Jan-Olof "Jana" Wannius, a former show jumping rider and Swedish national team captain, was interviewed by Swedish equestrian magazine Ridsport to share his two cents on the state of dressage in Sweden.
It has been 40 years since Sweden last won a medal in dressage at an Olympics. Unlike jumping, which did its lesson a long time ago, Swedish dressage does not seem to have a clear plan going forward, Wannius believes.
Eurodressage picked three interesting quotes from the interview.
What is your image of Swedish dressage today?
I see a number of problems, and the horses are one. It's like young show jumping horses and young dressage horses live in different worlds. A 5-year old showjumping horse jumps forward with many others, enters an unknown course and jumps obstacles it has never seen and participates without problems in award ceremonies with loud music. I have seen young dressage horses that barely enter the arena, but are stiff and back up. They must be led into the ring and award ceremony. And if you have open training on the dressage arena, you must not move a flower pot between the training and the competition.
The strange thing is that everyone accepts that it is so, but for me it is not good horsemanship. Dressage horses are not treated in the same way as jumping horses. They also need to experience different situations, and gain more self-confidence.
What is needed?
I think that the entire training scale in dressage needs to be reviewed, not least when it comes to horse handling. Why are many dressage horses unable to even stand still in a halt?
The good conditions are there. Look at the Danes, who come to Sweden and participate in Knytkalaset's training for Jan Brink and Kyra Kyrklund , and then pick medals at every single championship. It shouldn't be impossible for Swedish riders to do the same. But Sweden has not won a team medal in the Olympics since 1984, and the last individual medal was at the 1956 Olympics.
How can Sweden improve internationally?
Primarily through a debate about Swedish dressage. I miss the public discussion about what we should do. With the exception of Jan Brink and Emelie Brolin , who are both involved in Falsterbo's organizing committee, I as an organizer have never received any views or ideas from dressage riders. Every year at Falsterbo there are show jumpers, often some of the world's highest ranked, who seek me out and leave their views, suggestions and ideas. It has not happened once that a dressage rider has done the same thing.
There does not seem to be the same culture within dressage to have a commitment to the sport as a whole.
Wannius is chairman of the organizing committee for the Falsterbo Horse Show since 1985 and for the Jönköping Horse Show since its inception in 2016
Photo © Digishots