THE DRESSAGE LETTERS AROUND THE ARENA

The rather random letters around the dressage arena are a mystery to some, so I hope it will be of interest to some of you what the letters stand for.

In the Old Imperial German Court, the walls of the Royal Mews/Stable Yard were initially marked with letters indicating where each Courtier and/or riders horse was to stand awaiting it’s rider.i.e.

K Kaiser/King

F Furst/Prince

V Vassal

P Pferdknecht/Ostler

E Edeling/Ehrengast/Guest of Honour

B Bannertrager/Standard Bearer

S Schzkanzler/Chancellor of Exchequer

R Ritter/Knight

H Hofmarshall/Lord Chancellor

M Meier/Steward

Then apparently in the passing of time, the Royal Stable Yard was used for schooling, training and the exercising of horses, hence the current use of the letters in the dressage arena.