Junior League

When it comes to rising stars, Canada’s top young dressage riders are shining brightly on the international stage. Pan American Games team members Megan Lane and Brittany Fraser are still in their 20s, while teammate Chris von Martels is just 32. A number of Canadians stood on the podium at the 2014 North American Junior & Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC), including the silver-medal winning Quebec team in the Young Rider division, the silver-medal winning Ontario team in the Junior division, and individual Junior double gold medallist Camille Bergeron of Quebec.

With such strong performances from our young riders at the elite level of competition, it seems the future is rosy for Canadian dressage. Visit a local show or dressage stable, however, and you might notice something missing: Where are all the kids?

Family ties

The future health of any sport depends on a steady stream of new athletes at the grassroots level. Sport governing bodies across Canada raised the alarm when a 2008 Statistics Canada report showed that sports participation of boys age 5-14 declined from 66% in 1992 to 56% in 2005. Over the same time period, sports participation of girls dropped from 49% to 45%.

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Given that the report stated sports participation is highest among children whose parents are involved in refereeing, coaching, or sports administration (82%), perhaps it’s no coincidence that riders like Von Martels, Fraser, and Strasser-Shostak rose to the top. All three come from families actively involved in dressage and were introduced to the sport at a very young age.

The good news for Canadian dressage is that the number of juniors competing in the discipline has remained fairly consistent over the past few years. The bad news: those numbers are consistently low.

Equine Canada’s competition data from 2014 shows just 194 juniors recording dressage results, compared to 2,223 for the same year in hunter/jumper. It should be noted that these are results from EC-sanctioned shows only and do not include juniors competing in schooling shows or participating in programs such as Pony Club. Regardless, the data paints a picture consistent with anecdotal reports from those in the industry who note dramatic differences between North America and Europe when it comes to the number of juniors involved in dressage. So, are Canadian kids not being exposed to dressage – or are they simply not interested?

Exclusively dressage

Debbie Dobson is a dressage rider and coach who operates Equestrian Dreams in Campbellville, ON. Her stable is something of a rarity – a riding school focused exclusively on dressage, with school horses available.

“I noticed many years ago that most Canadian riding schools introduced new students to equestrian sport in the same way: walk, trot, canter, and then jump,” says Dobson. “While the basics of dressage may be covered, it is often discussed only in the context of flatwork for jumping and doesn’t develop a true appreciation and understanding of the sport. Specializing in dressage is something that tends to happen to riders later in their development, once they have progressed from school horses to their own horse. There really wasn’t much opportunity for those just learning to ride and students without their own horse to focus on dressage, so I decided to cater to that market myself.”

Although Dobson does have a number of juniors in her lesson program, the majority of her students are adults. She hopes the industry will work together to find ways of encouraging more participation from kids at the grassroots level.

“I think Canada is doing a pretty good job of developing young dressage riders at the top end of the sport, but not enough at the introductory levels. I suspect maybe the new generation of coaches coming up now has not had the exposure to dressage themselves, so they in turn cannot pass it on to their students. It has to become part of our equestrian culture as it is in Europe, where dressage through first or second level is considered mandatory education for horses and riders alike.”

Accessible and fun

Christine Peters, manager of Dressage for Equine Canada, agrees about the success of Canadian high performance programs for young riders, and the need to make dressage more accessible and fun at the lower levels. “When we compare our statistics at the FEI junior and young rider level, we see that dressage has remained very consistent with the number of riders representing Canada at the NAJYRC annually. In fact, we have had a substantial increase in participation numbers if you compare the 2010 participation numbers against the participation numbers for 2011 to 2014,” says Peters.

“Equine Canada is currently in the middle of a complete competition review for all disciplines, the results of which will give us a clearer picture of the landscape across the country. At this time, we have implemented equitation classes for all youth in dressage and also introduced the “Give It a Go Day” program through our levy fund. We are happy to report that in only our second year of this program we have had a 70% increase in the number of applications being approved across the country. We expect a further 50% increase in year three as more people become aware of this opportunity.”Give It A Go Days are non-competitive education/development clinics where participants ride a dressage test of their choice in front of a certified judge, who provides feedback on how to improve their performance. The rider then has an opportunity to work with their coach and re-ride the same test to measure improvement.

“We also encourage our competition organizers to run fun miscellaneous classes, such as costume freestyles, prix caprilli, pas de deux, and quadrilles to attract the next generation of riders and to help support the competition financially. Western Dressage is also being supported across the country as another fun opportunity for riders.”

Exceptional kids

“Fun” may not be a word most juniors currently associate with dressage, but that’s not the case for Hannah Van Koughnett, 15, who trains with Esther Mortimer and Harper MacKenzie at M2 Dressage in Flamborough, ON. Like most kids, she started off jumping, but decided to focus on dressage at the tender age of eight.

“My coach at the time recommended dressage to me,” she says. “I love how technical it is. A lot of juniors think dressage is boring or not as exciting as jumping, but it’s exciting to me.”

Van Koughnett competed successfully in the FEI Pony division with Nemo Tyme, a 14-hand Westfalian formerly owned by Strasser-Shostak. This year she made her FEI Junior debut with her new mount, Balthasar, a seven-year-old KWPN gelding. Her goal is to move up to Young Riders next year and ultimately compete in the under-25 Grand Prix division.

Coach Mortimer knows her young student is something of an anomaly. “It’s definitely unusual to have a rider as young as eight dedicate themselves to dressage, but Hannah is no ordinary kid,” says Mortimer. “She’s got natural talent, competitive drive and, most importantly, a very supportive family. We work hard, but also focus on making it fun and having positive experiences.”

Will an increased focus on making dressage fun attract more kids to the sport and ensure the future health of dressage? Only time will tell.

The future growth of dressage in Canada will depend on a healthy influx of new riders at the grassroots level. Equine Canada’s competition data from 2014 shows just 194 juniors recording dressage results, compared to 2,223 for the same year in hunter/jumper.