Eastern Dressage Liaison Group

About Us....

Eastern Dressage Liaison Group Chairman, Inger Byrant (pictured left), who was a founder member, introduces the Group below.

A list of the other members of the Committee and how to contact them is given on the Contact Us page. Reports on our past events and information about initiatives like the Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund can be found on the News page.

Events are organised throughout the year and details are available first to newsletter subscribers (find out more on the Subscribe and Support page) and are then published on this site on the Event Diary page. We hope to see you at one of our events soon.

"The Eastern Dressage Liaison Group (EDLG) was started in the mid 1990s on the initiative of Anita Darken. The aim was, and still is, to bring riders, trainers and judges into better contact and understanding with each. There used to be rather a blame culture at that time, with the judges not seeing correctly trained horses - so blaming the trainers - and the trainers saying that judges did not know what they were looking for, or understand correct training. The poor rider often did not know whom to believe!

A large proportion of us exist in all three categories - riders, trainers and judges. Everybody involved with dressage needs to appreciate the specific aspects from all three sides. In the end, what matters most is that the horse should not get confused because the humans are!

Over the years EDLG has evolved and started many training schemes, especially for judges, which are now taken over by British Dressage. EDLG has the freedom to put on educational and social events that are not within the remit of BD. If we think something is a good idea we can just go ahead and do it. If it does not work, we can forget about it, if it works we can repeat it and improve and expand the idea."