No discussion of equipment would be complete without a description of that most crucial item, the horse. As the
sport of SuperPrix! evolved and the purses in competitions grew larger (the World Cup of Aesthetic Equitation now boasts prize money
of nearly $8,000,000), riders demanded horses with greater athleticism and crowd-pleasing dynamism.
Twentieth century dressage
had utilized European warmbloods bred to perform to the old classical standards, but it was felt that most of these animals lacked
the earth-shaking gaits and robust muscularity that Super Prix promoters demanded. Part of the spectator appeal of the sport was the
sight of tiny women on huge, overly animated mounts.
A new breed of horse, the Superonher, was engineered to meet the strenuous
demands of SuperPrix!. Early breeding experiments crossed warmbloods with American Saddlebreds. While these animals had
the extravagant front leg action so prized by judges, their spindly legs were unable to withstand the stress of hoof-pounding movements
unless their forehands were elevated – a big no-no in contemporary competition! Breeders realized that they needed to create
horses with more bone while preserving the spectacular knee action. The solution was to cross Percherons with Hackneys. While
this produced the bulk and action riders desired these animals tended to be nearly impossible to motivate despite the electrifying
technological developments in tack and equipment. Thanks to advances in genetic engineering and gene splicing, breeders
found they could add a small amount of Thompson’s Gazelle DNA to the mix to enhance suspension and reactivity. Understandably,
this prompted the FEI to delete the word “calm” from the description of the dressage horse in Article 401of the Rulebook.
The
ideal SuperPrix! horse is a minimum of 18 hands and 1800 pounds with a cannon bone circumference of at least 16 inches. The
horse should be heavily muscled (not to say muscle bound) particularly in the forehand to insure that it is not tempted
to carry it’s neck with the poll as the highest point, this being considered a serious fault in today’s show rings. Its gaits
should be ground-covering and lofty: the best quality horses move with their knees level with their eyes although it must be remembered
that their head carriage often puts their noses at or below their chests.
Previous to the FEI rule changes, Article 401 stated that “the object of dressage is the development of the horse into
a happy athlete...making him calm, supple and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen.” Even in the last century much of
this was more honored in the breach than the observance. When it came to revising the rulebook, logic dictated that the regulations
should be brought more in line with what was actually being rewarded in the show ring. Endless debates over what constituted a “happy
athlete” resulted in a change to “animated athlete.” Another point of contention was the word “calm.” Not only was this
quality impossible to achieve in horses whose genetic code now included DNA from frisky Thompson’s Gazelles, but riders and trainers
in particular found this to be antithetical to the impression they wished to create.
Those young animals robust enough to survive their initial outings in the show
ring are subsequently moved up to the ranks of Aesthetic Equitation or Prix Prix, depending on their aptitude. The majority
of today’s horses are specialists with particular talent in one gait or movement. For instance the Superonher B-line horses
(Boltmeister, Bucquemeister, et al) are prized for their extended canter, while S-line horses take after their famed foundation sire,
Schrekmeister, who set the world record in the Pirouette to Infinity division with an amazing 67 ½ revolutions. Had his rider
not lost consciousness and gotten trampled beneath his horse’s feet, there’s no telling how long Schrekmeister might have continued
twirling.
Aesthetic Equitation horses are rarer than the specialist lines because they must demonstrate two good gaits, not to
mention the fact that they must also be able to collect as well as extend their paces. Since such athleticism takes a high toll
on the horse both mentally and physically, horses in this category are usually retired at five years of age, while the Prix Prix horses
may be capable of competing well into their sixth year.
Schreckmeister
The legendary Schreckmeister is regarded as the embodiment of those qualities that make a Prix Prix champion. The giant blood bay (18.3 hands, 2100 pounds) with golden eyes and the distinctive skull-shaped marking on his forehead is the record
holder in the Pirouette to Infinity division. His numerous progeny have inherited his talent for collected spinning, in addition to
his aggressive temperament.
Schreckmeister, now 13, is currently enjoying his well-earned retirement in a spacious paddock
bounded by an electrified 12-foot chain link fence topped by razor wire. While often violent towards strangers and low-flying
birds, Schreckmeister is surprisingly submissive with his pasture mate, Il Duce, a miniature donkey.
Tarantulus
Just as Schreckmeister is the archtypical Prix Prix horse, Tarantulus displays the specialized traits that have earned
him the highest scores in the history of Aesthetic Equitation. The quality of his lateral work has been favorably compared to
that of the king crab because of his astonishing ability to move at leg-blurring speed in any direction, be it forwards, backwards,
sideways or diagonally.
As a foal Tarantulus' appearance gave little indication of his future greatness. In
fact his breeder was appalled when the hairy black foal was born, remarking that the leggy creature had more resemblance to a spider
than a horse, hence his name. Further concern was expressed when it was noticed that the clumsy youngster’s preferred mode of
travel was a sideways canter in which he zipped insect-like from place to place.
Famous Horses
