#nostirrupnovember 2020

freestyle competition results!

No Stirrup November Freestyle Competition was sponsored by Gæðinga Dressage and CAS Equestrian

Competitors from around the world joined us in our No Stirrup November Competition where they competed and shared with eachother the joy of improving balance and connection with their horses while riding without stirrups! Competition requirements were that the rider be without stirrups and show at least one speed control and directional control exercise. Performances from all horse breeds, types of gait, styles of horsemanship, and levels of riders were encouraged! Each freestyle performance was judged on a scale of 1-5 and received a score for seven different elements: Speed control, directional control, flow of performance, creativity (music, costumes, mood), harmony, fun factor, and balance without stirrups. The balance without stirrups score of course counted double!

Our judges were Laura (Lala) Benson and Carrie Lyons Brandt of Gæðinga Dressage training initiative and they were joined by Patrick Sullivan of Modern Day Horsemanship and Jessie Huijbers of Gröf Training Station in Iceland.

Division winners won back their stirrups (picked from a selection of stirrups available at the taktur.boutique and a dragon riders hat! Second and third place runners up received a hat or shirt. Top five competitors received metals.

The MOST HARMONIOUS PAIR award went to Alexandra Venable on her 26 year old gelding Ægir! You can view her video here:

Alexandra won free participation in our next 2021 Gæðinga Dressage Online Course and 50% off a CAS Equestrian Bareback Pad! Although it was difficult to select a winner our judges felt that this pairs performance was beautiful, deeply moving, and showed an incredible harmonious connection between horse and rider. Congratulations Alexandra and Ægir!

Message from Gæðinga Dressage leaders Carrie & Lala:

“Thank you to all the #nostirrupnovember competitors for your submissions. This challenge has been rewarding in so many ways, we are overwhelmed and honestly very moved to see so many people enjoying their horses all over the world in their own natural environments. Each one of these entries shows the essence of who you are and how you work with your horse and that is truly a special thing. It's not just about building better balance and leg and core muscles (but that is a bonus! ) But about reconnecting with your horse and possibly rediscovering why we all started riding in the first place. Thank you for being part of the Gæðinga Dressage community!”

Here are the winning performances from each division! Video links to all of the performances are in the results above!