What breeds are most associated with dressage?

Dressage at the international competitive level is dominated by warmblood breeds that have been selectively bred over generations specifically for the combination of elastic gaits, trainability, and physical scope that the discipline's highest levels require. The Dutch Warmblood, Hanoverian, Westphalian, Oldenburg, and Danish Warmblood are among the most commonly represented breeds at Grand Prix level, reflecting the breeding programs of Northern Europe that have produced many of the world's highest-scoring dressage horses through systematic selection for gaits, character, and conformation suited to the discipline. The Lusitano and the Andalusian — the Iberian breeds of Portugal and Spain whose ancestors formed the foundation of the classical tradition — remain deeply associated with classical dressage and with the baroque riding schools, and they continue to produce horses of exceptional collection and natural carriage that classical practitioners particularly value, though their gaits are often less extravagant than the modern warmblood horses that dominate international sport dressage. The Spanish Riding School's Lipizzaner stallions represent the most historically significant association between a specific breed and dressage, with the school's white stallions having trained in the classical movements for over four centuries. German Warmbloods including the Hanoverian, KWPN, and Oldenburg have dominated Olympic and World Championship competition for decades, with some of the most successful bloodlines producing offspring worth millions of dollars as dressage prospects. Any horse with good basic gaits, a trainable temperament, and adequate conformation can benefit from and participate in dressage training, however, and horses of various breeds compete successfully at the lower and middle levels.