How to Make Dressage Letters

A simple, stand-alone dressage letter

Dressage letters are essential to proper training of both horse and rider to perform correct dressage tests. They are used with both small and standard dressage arenas. A small arena has eight visible letters; a standard arena uses twelve. While letters can be made in many ways, from painting letters on buckets to beautiful machined metal, a basic set can be created with minimal effort and expense.

Things You'll Need

• 2 sheets 1/4-inch plywood
• Grease pencil or carpenter's pencil
• Hand saw or circular saw
• White outdoor paint
• 12 3-inch or bigger hinges
• 72 screws (6 per hinge)
• Black outdoor paint
• 2-inch paintbrush
• Letter stencils (optional)

Instructions

Measure and Cut

1. Draw a line lengthwise down the center of the first sheet of plywood, dividing it evenly with two feet on each side of the line, using a grease pencil or carpenter's pencil.

2. Mark the sheet at one-foot intervals down the length of the sheet. You will end up with eight sets of two.

3. Cut along the marks using a hand saw or circular saw, ending with sixteen boards measuring one-foot-wide by two-feet-long.

4. Mark half of the second sheet of plywood in the same manner, ending with eight boards measuring one-foot by two-feet.

Paint and Assemble

1. Paint each board white, front and back, and let dry.

2. Lay two boards flat, with the short ends together and the long edges aligned.

3. Mount one hinge to the top center of each half, using the six screws that go with the hinge, connecting the two boards. You will want the boards to form an inverted V when you stand them up, and they should be able to stand alone when finished, as shown above. The hinge will be on the underside when in use.

4. Assemble all 12 stands, and then paint the actual letters. If you can find large (at least 12 inches high) stencils of the capital letters A, B, C, E, F, H, M, K, P, R, S and V, use those to paint each pair of boards with one letter each.

5. Using the black paint, stencil or hand letter a large capital letter A on both sides of the first letter stand, B on the next, C on the next, and so forth. Use only the letters listed in Step 4. They are the only recognized letters used in dressage arenas.

6. Let letters dry thoroughly. These letters are then easily stacked and stored when not in use.

Tips & Warnings

• The best dressage letters can be read from both inside and outside of the arena, by the riders and by the audience. The letters created here fall into this category.