SNHDCTA Holds Its Summer Dressage Show

By Linda Buchanan Allen

 Reprinted by permission of Horsemen’s Yankee Pedlar

Southern New Hampshire Dressage & Combined Training Association held its popular summer dressage show with an added twist: gaited dressage classes.  All of the traditional dressage classes were held, from intro through first level.  But a group of riders of gaited horses asked to have dressage classes for their horses included in the show, and because part of SNHDCTA’s mission is to further education and exposure to different breeds and styles of riding in New Hampshire, the board granted the request.

Julie Dillon of Horsefeathers Academy participated in the new SNHDCTA gaited classes.  She explained gaited dressage competition this way: “In the southern regions, gaited dressage has been offered for over a decade.  The members of the National Walking Horse Association have spearheaded this by developing and approving the NWHA tests to correlate congruently with those of USDF.

Stefanie Rossetti, who also participated, explained further:  “Our classes are run exactly like the regular dressage classes.  We use tests formulated especially for gaited horses. The movements match traditional dressage tests letter to letter, only we substitute our medium gait (in my case, the fox trot) for the trot.”  Both Dillon and Rossetti have been working together to expand people’s knowledge of gaited horses in the Northeast.

In addition to the gaited classes, the prize list again included a dressage equitation class just prior to the Intro level (walk-trot) tests.  The Intro level was so full that show organizer Gail Harrington drafted former club president Andrea Hunt to judge these classes while Pam Walker judged the training level, first level, and gaited divisions in order to conclude the show before late afternoon thunderstorms rolled in.                               

The club would like to thank the following individuals for helping to make the day a success:  Cindy and Jim Marquette for the use of their property, Spinnaker Hill Farm, for the day; Richard Stephanik for underwriting the cost of lunch and beverages for the volunteers; Pam Walker, judge; Karin Denhard, show secretary; Elaine Rose, scorer; Cynthia Bernard, assistant scorer; Dorothy Komarek, gatekeeper and ring set-up;