Article ID: #0502
Article by Sam
Written 6/7/25
Last Updated 6/7/25
Quadrobics, being the unique sport it is, has a feature that separates the sport into two distinct halves that shape and categorize all gaits, skills, and styles that the sport has to offer. These two halves are known as the ‘focuses’ of quadrobics: Traditional and Recreational. This article goes over the basics of each focus, including how they split gaits and jumps, and each of their distinct styles, structures, and purposes.
Traditional is the first focus taught and encompasses all of the basics of the sport, covering most skills in levels 1-4. This focus is based around natural forms and movements, geared towards navigating terrain, fluid movement, handling interruptions, and moving with the body’s natural flow. Features of this focus include strength based gaits, functional jumps, movements & skills, and maneuvers. The style of this focus is described as more “animalistic”, with a lower stance, tighter form, and fluid movements, focusing more on speed and strength than form and precision.
Recreational is near the polar opposite of its counterpart. Being based on equestrian dressage, its focus is based more on consistency, precision, form and conformity. Its skills are based in balance, control, form, stance, and coordination. Features of this focus include full formed jumps, formal gaits and stances, performing skills, positions and forms.
Recreational quadrobics is exactly as its name describes, focusing on recreational aspects of the sport – anything that would otherwise be non-functional or unnecessary for basic movement. Examples include a collection of formal gaits, turns, flips, experimental jumps or movements, and categories like specialty gaits, variants, and skill categories. This category has a very distinctive style, often seen in formal sports, with a high stature, long stance, distinct tucks, numerous positions, and a more back heavy form than typical or traditional quadrobics.
While the world of Quadrobics is sorted into these two focuses, the sport is not completely divided by them. Each aspect that makes up a focus has other forms of categorization that prevent the halves from separating completely, and while they are both decidedly distinctive in most categories, in others, the lines are blurred.
Gaits are where the differences between traditional and recreational stand out the most, especially since strength based gaits are Traditional’s main focus, while momentum based gaits are most common in the recreational category.
Here's a side by side of the main gaits in Traditional vs Recreational quads.
It’s clear that despite the differences between the two categories, some things still cross over as the groups aren’t definite in the way things are categorized under them, allowing for the focuses to stay interconnected despite being so different. Gaits can also be distributed into focuses based on things such as variants, specialized gaits, and styles.
The baseline for distribution will be whether the gait is useful, natural, and necessary to be learned in order to perform quadrobics correctly and efficiently; or whether the gait is unnecessary, complicated, only performed under specific conditions, one that requires a lot of teaching, or has no benefit or practical use in basic quadrobics. If it’s the former, the gait is traditional. If it’s the latter, the gait is recreational.
Jumps are a great way to differentiate the focuses, especially in their styles and purposes. Jumps are broken into two categories outside of the focuses: Formed and Unformed.
While the unformed term has somewhat of a negative connotation, it is quite the opposite. Unformed jumps are more basic, following all of the normal jump steps excluding buck and midform, instead its highest point is called midpoint and is less collected and formed than the other. Unformed jumps have ample ability to make up for the lack of form and posture, in fact it includes more styles, varieties and functions than formed jumps.
Unformed jumps are characterized by their relaxed posture, comfortable stance, maneuverability and speed control. While these are all positive, it has its negatives as well, for example it's much less photogenic than formed jumps, and it's not the best at momentum control so proper landings may come off as harsh to some people. Another note, due to the form being more relaxed, it can promote future habits such as clipping, splaying, drifting and dropping, especially if someone chooses to transition from unformed to formed jumps as their main choice.
Formed jumps have a lot more steps in the jump itself, even though it has little personality in other aspects like landings, speed control and maneuverability, it makes up in other aspects. Examples of these could be things such as form, height, posture, and control. Formed jumps are featured in many sports, especially Show Jumping. It's distinctive by its midform and buck, two steps that occur at the height of the jump while midair. The buck is a step that helps slow down the momentum of the jump, making it easier and safer to land with proper form.
Sports is another aspect that is separated by focus, it's necessary as the scoring system for the competitions are separated between them. The sports are usually separated by category, form requirements, formality, and type. For example, all speed based sports are traditional, and all formal sports are recreational.
Here's a side by side view of some recreational sports vs traditional sports.
This isn't always the case, however. Some recreational sports can implement speed as a factor of scoring, and traditional sports can choose to implement recreational skills. Here's some examples of exemptions in sports:
Hunting - Hunting tournaments change each year, and featured games, sports and competitions can vary from tournament to tournament.
Track and Field - Sports like hurdling and steeplechase can feature designated formed jumps in higher levels.
Agility Coursing - Courses often feature recreational skills like tamps.
Performance Art - This industry has little to no boundaries in terms of form and skill.
CC Jumping - It's often that cross country doesn't require fully formed jumps in competitions.
Show Gaiting - Traditional skills like crouches and stalks are often represented in show gaiting.
The last feature of the focuses is that athletes can personally choose one to shape their form and preferences. It's often you'll hear someone ask “What's your focus?” Answers are usually trad or rec, but many choose to remain focus less in order to keep their form as adaptable as possible.
Teachers and trainers may also choose to identify with a focus, meaning they specialize in skills in that category, but teachers should still be capable and knowledgeable in all categories even if they have a focus.
Personal styles can reflect on form and alignment especially. Recreational forms are known for being higher, more collected, flat and symmetrical. Common traits are having the arms and legs further back during starting position, straight arms, a higher neck posture, and flat back. Traditional forms are more relaxed, spread out and stable, with a relaxed neck posture, higher back stance, lower tucks, and bent arms.
Starting position for a trot with Traditional form by Sam:
Starting position for a trot with Recreational form by Sam:
With all that said, it's safe to say the focuses make up large categories within quadrobics, each separated by their collection of sports, styles, and gaits. Traditional and Recreational are both things that separate the sport by their distinctive skills and forms; their unique traits ranging throughout not only competitive sports, but styles and techniques in teaching as well.
In conclusion, the focuses may be the main factors quadrobics, but the sport is still made up of a variety of skills that make names for themselves outside of their labels. Even though it's separated by focus, every aspect of the sport can still be unique to each other, aiding in creating a practice unlike any other. Categorization may be a big part of quadrobics, but the focuses never takes precedence over the rest of the sport.