Who does dressage?

One of the things I love about dressage is that done well, it really is for everyone: every horse, every rider. See, what I consider dressage tends to differ from other people's definition of dressage. To me, dressage is good riding and training based on classical principles that is done for the horse and for the horseperson. Call it a sport or an art or a hobby, but I think if it's done well, it's dressage.

I haven't met a horse yet who hasn't benefited from correct schooling. Granted, I'm not very old and there are hundreds of thousands of horses I haven't met, but the premise is the same. Each horse progresses differently and has different limits, and just like the horses, we have limits, too. Maybe that's why I think competitive dressage is different from real dressage. Many competitors don't think that slogging along in the basics or bringing an untalented horse to the best of his potential is fun, because you're not winning and you're not moving through the levels. But you're learning and you're improving and to tell you the truth, there are lots of horses out there who need good riding.

So whether you're a sixty-year-old beginner or an eight-year-old girl or anywhere in between, whether you're riding an off the track thoroughbred or a pony or a warmblood or a mule, in my opinion, dressage is for you.

For a look at the horses I do dressage with, go here:
www.happyhaflingers.com

I think the name of that farm says it all. Above all else, we and our horses should be happy :)