{"id":359403,"date":"2025-10-07T08:13:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chronofhorse.com\/?post_type=article&p=359403"},"modified":"2025-10-09T16:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T20:57:35","slug":"where-have-all-the-dressage-kids-gone","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.chronofhorse.com\/article\/where-have-all-the-dressage-kids-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Have All The Dressage Kids Gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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I just returned from a week serving as a chef d\u2019equipe at the FEI North American Youth Championships in Michigan. This is one of my favorite events of the year. Why? Well, when I\u2019m not trudging back and forth between the barn and the dressage complex at Traverse City (which I swear is uphill both ways), or explaining to the kids for the 57th time why they cannot go on a trail ride, or coaxing a terrified parent out from behind a tent flap so they can actually see their child compete\u2014I get to talk. A lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the week, I spoke with dozens of kids and their parents about how they got started and what helped them reach this level. Because, let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s rare for a young dressage rider to make it this far. As we chatted, a truth became very clear: Finding dressage isn\u2019t easy for kids in this country. In fact, it\u2019s downright discouraging at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings me back to a question I\u2019ve seen debated again and again: Where are all the dressage kids?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Columnist Nicole DelGiorno believes that dressage would become more popular with children if there were more age-appropriate milestones. Amy Dragoo Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Real Reason Dressage Isn\u2019t Kid-Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me paint you a picture. You are a non-horsey parent with a 6-year-old girl that loves horses. You type \u201chorseback riding lessons near me\u201d into a search engine and start investigating. Ninety percent of the programs that show up offer instruction in \u201chunt seat equitation.\u201d Must be popular. You see that the highest-rated barn offers a summer camp, and you decide to send your child. She loves it and starts making friends with the kids who ride at the barn. She begs for weekly riding lessons, and after a while, her trainer mentions that she is really getting quite good. She should start to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She does the leadline division and gets exposed to an environment like the Devon Horse Show (Pennsylvania). Dreams ablaze in her heart, she asks if she can have a pony of her own, but your family isn\u2019t ready for that type of commitment. \u201cNo worries,\u201d says the trainer. \u201cYou can lease our small pony.\u201d Then she ages out, and you lease the medium pony or the large pony or the junior hunter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at some point you realize it\u2019s time to take the plunge, and your trainer helps you buy a competitive A-circuit equitation horse. Your daughter goes on to place well at several big championships, catching the attention of a noted trainer who offers to take her on as a rider. She goes on to become an assistant trainer or to cruise happily around the amateur divisions. The end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s say your first call was to a dressage barn. Nine times out of 10, that conversation is going to go like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello, I\u2019m inquiring about riding lessons for my 6-year-old daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHi! Does she have her own horse?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, can\u2019t help you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe by some miracle you call one of the 10% of dressage barns that can accommodate beginner children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your kid takes riding lessons there for two years. In her third year she might do some dressage schooling shows at introductory level. Your trainer may even take her to some unrated hunter\/jumper shows because the format is easier, cheaper, and she can get more ring time. Next year, your kid begs to show recognized at training level. At only 10 years old, she really does quite well on the barn\u2019s lesson pony. She qualifies for the Great American\/USDF Regional Dressage Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you arrive in the warm-up for your first class, you see your child\u2019s eyes widen to saucers. She rides over to her trainer and asks in hushed tones, \u201cIs she in my class?\u201d Yes, my dear, she is. Your eyes slide over to the 21-year-old rising professional riding her client\u2019s young horse, who appears to be the second coming of Glamourdale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The class commences. Your kid rides her heart out on her lesson pony (you had tried to find something nice for her to lease for this year but no luck finding a seasoned dressage pony for lease). Still, even with her best test of the year, she places third-to-last with a 62%. The young pro wins with a 73%. It\u2019s not because your kid isn\u2019t great and skilled for her age, but because there is a chasm in terms of experience and physical ability between a 10-year-old and a 21-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to cultivate a system that engages kids and families\u2014and then supports them in reaching their goals.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is what it is going to look like for the next few years until you buck up and buy a pony for her to do the FEI children\u2019s or pony classes, probably from Europe because it\u2019s the easiest place to find a competitive pony that\u2019s actually been proven with a kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, you could aim at Dressage Seat Equitation Medal Finals, which has a 13 and under division\u2014if you have one of the few 10-year-olds in the country who can ride first level inside out and backwards, and you can find a size-appropriate mount for her to do it on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting To The Root Of The Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, we do not provide the Disney experience to families like other equestrian disciplines do. We do not structure our divisions to give kids appropriate milestones. For example, why not have an equitation class that is just walk\/trot? Why can\u2019t we get out of our own way and reward correct basics without making the kids do leg-yield zigzags and counter-canter and three changes of lead through trot on the diagonal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the way our youth divisions are structured is so challenging, no trainer really wants to structure their business around it. It\u2019s a bad gamble that will almost assuredly result in a ticked off parent and a disappointed kid. Much easier to help adult amateurs who already know they want to keep all four feet on the ground pursue their USDF medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to see more kids riding dressage. We want to see better horsemanship and depth at every level of the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here are my counter-questions: Where is the space for younger riders to compete, learn and connect with their peers? Where are the milestones for them to aim towards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until we have an outlet for these young kids to showcase their skills and test their ability in classes that are structured fairly, I think we are going to continue scratching our heads and wondering, where are all the dressage kids?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 Way To Build A Better Pipeline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So where are these kids? They\u2019re out eventing. They\u2019re going to USEF Pony Finals (Kentucky). They\u2019re doing Interscholastic Equestrian Association and 4-H. They\u2019re doing junior rodeo. They\u2019re showing horses in American Quarter Horse Association competitions. And unless we change the way youth dressage is structured, that\u2019s where they\u2019ll stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we don\u2019t have to sit here wringing our hands, and we also don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel. Every organization listed above is doing something right because they have very active youth programs that have tapped into the multitudes of horse-crazy kids in America. We have to stop operating from a mindset of scarcity. Right now there are hundreds of kids out there itching to ride a musical freestyle to Taylor Swift\u2014they just don\u2019t know it yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now there are hundreds of kids out there itching to ride a musical freestyle to Taylor Swift\u2014they just don\u2019t know it yet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, with that in mind, here are 10 things we can do to make space for those kids in dressage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Age-Appropriate Divisions At Lower Levels<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to restructure youth classes at second level and below. How about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n