Spanish Riding School, Dressage.com

The Spanish Riding School of Vienna
Spanish Riding School Insights

by John D'Addamio

The Vienna Performance:
The Quadrille – Canter Work and Finale

In this article, I will finish outlining the choreography of the Spanish Riding School's Quadrille. Refer to the previous two articles for definitions of volte, passade, second track, and the pillars as well as the description of the entry and trot work sections.

The Canter Work Section

On the center line, all take the left lead canter from the walk. At A, turn left and ride through the short end and corner. At F, half pass left to E. At E, make a flying change and half pass right to M. At M, odd number riders make a flying change to the left lead.

Even number riders stay on the right lead and are on the counter canter through the corner. At C, turn down the center line. First horse at X, odd numbers simultaneously half pass left and even numbers simultaneously half pass right to the wall. At the wall, all make a flying change. At A, turn down center line without changing lead.

First horse at X, all riders simultaneously half pass to the wall; odd numbers half pass right and even numbers half pass left. At the wall, all make a flying change. Follow the wall and the groups pass at C with the odd number riders on the wall and the even numbers on the second track.

Canter down the long wall to the half school. With the middle horses at the half school, all turn across the arena and then turn towards A. Approaching A, each group turns down the closest pillar line

and begins a half pass zigzag in the same half arena pattern they did in the trot work. To end the zigzag, all make flying change at the pillar line and then make a half circle toward the wall.

Follow the long wall to F and K. At F and K, each group makes a half passade to the quarter line. On the quarter line, each group does renvers to the half school. With the middle horses at the half school, each group makes a three-quarter volte so that they are riding across the arena with the groups coming at each other and passing at the center line. At E, the even number riders split into two pairs; riders 2 and 4 turn left toward A on the left lead and riders 6 and 8 turn right toward C on the right lead. Similarly, the odd number riders split into two pairs at B with one pair going toward A on the right lead and the other going toward C on the left lead.

Approaching A and C, each pair turns down the pillar line and makes a half pass to the wall finishing a few strides before reaching B and E. At B and E, each pair makes a half circle onto the pillar line.

Each pair follows the pillar line to the short end, makes a half circle toward the wall. From the corner, each pair turns onto a diagonal line toward the pillars.

On the diagonal lines, all riders make simultaneous canter pirouettes and then continue toward the pillars. At the pillars, each pair makes a half circle toward the wall so we have two pairs going toward A and C on opposite walls.

Approaching A and C, each pair turns onto the pillar line and then onto a short diagonal toward the wall at B or E. On the diagonal lines, all riders make simultaneous canter pirouettes and then continue toward B or E. At B and E, each pair makes a half circle onto the pillar line.

From the pillar line, each pair rides half pass to the wall, makes a flying change and makes a half circle back onto the same pillar line. Each pair then makes a half pass back to the wall, makes a flying change and rides to the short end.

From the corner, each pair turns onto the pillar line. Approaching the pillars, each rider makes a simultaneous half pirouette and rides the pillar line back to the short end they just left. At the short end, each pair makes a half circle toward the wall and rides toward B or E.

At B and E, each pair turns across the arena and then turns toward C. This rejoins the four pairs into two groups of odd and even numbered riders. Each groups rides toward C but turns across the arena before reaching the short end so that the groups pass at G. When the first horse in each group reaches B or E, the group makes a half pass to the opposite wall with the groups passing at the center line. At the wall, all make a down transition to the walk.

The Finale

With the first horses approaching A, all begin passage before the groups pass at A. From the corners (K and F), each group changes rein across the diagonal in passage passing at X between the pillars. From the corners at M and H, the two groups pass at C.

After finishing the short wall, both groups ride collected trot down the long wall toward A. From K and F, the groups change rein on the diagonal in extended trot and again pass at X between the pillars. At M and H, all make a transition to collected trot and then to passage. The groups pass at C in passage. With the first horses at B and E, each rider simultaneously rides a short diagonal to the opposite wall so that the groups cross on the center line. Each group follows the wall toward A.

With the first horses approaching A, all riders simultaneously turn toward C and form a line with riders number 1 and 2 in the center. Passage continues to about where D would be in a competition arena. At D, all halt from passage and salute.

The Exit

After the salute, all walk toward short end. At the short end, odd number riders reform into a group by turning turn right across the short end while the even numbers reform by turning left. After passing through the corners, the groups half pass at walk from the long wall to the center line. At the center line, they rejoin into one group of 8 and exit single file in reverse order (rider number 8 leading and rider number 1 last).

The entire Quadrille takes 20 minutes. Now that you have read how riders in different number positions make different turns or do mirror image movements of their colleague in front of them or behind them, perhaps you can begin to appreciate the complexity of the Quadrille as well as its beauty

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