Photo Credit: Maria Marriott
In recent decades, two new styles of Dressage have been introduced to the equestrian world, starting in the U.S. and spreading rapidly across the globe. They are known as Western Dressage and Cowboy Dressage. Often times they are referred to interchangeably, but they are, in fact, two very separate disciplines. However, they do both accredit their inspiration to master horseman Eitan Beth-Halachmy, an Israeli who had an impossible dream to become an American cowboy. He and his equine partners have become famous for their stunning performances of Dressage while in full western tack and apparel.
Eitan’s methods of training give credit to both classical schooling techniques and those of the traditional American cowboy. He emphasizes kindness, partnership, harmony, and most notably, Soft Feel. As a young man, he spent time at the Spanish School of Riding mucking stalls but, more importantly, watching and listening to the Classical trainers as they worked with their Lipizzaner stallions. In 1968, he emigrated to the U.S. with a student visa to attend vet school in California. Though he soon discovered veterinary work was not the vocation for him, he stayed enrolled in college, trying out different majors until 1986, when President Reagan granted amnesty to all illegal immigrants, allowing Eitan to receive a green card and explore other career options. He settled into horse training, his ultimate passion, and realized his lifelong dream to become a cowboy. He discovered the Morgan horse, and the breed quickly became his favorite. It was in the Morgan show world that he met his would-be wife, Debbie.
Eitan and his Morgan stallion, Holiday Compadre, performed all over the world, winning the hearts of audiences everywhere they went. He was a novelty, a cowboy riding high-level Dressage maneuvers on a long rein with a relaxed and happy horse. In 1994, Eitan and Debbie trademarked the term Cowboy Dressage, and Eitan began teaching his unique style of riding wherever he performed. When Compadre was retired in 2002, Eitan trained his next partner, another Morgan stallion by the name of Santa Fe Renegade. Again, Eitan stole the show wherever he went, all the way up to his last performance at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. There he went into cardiac arrest during the grand finale and slipped off his horse, waking up in the ICU with nine broken ribs, a fractured sternum, and a punctured lung. He was told that it was a miracle that he even survived. Unsurprisingly, however, his first question was if he would be able to ride again.
The accident was a turning point for him. The 20,000 emails Eitan received from fans during this time caused him to realize just how big an impact he was making on the equestrian world. As the interest in this western version of Dressage grew, people began to want an outlet in which to perform and show. So, in 2010, a mixed group of U.S. Dressage and western riders founded the Western Dressage Association of America (WDAA). Like Competitive Dressage, they chose to be in affiliation with the USEF, adopting their rules and policies. The discipline was designed to combine the principles of Dressage with the western stock horse heritage and give eager riders the opportunity to compete. It quickly became popular and is still growing rapidly, not only throughout the U.S. but also Europe and Australia.
Eitan had influence in Western Dressage but chose to focus predominately on education over the show world at that time with his Cowboy Dressage. Though he appreciated where Western Dressage went, he felt it was lacking in some of the essence of the cowboy, the lifestyle, and the laid-back approach found out on the working ranch. Western Dressage brought the cowboy into Dressage, but Cowboy Dressage brought Dressage to the cowboy. As he later put it, “The Dressage is my discipline; the Cowboy is my freedom.”
As time went on and Western Dressage grew, gaining a large following, Cowboy Dressage also flourished and gained an enormous community of enthusiasts in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, the U.S. Cowboy Dressage lovers wanted a show ring where they could compete and a community with which they could interact. Out of this desire, a group of dedicated people helped Eitan and Debbie create Cowboy Dressage World, the community and showing aspect of this unique style of riding. However, this show world looked completely different from any other Dressage competitions yet. They chose not to affiliate with USEF, allowing the discipline the freedom to create its own rulebook and regulations specifically tailored to the western horse.
Eitan had already created his own Cowboy Dressage court completely different from the traditional court used in Classical, Competitive, and Western Dressage. For Cowboy Dressage World, two courts were put into place, the challenge court (Eitan’s original idea) and the open court. The open court is a variation of the traditional small Dressage court, so it measures 20 m x 40 m. He chose the smaller version of the court since the western horse is naturally built smaller than the breeds we see in traditional Dressage, and consequently doesn’t need as large of a space in which to work (Beth-Halachmy). He also knew that the average western rider is not rich and would be more likely to own their own court if it were the smaller size. He wanted Cowboy Dressage riders to be able to practice at home and use the court as a training device. “You do not train your horse for the test, the test trains you . . . and your horse!” he said.
Eitan decided to adapt the letters on the court to a more logical format by adding letters and placing them at five-meter intervals instead of the six and fourteen-meter intervals found in the traditional small Dressage court. On a Cowboy Dressage court, you will find (clockwise) around the perimeter: A, J, K, V, a blank marker, B, a blank marker, S, H, Q, C, Y, M, R, a blank marker, E, a blank marker, P, F, and N (Fig. 2). The blank markers allow for a marker every five meters without completely confusing a rider from traditional Dressage. Down the center are the invisible letters D, L, 8, I, and G. He considered changing all the letters over to numbers to make things more logical but decided against it, knowing Dressage riders would find the change far too radical. The Cowboy Dressage challenge court is a really unique and innovative part of this discipline. Inside the court are placed a series of four ground poles on each quarter line, four ground poles set just to the inside of the 20-meter circle found in the center, an octagon around “8,” two cones on either side of the letter “G,” and two sets of cones in the “C” end corners. Though it is called a challenge court, these additions are by no means obstacles but are additional reference points for the horse and rider. The ground poles also encourage the western horse to pick his feet up since many have a tendency to drag along lazily. The poles are set based on a six-foot canter stride, a good working frame for the western horse.
The tests in Cowboy Dressage exemplify the western horse and heritage, looking for horses that are balanced and light, comfortable to ride, and responsive to their rider. Horses must execute true western gaits (walk, jog, and lope; in both free and working frames), and tests include a variety of maneuvers from circles to backing, turns on the forehand and haunches, shoulders in, lead changes, and patterns such as figure eights, diamonds, broken arrows, and bow ties. The tests start with the partnership on the ground and the liberty division, then move into the riding tests which range from the partnership under saddle walk/walk, to the challenge walk/jog/lope 2, with many open and challenge court tests in between. There is also the Freestyle division with solo and drill team options and the Vaquero division. Many who ride Cowboy Dressage enjoy incorporating La Garrocha into their freestyle performances. New tests are frequently being developed, and the discipline is constantly evolving as new ideas are brought forth and more people take an interest.
All Cowboy Dressage judges are required to complete an extensive checklist of requirements, including mentoring sessions under one of the founding partners -- Eitan, Lyn Ringrose-Moe, or Garn Walker. This ensures that they are well prepared and understand the philosophy of the discipline. The judges don’t just look at the execution of a maneuver but also how the horse was ridden through the maneuver. Were the horse's gaits free and regular? Did the rider have Soft Feel? Were the horse and rider pair in harmony and partnership? Did the rider help their horse perform to the best of his abilities? With judging like this, it really opens the discipline to all horses and riders who simply have the desire to learn and better themselves no matter the breed, age, or physical limitations. So, from the very old traditions of Classical Dressage and the American cowboy comes Cowboy Dressage, a new tradition.
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