Dressage is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by the International Equestrian Federation, dressage is described as "the highest expression of horse training" where "horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements.".
The Cadre Noir is a corps of écuyers, or instructors, at the French military riding academy École Nationale d'Équitation at Saumur in western France, founded in Versailles before transferring to Saumur in 1828. During the Second World War, the premises of the school were occupied by German forces and the remaining instructors and horses were moved temporarily to Fontainebleau. The school today also performs as an equestrian display team. Its name comes from the black uniforms that are still in use today. It is one of the "Big Four", the most prestigious classical riding academies in the world.
Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only rider to have competed at every WEG since they began in 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Games in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline.
The European Dressage Championships are the European championships for the equestrian discipline of dressage. They are held every two years in odd-numbered years. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded in both individual and team competitions. There are also championships held for juniors, young riders, and ponies. Since 2015, the competition has shared a site and branding with vaulting, reining, jumping, and driving events. For sponsorship reasons, eventing is not included, as it is part of the FEI European Championships, echoing the combined World Equestrian Games concept. The first official combined event took place in Aachen in 2015.
Yvonne Losos de Muñiz is a Nigeria-born Dominican Republic Olympic athlete and international Grand Prix dressage rider that represents the Dominican Republic. She belongs to the elite Dominican Olympic athlete program CRESO.
François Xavier Edmond Marie Lesage was a French horse rider who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Moret-sur-Loing and died in Gisors.
Adelinde Cornelissen is a Dutch dressage rider.
Laura Tomlinson MBE is a German-British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 30 June 2012 the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) ranked her 3rd in the world riding Mistral Højris and 36th on Andretti H. In that year, Tomlinson, riding Mistral Højris under her maiden name of Laura Bechtolsheimer, won two medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London; gold for Great Britain in the team dressage with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, the first ever Olympic team gold in the discipline for her country, and bronze in the individual dressage behind gold medalist and compatriot Dujardin.
The 2011 European Dressage Championship was held between August 17 and August 21, 2011 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Marji Armstrong is one of the pioneers of the classical philosophy of horsemanship in Australia. She has taught these classical principles to students around the world for the past two decades, both in person and via the internet, and now shares her thoughts and experience on Marji's Blog.
Carl Hester is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012, the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia. In 2012, Hester formed part of the Great Britain Dressage team that won gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin is a British dressage rider, equestrian and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. She held the complete set of available individual elite dressage titles at one point: the individual Olympic freestyle, World freestyle and Grand Prix Special, World Cup individual dressage and European freestyle, and Grand Prix Special titles. Dujardin was the first rider to hold this complete set of titles at the same time.
Elizabeth Ann Drummond-Hay, better known as Anneli Drummond-Hay, was a British eventer and show jumper who won the 1961 Burghley Horse Trials riding her horse Merely-a-Monarch.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is a German Olympic dressage rider.
Grete Ayache , born as Grete Püvi, is an Estonian dressage rider. Representing Estonia, she competed at the 2014 World Equestrian Games and at the 2011 European Dressage Championship. She placed 61st place in individual dressage at the 2011 Europeans held in Rotterdam.
Kelly Layne is an Australian Dressage rider and trainer. She planned on qualifying to represent her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, Layne was unable to compete in the final qualifying event due to an injury suffered by her horse, Udon P, forcing her to withdraw. While born in Australia, Layne is currently based in Wellington, Florida. Layne also helped found her own riding team, "Dream Team Dressage".
Catherine Durand-Henriquet is a French equestrian. She was twice selected for the Equestrian at the Summer Olympics. She brought the first Iberian horse to International and Olympic levels and was also the first rider in the Versailles tradition to ever ride in the Olympic Games. She was national dressage champion multiple times. Together with her husband, famous equestrian and dressage master Michel Henriquet, she wrote a number of major dressage and horse training books and released a young horse training DVD series showing how the Henriquets take young horses from their first time under the saddle to the Grand Prix. Catherine Henriquet still actively shows Hanoverian horses and Lusitano horses at Grand Prix level and has trained dozens of horses to the Grand Prix. She currently rides two horses on the Big Tour: 18.7 hands Hanoverian gelding Lexus Gold and 15.7 hands Lusitano gelding Diabeau du Coussoul. Henriquet is also a retired dermatologist and always maintained professional practice while showing internationally. Having a full time profession aside from riding sometimes got in the way of being able to attend international shows and selections.
Carrie Schopf is an American-born Armenian dressage rider. She became the first Armenian equestrian ever to compete at an FEI-level championship.
Charlotte Fry is an Olympic, European Championships and World Championships medal-winning British dressage rider.
Nathalie Bizet is a French Para-Equestrian Dressage rider. She won a bronze medal.
