discussion. Whether these things represent progress is much debated – but the direction of travel has definitely changed.
Mention bridleless or bitless dressage, and you have a great way to blow up the internet. Some see it as the next step in improving horse welfare; others believe it has no place in the sport.
There is also a viewpoint that the double bridle is not a harsher piece of equipment, but a more refined one – capable of lighter, more nuanced communication in educated hands.
Grand prix rider Sam Whyley is among the sceptics.
“I’m struggling with the idea that this is a step forward and with the comments suggesting it’s the direction we should all take,” he says. “Are we going to get to a point where we can’t ride in breeches anymore, because a good rider shouldn’t need clothes to help keep their balance?”
He goes on: “I love the feeling of a horse working correctly and supplely through its body, engaging the hindquarters to take weight off the naturally weaker forehand. The better I am as a trainer, the healthier, happier, sounder life my horse will lead – something encouraged throughout the ascending levels, as I work towards the hardest test of all, the grand prix.
“What I’m seeing from the videos of the bridleless competition doesn’t embody this. I’m seeing horses moving hollowly, their backs like a canoe that the rider sits in rather than on; horses on the forehand, unable to lift their shoulders; pirouettes with no bend or even the wrong bend – examples of what, replicated consistently, will lead to forelimb injuries or sore backs.”
But welfare isn’t determined by bitting. I’ve seen horses ridden harshly in bitless bridles and beautifully in double bridles. A bit is a tool, and can be used well or badly. If a horse is genuinely softer and more confident without one, we shouldn’t dismiss that as “anti-tradition”, but nor should we pretend every horse is automatically better bitless.
Surely the pertinent question is: what equipment allows this horse, as an individual, to perform with the greatest confidence, relaxation and harmony?
Stretching at grand prix?
The same principle applies to the proposed stretch movement. A horse that can lengthen its neck, seek the contact and swing through its back is a joy to watch – it shows genuine throughness and trust, and could be one of the most revealing movements in the test.
Yet it has proved contentious. The much-decorated US Olympian Robert Dover has called it an “insult” to our stakeholders and too boring for spectators. But if spectators have watched a grand prix test that far without falling asleep, I think we can assume they’re pretty interested in dressage.
From a judging viewpoint, the stretch lets us reward the qualities we say we value: relaxation, harmony and correct training. At a time of increasing public scrutiny, that matters.
A relaxed expression, a quiet mouth, a swinging tail and a willing attitude say far more than the bridle a horse wears. The effectiveness of any tack depends far less on the equipment than on the hands holding the reins. If these debates encourage us to focus on those outcomes rather than defending tradition or chasing trends, the sport will be better for it.
Sad farewells
We lost an invaluable guiding hand recently. Horses and riders alike lost a friend in the late Stephen Clarke.
You always felt Stephen was on your side: ride well and you sensed it genuinely made him happy; ride poorly and you never resented his mark; you simply felt you’d let him down. Not because he was harsh, but because you knew he wanted everyone’s best.
He judged with honesty and integrity, but always with kindness.
Stephen Clarke laughing with Isabell Werth at the 2014 World Equestrian Games. Credit Alamy
Closer to home, we said goodbye to another great man: Andrew Goodwin Davies, father of grand prix rider Sally Bell, whose quiet warmth and wisdom touched so many.
We often talk of people “passing” – and the very best pass on their knowledge, kindness and values. Those left become custodians of that legacy. In that sense, they never really leave us.
● Where do you stand on bitless dressage? And should grand prix reward a stretch movement? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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