SEIB have for many years supported and sponsored British Riding Clubs (BRC) events including the BRC Quadrille. After a break for a few years, SEIB have renewed their sponsorship of the Quadrille for 2024 and 2025.
The Quadrille is one of the highlights of the annual BRC Championship events. Teams of Riding Club members from around the country planning to compete in the championship spend the Winter months preparing for the early Spring Quadrille Championship.
With the SEIB BRC Quadrille championship coming up this weekend, on the 9th March, at Bury Farm in Buckinghamshire, we decided to have a look at exactly what the Quadrille is and what is required to take part.
Quadrille means a 'drill in a quad', i.e. a sequence of commanded movements within a confined space with four corners. Modern quadrille riding is an art form that dates back to the pageantry of the early royal courts of Europe. Originally known as horse ballets, the quadrille developed in France from a dance of the same name.
In present times, the Quadrille is a choreographed dressage performance that is often performed to music. It is sometimes compared to an equestrian ballet and riders and their horses perform movements together. Quadrille may be ridden as a performance or as a competitive test with judging.
The Spanish Riding School often finish their performances with the “School Quadrille” which consists of 8 riders working in formation at the walk, trot, and canter. At this highest level, quadrille includes movements such as shoulder-in, travers, half-pass, passage, flying changes, and canter pirouettes.
The SEIB BRC Quadrille competition consists of a display set to music with a team of four riders wearing themed costumes. The displays demonstrate horsemanship, but aren’t necessarily based on dressage movements.
Each team display in the Quadrille tells a story with all riders playing an active part but one or two may show some movements not undertaken by the full team. The Quadrille is open to senior and juniors and teams can be made up of any combination of rider age. Performances are a maximum of five minutes and can include entry and exit music in addition to this.
It can take several months, and many hours, for teams to prepare for the SEIB BRC Quadrille championship performances. In addition to arranging the choreography, a story and music, costumes for both riders and horses are generally homemade and very elaborate.
Please follow this link for performances of the SEIB BRC Quadrille from previous years:
In addition to the title sponsorship of the SEIB BRC Quadrille of the Year, SEIB has also taken on the title sponsorship of the SEIB Novice Winter Championships, the SEIB National Horse Trials Championships and the SEIB Combined Championships until 2026.
Members of our SEIB team will be on hand at the SEIB BRC championships to meet competitors and talk all things equestrian insurance, whether that’s about protecting your horse, horsebox, trailer or yard. We are looking forward to seeing the wonderful BRC atmosphere in full swing.
About SEIB
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