Dressage (/ˈdrɛsɑːʒ/ or /drɨˈsɑːʒ/; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games. Its fundamental purpose is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, the horse will respond smoothly to a skilled rider's minimal aids. The rider will be relaxed and appear effort-free while the horse willingly performs the requested movement. Dressage is occasionally referred to as "Horse Ballet". Although the discipline has ancient roots in Europe, dressage was first recognized as an important equestrian pursuit during the Renaissance. The great European riding masters of that period developed a sequential training system that has changed little since then. Classical dressage is still considered the basis of modern dressage.

Andreas Helgstrand (born October 2, 1977) is an award-winning Danish dressage rider who is most known for riding the 9-year-old mare Blue Hors Matiné (d. January 25, 2010) at the Grand Prix level. Helgstrand has also represented Denmark in Olympic dressage events in 2004 and at the World Equestrian Games. Helgstrand was part of the Bronze winning Danish team at the Olympic games in Beijing 2008.

Helgstrand competed in the 2006 World Equestrian Games on December 20 in Aachen, Germany. He rode Matiné in his freestyle dressage test, where he opened the routine with a double canter pirouette. Both Helgstrand and Matiné performed wonderfully, receiving high marks from the judges. A video of the routine can be found on YouTube.

Edward Gal (born March 4, 1970 in Rheden) is a Dutch dressage rider. He and his most recent mount, the stallion Moorlands Totilas (nicknamed "Toto"), were triple gold medalists at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games, becoming the first horse-rider partnership ever to sweep the three available dressage gold medals at a single FEI World Games. Going into the 2010 Games, they had amassed multiple world-record scores in international competition, leading one American journalist to call them "rock stars in the horse world".

Gal began his equestrian career as a jumper at age 14, beginning with ponies and graduating to larger horses at age 20. However, when he discovered his horse did not like jumping, he switched to dressage. While enjoying solid success in national and international competition, he did not become a truly dominant rider until he began competing with Totilas in 2008. Gal would later say that he and his team understood that Toto was a special horse after their first Grand Prix competition.

Reem Acra is an internationally known Lebanese fashion designer. She studied in Paris, as well as New York. She is known for her bridal designs. Her designs are sold in famous clothing boutiques such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. She has been on several popular magazines including In Style, Town & Country, Vogue, Women's Wear Daily, Sayidaty [English] and W. Her fine evening gowns are also sold all over the world.

The Reem Acra flagship store is located at 730 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Born in Lebanon, Reem was introduced to the intricate world of art by her grandmother, who had a skilled hand for creating handmade silk flowers. According to her biography, Reem Acra studied design in both Paris and New York at the Esmod Ecole de Mode of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology.^{[citation needed]}

After her studies and practical design experience, she returned to New York where her atelier quickly gained international recognition. Her collections are carried in more than 100 of the most exclusive retailers in the world including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as her flagship Manhattan boutique.

Hans Peter Minderhoud (born October 7, 1973 in Westkapelle, Zeeland) is a Dutch dressage rider.

Minderhoud won the VSN Cup in 2004 with his horse Gameboy and also succeeded in the Pavo Cup with Sandreo and Florencio. At the 2004 World Championships for 5-year old horses he won the World title in Verden with Florencio. In the 2004/05 Stallion Competition he won the L-Class with Sandreo and the Z-Class with Rhodium. He won his second World title at the 2005 World Championships for 6-year old horses with Florencio. Later that year he and Uptown won the Pavo Cup as well.

In the 2005/06 Stallion Competition he retained his titles in the L and Z-Class, and also added the M-Class to his list. With Rubels he won the 2006 VHO Trophy. Besides that he succeeded in the Future Stallion Tournament with Florencio and the Pavo Cup with Ucelli T. In the 2007 Future Stallion Tournament he retained his title with Ucelli T, but also managed to win the silver medal with EXQUIS Rubiloh in the same event. He succeeded again at the Pavo Cup, this time with Vivaldi. At the 2007 European Championships in Turin he and his team mates became European Champion in the team competition.