A dressage competition under the sign of rigor and elegance

Nearly fifty riders from all over Normandy participated in an official dressage competition at the Vaumicel. Among them were Dominique Desmée, several times champion of France, Kloninger, presented as international, Laure Mathieu at the national level and Jean-Pierre Coiffier, champion of Normandy.

A member of the jury compared the event to figure skating: the horse and his rider perform imposed tricks, with very precise reactions, and are judged on flexibility, aesthetics and elegance. Fundamental discipline but less spectacular than the obstacle, dressage was sometimes neglected by the public; the competition wanted to promote it.

However, the spectators were numerous and silent around the quarry. Nine repetitions of five to seven minutes followed one another during the weekend, combining circles, voltes and imposed paces. Some mounts, aged five, had never yet competed.

On Saturday, Françoise Kloninger won the four-year-old and five-year-old and third rounds; Sophie Hagdopoulos won the fourth, level 5A, and Gabrièle Mathieu the fifth, 3B2. On Sunday, Christophe Mabille won the 4B2, Emmanuel Garcia the 4B1, Françoise Kloninger the 4A2 and Laure Mathieu the 4A1.

Reconstructed or uncertain passages:
- The introduction names "François Kloninger", while the list of winners gives "Françoise Kloninger". The first name divergence is kept here in the note, without creating two distinct people.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/PhDoc10/1986Juil28-Cheval.jpg