It really is only a speed thing.
What "classical" trainers/riders try to do is have a working relationship with their horse. And train that horse using his strengths/weaknesses as a guide. So that means longer slower progress but much less strain both physically and mentally on the horse.
A "classic" teacher will use the term "circus" Dressage for any horse/rider that uses showing as their only accomplishment. Any horse through gimmicks/gadgets/short cuts can "look" like a Dressage horse. But it is through looks only and he is forced into that frame. But by not putting the time and effort into it, you can fool some of the people some of the time. It doesn't only happen in the beginning stages, GrandPrix riders do it all the time, and get rewarded for it. How? If the entire show is made up of these horse/rider combinations, the judges instead of doing the right thing[don't place anyone above 5th] do the politically correct thing and place them starting @ 1.
The Spanish Riding School of Vienna is the elite, the best of the best. And have been for decades. To go by their training system a horse isn't considered finished until the age of 17. So strictly using those standards it is impossible to have a "Classical/Correctly" trained horse perform in the Olympics at 9.