Quadrille

Definition: qua-drille (noun, Etymology French, a group of knights engaged in a carousel, from Spanish cuadrilla which means 'troop', from diminutive of cuadra which means 'square').

A Quadrille is a choreographed dressage ride, commonly performed to music, which is often compared to an equestrian ballet or to a drill team. A minimum of four horses are used, although many times more (always in pairs), which perform movements together. Quadrille may be ridden as a performance, such as those given by the Spanish Riding School, or as a competitive test with judging. At the highest level, quadrille includes movements such as shoulder-in, travers, half-pass, passage, flying changes, and canter pirouettes.

Over the years, members of the RRC have formed various drill teams for kids and adults which have come and gone. But all of them have provided them same essential and unique benefits to both riders and their horses: regularly scheduled camaraderie and improved riding skills which can only be learned when horses are ridden closely together and in formations. The latest drill team started out in May 2009 with Paul Deichelbohrer (a drill team veteran) giving combined riding lessons to Eric Tchemitcheff and dave espinosa-aguilar early on Sunday mornings.

Other mounted riders took notice of the drill formation exercises they were working on, saw how fun, challeging and useful they were, and asked to join in the fun. By Octoberfest 2009, the quadrille had recruited 17 members for weekly practices. They had also separated some of the members interested in taking dressage show USDF quadrille-specific tests into various teams of 4 (quadrilles) and assisted them with learning and preparing for them. The quadrille riders have been very fortunate so far to have the excellent coaching of drill team veterans Paul Deichelbohrer, Barb Fredenburg and Jessica Ni, and any quadrille member can share with you how much they (and their horses) are continuing to learn from their participation.


Do It For Your Horse

While several of the quadrille members continue to have quadrille-specific test show goals, no one in the quadrille is ever pressured into doing shows. The primary focus of the quadrille is to teach riders skills unique to drill team riding such as accomplishing coordinated maneuvers in paired and single-file patterns, maintaining one's pacing and spacing regardless of the horse's unique characteristics and behaviors.

Equally valuable is that drill team riding teaches horses to get along with other horses; to get comfortable with other horses moving directly towards them, alongside them (stirrup to stirrup), and in between them -- sometimes at high speed. These are practical things for any horse to learn whether it is ever ridden in a show or not, and this is why we encourage any member to consider getting involved with quadrille practices, even if they can't commit to weekly involvement. There's really no limit to the number of people who can ride together, simultaneously, in these sessions.

Many of the quadrille members are hardcores who haven't allowed the winter weather to keep them from their weekly 9am Sunday morning practices. It's quite addictive, and the only way to understand why is to climb into your saddle and join right in.

For more information on the quadrille or to be included on its email-based forum, you can contact Paul Deichelbohrer at paul@richlandriders.org. We are especially grateful to Jessica Ni, our current quadrille coach, for all the information she is sharing at our quadrille sessions to help us improve our riding, our techniques, our routines and our horses' behaviors every week.

Quadrille Safety Rules:

Wear ASTM (American Society of Testing Materials)-approved, or equivalent, helmet while mounted.

Boots or shoes with 1/2" (minimum) heel must be worn while mounted.

When riding one-by-one (in files) maintain at least one horse-length between horses.

Control your horse, don't let it kick another horse or person.

Obey all of the Ground Rules of the Richland Riders Club.

Click here to view and download USDF Quadrille Tests and documents.



A way to memorize the arena letter arrangement:
Keeping Very Excellent Show Horses Abates Dressage Losses.
In General, Contestants Fail Placing By Riders' Mistakes.

Some typical maneuvers used in quadrilles: