History

The first rules were from 2006 and 2007 from the Black Rose Stables, Miri Macabre and Sasaya Rothschild, who were both still active in SecondLife recently and Mel Melville who sadly has passed away since then.
2007 there were Silent Dressage rules in the Alikat Ponyplay Manual, which diverged on some points.
2008 FFF came out with their first rule variant, that again had some minor differences.

Katinka (leashcandy)

Currently FFF teaches two sets of Silent Dressage rules:

• Standard Silent Dressage
• Traver Silent Dressage

Created By

• Miri Macabre
• Sasaya Rothschild
• Mel Melville

Description

The Silent Dressage field consists of five separate elements; a figure eight, a circle, two 10-meter lines, and slalom with 6 poles. The field is rectangular, the figure eight course is on one end and the slalom course will be on the opposite end. In the middle will be the two lines, bordering the rectangular length wise with the circle in the middle.

Silent Dressage is the opportunity for a pony to shine. The aim is to show judges how well the pony knows their trainer and can work together using nothing more than silent communication. The trainer will be passed a note card by the judges telling them in what order to perform the sections of the course. The pony will be expected to by in sync with the trainer and move seamlessly with them.

The course consists of 5 individual elements that must be completed by the pony. The trainer will indicate to the pony the order and way the pony will perform each of the sections by the position that they stand adjacent to the section. The pony following the cues from the trainer will perform each section as directed.

The goal of Silent dressage are as follows:

• Gives the pony a chance to show off. Often involving elaborate tack and enhanced movements.
• Show how they can adapt to a changing situation. Prior to the start of the event neither the pony nor the trainer will know the sequence of the sections.
• Show their knowledge of pony skills. The event will test many of the pony skills and it is necessary that the pony is skilled in all areas prior to showing.
• Know their trainers quirks and habits. Silent Dressage relies on non verbal cues from the trainer to the pony. It is essential that the pony and trainer have worked together for some time in order to understand the trainers no verbal cues.

Tips

• Work extensively with your trainer in order to establish a relationship where you can understand each other without words.
• Ensure you can stop abruptly on the spot.
• Ensure that walking backwards functions correctly.

Location

The Silent Dressage field can be found on the East Side of the farm, North of the Small Steeple Chase and Flower Dressage fields and South of the Clinic.