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DRESSAGE RING LETTERS
Here are the letters of a large dressage ring
C
H G M
S I R
E X B
V L P
K D F
A
(I couldn't tell if that G between H and M was a G or a Q in the
booklet I was looking at, so if its wrong please correct me)
The acronym I learned for a small ring and training dressage was:
All King Edwards Horses Consume Much Bad Feed
All King Edward's Horses Can't Make Big Fences
along with RSVP around the outside for the "minor" letters.
All King Victor Emmanuel's Show Horses Can Make Really Beautiful People Fall.
All Kind Elephants Have Cute Mothers, Bald Fathers.
The whole business about dressage arena letters bothered me a year
ago, so I FAX'ed the FEI in Switzerland about it - amazing what you
can do with a FAX machine in the office!! :-) I got no joy from anyone
I knew, or the British Horse Society, so this seemed the next step.
I received a reply (FAX) from Mr. W.M.Niggli, the Chairman of the FEI
Dressage Committee. It briefly states that :
"...no-one knows the origin of the order of the letters. They first
appeared in 1931 in a Grand Prix test prepared for the 1932 Olympic
Games. Before that different letters like ABCD and XYZ were used. From
1912 to 1924 the size of the arena also changed from 20x40m to 20x60m,
and finally stuck at 20x60m. Prior to 1932 the movements were also
very different to those seen today, and they were NOT shown at a fixed
letter."
Here is Training Level Test 1
1. A Enter Working trot sitting
X Halt salute, proceed working trot sitting
2. C Track left
H Working Trot Rising
E Circle left 20m
K Working trot sitting
3. Between Working Canter Left lead
K & A
4. A Circle left 20m
5. Between
B & M Working trot sitting
6. HXF Working Walk
7. F Working trot sitting
8. E Circle right 20m
H Working trot sitting
9. Between
B & F Working canter right lead
10. C Circle right 20m
11. Between
B & F Working trot sitting
12. A Down center line
X Halt, salute
(breathe a big sigh of relief that you finished :-))
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