‘It’s anti-dressage!’ Classical dressage master dominique barbier tells Jean Llewellyn why the modern sport needs a radical overhaul

International dressage has been mired in controversy over the last few years – with revelations of abusive training methods, widespread claims of biased judging, and the nasty and very public row between the FEI president and the organisation’s dressage committee, which was effectively sacked as a result.
Onlookers were shocked also by the unconscionable behaviour displayed by a few of the world’s top dressage horses in Hong Kong’s Olympic arena last August, compounded by the questionable marks awarded by the international judges for virtually non-existent movements.
To French classical dressage master, Dominique Barbier, the problems faced by modern dressage run so deep they are virtually insurmountable, and he’s suggesting a radical overhaul of the sport.
Dominique, who now lives in California, is a former student of the legendary Nuno Oliveira, and has devoted his life to perpetuating the traditions handed down throughout 400 years of history.
The differences between classical and modern dressage, he says, are as far removed as the differences between today’s warmbloods and the Lusitanos for whom he has had a life-long passion. Certainly, the latter breed and its baroque cousins are more synonymous with the work of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, and its equivalents in Spain and Portugal, rather than international dressage arenas, although their special qualities are now being recognised for FEI-level sport. 
Dominique is openly critical of the debacle at last year’s Olympics. “Modern dressage horses are not under control. How can they buck in the middle of the ring and win a World Championship?” he asks.
“German marketing has created a sport called ‘dressage’ to promote big horses, with big gaits. But for centuries, the classical
­dressage horses have been Lusitanos, Lipizzaners and Andalusians.
“The word ‘baroque’ [which typically exemplifies artistic grandeur] has been totally destroyed.”
Dominique has no faith in the FEI’s creation of an investigative Dressage Task Force. “The educators are the judges, and the judges are wrong. Dressage is facing its biggest challenge because we’re trying to change the education and beliefs of a whole generation.”
Dominique suggests that from the outset, the meaning of the word ‘dressage’ should be completely redefined. “New rules, new judging, strict welfare controls, and from the outset we call it ‘sport dressage’,
synonymous with competition.
“It means creating a new generation where love and harmony replace domination and fear.”
For the sake of clarity and in line with Dominique’s long-held beliefs, it is important to emphasise that the word ‘dressage’ conjures a variety of meanings and perspectives depending on an individual’s affiliation to riding and equestrian sport. In the context of this article, ‘modern’ and ‘competitive’ dressage are synonymous, and equate to a skilled rider performing a series of movements with a horse that is obedient, willing and relaxed.
However, with its origins firmly rooted in Italy and then France, the word ‘dressage’ literally translates to mean ‘training.’ Therefore, dressage provides the foundation for any activity a rider might want to pursue with any horse at all levels and in all disciplines, according to Dominique, “based on lightness, communication, and harmony.”
More specifically, dressage should epitomise a system of training that employs progressive methodology to optimise a horse’s natural athletic ability.
 Proclaiming his less-is-more philosophy, Dominique’s view is that the pure meaning of ‘classical’ dressage, whether applied to warmbloods, Lusitanos, or any other breed, no longer exists in the competitive dressage arena.
“Modern dressage – in other words,
modern competition and training – has lost the quality of the gaits. Few dressage horses have a correct walk, and the trot is artificial because it changes the natural gait,” he says.
“The FEI rules for extension say that the back leg should extend as far as the front leg, and the toes should be pointed where they land.
“The rules were created because the essential quality of the extended trot is relaxation – if the movement is created with resistance or rigidity, the back leg doesn’t work and the front leg has an exaggerated Spanish trot, a movement that has no name.
“The essence of dressage is to make natural movement even more beautiful, respecting and improving the gaits.”
Are we able to combine sport dressage with classical dressage?
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Dominique says. “It depends on what the FEI wants dressage to represent. Are we sticking strictly to the rules?
“It used to be very beautiful to watch but now I have a hard time with [competitive] dressage. To the uneducated eye, something might look beautiful, but someone who is sensitive will understand the tension.
“The ultimate goal is for every horse to actually enjoy dancing with you – if you take a horse that’s sensitive and beautiful and ready to trust man, and you treat him like certain competition people treat their horses, you will lose their complicity.”
Dominique says the reason for the current domination of warmbloods in the competition arena is that judges are placing more importance on horses with “abnormally” large gaits.
“In other words, if your horse does not have an extraordinary trot in competition, it is not even considered.
“Conformationally, we need big movers and a good engine room, but we also need horses capable of collection, because dressage is all about collection, and we see a lot of problems with horses lacking pure blood [warmbloods], because the sensitivity is not there.
“These problems originate with training that is ‘forcing’ them to go somewhere – they are not collected, they are compressed!”
 Dominique explains that gaits should only be in proportion to the size of an
animal – whether it be warmblood or Lusitano, or a pony.
“The judges should recognise that when a big horse enters the ring, their gaits should also be big. But it is a fact, with few
exceptions, that when a horse is above 16.3hh he will have much more difficulty in balancing his movement than a smaller horse.
“When you consider how many people aspire to Olympic-level dressage, you have to ask how many can actually sit on a big-gaited warmblood? Not many. So, what have we done? Man has created saddles that help people to grip and stay on – which is anti-classical and anti-dressage!”
Dominique refers to spurs as “a loaded gun! How primitive is it to poke a piece of iron into someone’s ribs? It’s like saying, ‘I invite you to dance, but you will have a noose around your neck and I will carry a gun in my pocket.’
“Spurs create tension and are terrible for the relationship. Dressage is beauty and harmony – and people think they can achieve this by kicking!
“When your body is comfortable, your mind is at rest. The reverse is also true, when your mind is screwed up, you cannot sit still. For horses, if you allow them to remain comfortable in a proper position, when they can use their body with the least effort, they start to enjoy it. They feel okay about what you’re asking them to do.”
Many riders today, he feels, consider their horses only as a tool to achieve a selfish goal. “Everything is too results-oriented. But as soon as competition and winning becomes your first priority, it’s over.
“How are you going to demand something from a horse if you don’t respect him?”
Believing that dressage should be completely demystified, Dominique wistfully recalls his own classical training, when students were not permitted to question the riding master. “The old trainers were the untouchables.”
But, some years later, during a clinic presented by his former mentor, Nuno Oliveira, Dominique dared to raise his hand and ask: “What I would like to know is what you are actually feeling on a horse?”
Oliveira’s response was: “I can’t tell you that, it’s too private!”
The response deeply saddened
Dominique. “I told him this was one of the most important things I wanted to know, but his answer illustrated the mentality of that generation: ‘I can do it, but you can’t.’
“It’s the same as great chefs keeping secrets about their ingredients, which is a shame because the next generation doesn’t learn.
“All classical training at that time died due to lack of teaching.”
Dominique says that Germany’s famous pyramid system, the Scales of Training, is not designed according to the horse, but to the level of competition.
“It’s a reversal of the old system. Competitions are being designed and horses are trained to achieve it – instead of designing competitions to suit the horses.”
Dominique is equally critical of the politics that have infiltrated top-level sport.
“The people with influence have too much power. Dressage represents two emotions: love or fear, and people can make their choice every single day.” 

For more information, see www.dominiquebarbier.com