Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
![]() This is the MDC Sport Classic Stirrup. I love these stirrups. If you've ever seen an endurance stirrup, you'll understand why. Endurance stirrups are wide, deep, and very padded. They're comfortable and they give you a "platform" on which to rest your feet. When I first started riding in a dressage saddle, I really struggled with the shallow fillis-type irons. There was no place to rest my foot and the stirrup "drifted" to an angle under my boot. I also struggled with the lack of grip on the rubber pads. The MDC has a pivoting eye that your leathers slide through. It can be adjusted to rest at a 90 degree angle so that it lies in an "open" position against the horse's side. With the eye set to the 90 degree angle, the stirrup doesn't try to drift back and lay flat against the horse. I also like the extra deep foot bed and the texture of the foot bed. It's not sharp like many of the cheese-grater pads are, but it does give more grip than the standard stirrup pad. The main draw back to these stirrups is price. They run around $180 although I did find mine slightly cheaper. Even so, compared to $30 for standard irons, it's a lot to pay. But I sure like mine ... Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2022 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic (Q) Must Qualify 2022 Shows Schedule
(*) Tehachapi 5/22/22 2022 Completed … Pending ... 2022 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying 2 Scores/1 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Archives
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