It's a real thing. I went to a 3 day long expo this past weekend and watched multiple clinics from a guy who has invented a new discipline and is trying to get the word out about it: Western Dressage.
Basically, he said that it's not dressage horses in western saddles. It's not western horses doing dressage movements. And it most certainly not reining.
It's a brand new thing that was officially accepted by the USEF last year as it's own legitimate discipline.
At the moment they have 6 official tests and are working on setting up shows so that it can begin. It looks really awesome though.
He said that the official definition of Western Dressage is "western horses *trained* with classical principles."
I just think it's pretty cool because the horse world has had the same old sports for forever. It's pretty cool to finally have a brand new discipline. And I think it'll be very beneficial for the western world. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
(And this is NOT the same thing as Cowboy Dressage)

So I'm just wondering if any of you have ever heard about this prior to this question? And could you see yourself ever wanting to compete in something like this?

Here's a little more info:
http://www.midwestwesterndressage.com/in…
Randy Byers was the clinician, he's awesome by the way.

I have never heard of it- Thanks for posting this, I'm really intrigued!
And if this ever happens in Alberta, I would love to compete in this on my mom's QH. He needs some classical dressage work, but he's not built for "english dressage", lmao.

I adore this idea, it's great.

Yes I have heard of it! I really like the concept, but unfortunatley I have never had the pleasure of watching somebody perform Western Dressage! I do know that the Chaplain Dressage schooling series has recently added the new event to many of it's shows!

Sounds Good, I don't think it is a new discipline but sounds like he is training for a well rounded horse and a finished horse that is well schooled in many different areas which in a lovely goal to obtain.

sounds fun, iv never heard of it can You win points towards your horse or is it just awards and stuff at shows? I would be interested in intering a few in something like this.

I have heard of it.. I have several Facebook friends that are training their horses to do it.. I think it would be a good thing to watch and someday do with our horses

Ever notice that the seat for dressage and the seat for Western are essentially the Spanish (as opposed to English-for-fence-jumping) seat? Western and dressage are already closer than some people realize. Think of the >> Spanish << Riding School.

Wow, I've never heard of this, but I love it. This means you can do almost everything in a western saddle as you can in an english, you can jump (if they are tiny! haha), cross country, and now dressage! Thanks for introducing this to me! Oh and I'm not putting down english, just saying that i never thought there was such a thing as western dressage!

I have heard of it, but only since last year when the Kansas Morgan club put on their dressage show (Morgan only) with Western Dressage classes as well. It was interesting to watch, and certainly an interesting concept. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

It's done in a dressage arena, with the letters, and with the balance and precision of a dressage test. Kinda cool.

Just to clarify, the classical dressage methods of the Spanish riding school have nothing to do with Spanish training methods. The Spanish riding school is in Vienna, Austria. Spanish horses were brought in to serve as the foundation for the development of the Lipizzan breed of horses which accounts for why it is called the Spanish riding school. The training methods date back to Xenophon.
My western performance horses were being trained in dressage back in the late sixties and early seventies as were many western performance horses back then. This isn't really anything new from a training perspective, and has been going on for decades. But, if they actually develop formal competitions in western dressage, I think it will be very exciting.

57 years with horses

How interesting! I have never heard about this before. Could I ever see myself competing in it? Probably not. Thanks for posting this question though! :)