There is no tolt in dressage Blessi

Blessi can be a big, loveable, brave goofball but he does have some talent.  At age 13, Blessi started some dressage lessons as opposed to gait training.  I took lessons also but Blessi learned a lot quicker.  Most Icelandics have 4 gaits--walk, trot, tolt, and canter.  Some have a fifth gait called flying pace.  Blessi is 4-gaited.  Blessi has an almost warmblood trot with a lot of suspension as well as a good tolt.  My dressage instructor Dannelle says riding Blessi is like riding a 4-speed sports car as opposed to an automatic--you have a lot more gaits to play with. 

Last summer, Dannelle rode Blessi in his first dressage classes.  Much to everybody's surprise, they won 4 blue ribbons in 4 classes at the intro and training levels.  They beat out the warmbloods, Arabs, TBs, etc.  Their scores ranged between 66 and 72.  Here is a video of one of those classes--I have added a voice over that provides the judge's comments and scores.  And, yes, Blessi did throw in some tolt and they still took the blue ribbon.

Blessi did not do quite so well in his dressage tests this year due to the doughnut effect--a yet-to-be-written post.