Cowboy Dressage Shows, Courts, and Tests.

How to organise, set up and ride a test.

Now, what about those courts?

The Cowboy Dressage® Court.
Eitan created the Cowboy Dressage® Court simply because it made good sense.
Most of the dressage courts of today are built on 8m and 12m increments (20x40m) or 6m and 14m increments (20x60m) but circles are in 10m and 20m increments.
Eitan has taken the smaller dressage court (20x40m) and divided it into equal measurements of 5m and 10m. The grid on this new court helps the rider with precision and execution. The smaller court fits the movement and shorter stride of the western horse. Some of our bigger European horses may struggle a bit with that, but hey, it's a good reason to strive for collection.
Two cones have been added to the short sides of the court allowing for more transitions and manoeuvers. (If we have learned anything from our western public, it is that they like to do stuff!) You will notice that each cone has a brand to go with the letters. You call the test with just the letters, but the brands are the Cowboy Dressage® court’s identity, making it very western and different from the standard dressage court.

The Challenge Court
Building on the Cowboy Dressage® Court, the Challenge Court was developed. It has the same dimensions and letters as the Cowboy Dressage Court, but training aids have been added. Please note: they are not obstacles as in a Trail pattern.
These aids support the rider and horse in different ways, such as;
Focussing the mind.
Riding a 10m or 20m circle, which is actually round, with the horse slightly bending.
Checking if the horse's strides are regular.
Riding the corners correctly, using the full lengths of the four sides of the court.


 

The Cowboy Dressage Court

The Challenge Court