Dr. Cesar Parra – The Sport of Dressage
Dr. Cesar Parra has dedicated his life to the equestrian sport of dressage, serving as a trainer, instructor, and accomplished rider. Dressage, also known as horse ballet, is a sport that requires a horse and its rider to perform a series of pre-determined and pre-defined tasks from memory, with the appearance of effortlessness on the part of the rider.
In dressage competition, both a horse and rider are required to demonstrate a defined series of movements in order to progress. The linear tests increase in difficulty through each level, and are judged on an 11-point scale, with zero indicating failure and 10 indicating excellence. A horse and rider should receive minimum scores of six (satisfactory) across the board in order to progress to the next level.
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) is the ruling body that oversees equestrian sports and sets the rules for dressage competition.FEI Dressage starts with Prix St. Georges before progressing through Intermediare I, Intermediare II, and then the Grand Prix levels.
Horses and their riders compete against each other in an arena, and are judged against common standards rather than by each other’s performances. Predetermined skills, known as tests, are completed by one horse and rider combination in the arena at a time. Each test is made up of a number of progressive blocks of one or more movements, and each block is scored on a zero to ten scale. In addition to a numerical score, judges provide feedback to describe the skills the horse or rider either achieved or missed out on during each progressively difficult test.
Dr. Cesar Parra founded Piaffe-Performance to specialize in the selection, showing, and sale of equestrian sport horses in 1999, and he personally trains and instructs horses and their riders in the art of dressage. An expert resource on classical dressage methods, Dr. Parra is also a highly accomplished and respected rider himself, having brought numerous horses to significant victories in dressage competitions.
Dr. Cesar Parra – Classical Training Methods
Dr. Cesar Parra is an expert on the classical German training methods regarding dressage. The foundation of the style is a six-part scale of relaxation, rhythm, contact, impulsion, straightness, and collection. Dr. Parra has mastered these techniques as a rider and competitor, having begun his study and practice of them early in his career.
This is just one example of a classical dressage training method, as Dr. Cesar Parra is exceptionally-versed in many, believing that a training program needs to be uniquely tailored to each rider/horse combination. Through his Piaffe-Performance, Dr. Cesar Parra takes great care in pairing a horse with its rider, and bringing them both through careful training to dressage mastery. Understanding each horse and the steps that must be necessarily taken in order to make a horse and rider combination dressage champion is an area in which Dr. Cesar Parra knows no peer.