DOING DRESSAGE

It's been decades since I've attended an equestrian event. Three decades, actually. So when a friend invited me to attend a dressage event at the Manila Polo Club, I jumped at the opportunity to attend with them.

In my excitement, I left early to avoid the traffic at McKinley and set out to meet them at the rendezvous spot which was the Sanctuario de San Antonio at Forbes Park. The serenity of this Franciscan church belies the privacy of the community it serves. At the day of my visit, I spent time waiting for my friends at the parish office while weddings were taking place at the church. 

Well manicured gardens and seating areas near the community center had some human traffic and the flashy cars of both parishioners and wedding entourage were coming in and out with some regularity. The community center was obviously reserved for various activities of church organizations, you could hear the choir vocalizing in one of the upper rooms. At around the time I had decided to attend anticipated Mass, the invitees to the dressage were close by to pick us up.

It took all of five minutes and a few short turns to get to Manila Polo Club. An immediate turn to the right after the guard post and we were at the paddocks and stables area. Just as I remembered where it would be... I wasn't surprised to see a handful of spectators at the riding arena. After all, any equestrian event in this country is reserved and appreciated only by the very, very rich.

Dressage is a French term , most commonly translated to mean training, is a highly skilled form of rodong performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an "art" sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery.

Given the above definition, a rider and his horse starts out at the beginner level and goes through six other levels before they can reach the major tournaments as specified by the Federation Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for these events. After passing through these levels, they can, provided they become masters of the art move on to international levels of competition. The "small tour" has four categories: The Prix St. Georges, Level 1, Intermediate 1, Intermediate A and Intermediate B.  The "big tour" has three levels: Intermediate II, Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special.

Dressage is not a flashy event. Unlike show jumping, dressage is more like a drill. Think of it as a pas de deux between horse and rider. The rider directs the horse to go through a standard set of drills or steps given a specific time frame. Based of how well they complete the standard passages given, they are given a score ranging from zero to ten by each of the judges. So basically, the competition standard  is set not among the competitors but on how well each one completes the tasks. The competitors, although seeking a better routine than their counterparts, are more concerned on how their mount can do better for themselves.

On this given afternoon, there were four  who executed the standard gaits from walks, to trots, to canter... They never ever go on a full gallop. Set against the lush greenery of the Polo Club and the setting sun, the participants went through the necessary paces to accomplish the tasks at hand. It ended all too soon since there were just our group of six people, the four riders and their horses and just a few relatives of the participants ( whose family names sound like Manila's who's who). They were even surprised to see us watching the event. 

After exchanging some pleasantries, we made our leave and eventually came across former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto and Mrs. Romulo. We did the same thing asking to be photographed with the honorable couple as we did earlier with the riders. As quietly as we came in, we left the area and made our way back to EDSA where I took a ride home. Alas, I was born on the other side of the paddocks...