To ride dressage is to dance with your horse, equal partners in the delicate and sometimes difficult work of creating harmony and beauty.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Variety is the spice of life

This weekend was our local dressage chapter's annual late-winter show (cleverly named "Bears Above the Ground"). I went in this afternoon and volunteered for a few hours as show arena gate person, which gave me the opportunity to snap some photos of the wide variety of equines competing.

From the big
to the small;
the expected breeds
(what happened to the photo of the Friesian I thought I downloaded?)

and the "alternative breeds."
There were even a couple of mules!
(This girl, who completed earlier, had to stand near the gate to watch her girlfriend go, or else.)

From top to bottom: Shire/Oldenburg cross; pony; warmblood; thoroughbred; Arabian; Morgan; and, of course, the mules.

After playing "ringside judge," I went home and had the best ride yet on Larry. Progress!

4 comments:

Theresa said...

You got to just love those mules! Quite the handsome group. What a fun way to spend an afternoon and a ride in too! Woohoo!!

TBDancer said...

Great pictures and such fun to "watch the gate" (especially if you're not standing in the elements). And yes, surprises when the downloads aren't what you thought they were. ;o)

A good post and congratulations on the good ride after the show.

Michelle said...

Theresa, the mule at the gate is a sister to Heart B Porter Creek, a rather famous dressage mule in these parts (here's an old video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcRXnuhfG0). She is very nicely put together; I would have liked to see her compete!

Thanks, TBDancer; I find I am always inspired after watching competitors, good and bad, at a dressage show!

Mary Ann said...

I have a friend whose dressage mount was a very willing Clydesdale... and there is an article about Mules and their many uses in Horse Illustrated this month, one use being dressage!