Megan Weiss Equestrian

As I discussed in my last post, through a series of events I have made the leap from an Eventer to a solo Dressage Competitor. It was a tough decision as I have been competing at the upper levels in Eventing for 10 years. Having made the change to the solo discipline of Dressage, I need an appropriate horse with which to compete. For the reasons below, I have decided on an Iberian Horse.

The Iberian horses ancestry dates back to 30,000 BC. Cave paintings as old as 20,000 BC have been discovered showing a profile of a horse that looks like the Andalusian. The Andalusians were recognized as an individual Spanish breed in the 15th century calling them the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE (Pura Raza Española). They were used as war horses for the Spanish royalty and kings across Europe rode and owned Andalusians. The breed is known for their strong build and compact yet elegant grace. The Andalusians have an energetic gait and are extremely athletic. Even though the breed is known for its strength, they are not tall horses averaging at 15.5 hands (61.5 inches, 156 cm). One of their distinguishing physical characteristics is having very thick and long manes and tails. Andalusian's personalities tend to be submissive while remaining intelligent and sensitive. They are very quick to learn, responsive, and cooperative in training. In Spain the Andalusian has long been used for bull-fighting. Their courage, agility, intelligence, and ability to turn quickly on the haunches make them ideal for dealing with an angry bull.

The breed has grown popular in the international competition of dressage, especially over the last 15 years. At the 2002 World Equestrian Games two Andalusians were on the bronze-medal winning Spanish dressage team; a team that went on to take the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. These accomplishments earned the breed respect in the sport. For a long time Andalusians were controversial in the dressage arena. There was prejudice aimed at the breed by dressage judges creating a widespread lack of credibility. The breed has a special talent for collection, which is needed in dressage and the ability to turn on their haunches which is required in upper level movements. Their natural collection and turning capabilities has worked against the Andalusian's Dressage image instead of enhancing it. They have been viewed as an easy horse to ride and train, causing judges to have preconceived notions about the horses before they even begin to preform in the arena.

Spanish Olympic Dressage rider Rafael Soto, competing in the National Championship 2004

The Spanish horse is different from that of the Warmblood breeds (who have dominated the dressage sport) as they have the ability to attain more easily the highest collected movements. Even though the Andalusians could preform the high level movements, consistently they were not given as high scores as fellow Warmblood competitors. Many judges felt that it came naturally for the breed to preform dressage movements and should therefore not be judged equivalently as dressage Warmbloods, who lacking this natural ability, had to be trained diligently to compete at the upper levels. Today while prejudice towards the breed in dressage competitions still exists, thanks to the Spanish dressage success in the early 2000s it has greatly lessened. Since the breed has become more popular and accepted as a top level dressage competitor, today breeders aim to develop their horses to have more of a dressage conformation. Breeders try to give their offspring longer gait extensions to increase their ability to extend their strides. The Andalusian's shortcoming in the sport is the suspension, where the Warmblood breeds excel.

Andalusians are shown and bred throughout the world, while the region of Andalusia in Spain is still the motherland of the breed producing the finest horses. Ancient bloodlines of the Andalusians have been preserved by the Spanish government to protect the breed using selective breeding. A very careful selection program and a very strict breeding code upheld by the Spanish Stud Book, has produced a top quality, sporty and safe dressage horse. The government has focused on breeding a strain of Carthusian Andalusian (also known as Cartujano), which is generally considered the purest Andalusian strain and has one of the oldest recorded pedigree lines in the world.

I have had the opportunity to ride and train with some Andalusians in the United States, and have fallen in love with the breed. Soon, I will be going to Spain to find some of the best Andalusians, train, breed and compete. My goal is to find a horse that has the capability to compete at the Olympic Grand Prix Dressage level. I am so excited to immerse myself in the Spanish equine community. I look forward to sharing my journeys as I look to find the hunt to find my Andalusians, and start my training and competing.