It’s Called “Horse Dancing”

[Feeling Grateful]

November 23, 2025

Retirement Day #2316

“Anything forced or misunderstood can never be beautiful.”–Xenophon [350B.C.]

I was asked the other day “why dressage?” in reference to one of my more passionate retirement pursuits. Some people get 2^nd homes, boats, go on cruises…. I got a horse.

At first, it was about continuing a subtle connection with my daughter, who, in her teen years, rode and showed her horse StarBuck [a Lippitt Morgan who, ironically enough, was also descended from the Morgan lines bred by my great-great- grandfather Montgomery in central Indiana – a strange fact revealed in examining his pedigree after Molly bought him. Destiny? perhaps.] When Molly left for college, StarBuck went to college, too. But with her last 2yrs including semesters off campus, StarBuck came back home, where I worked with Molly’s trainer to “keep him in shape” by doing groundwork with him until her return. I was frankly fearful of riding – well, not so much the riding part- it was the “falling” part that terrified me. To no one’s surprise, the “return” never happened. Molly followed her college sweetheart to Seattle, and Jenn, Molly’s-trainer-now-my-trainer, one day said, “I’ll keep you safe-now GET ON THE [F-$%#ing] HORSE!” And I did. Because when I rode StarBuck, a little bit of Molly rode with me.

As promised, Jenn kept me “safe”- somewhat. I was not safe from the re-kindled passion of my childhood self for horses. A crossroads came when it became clear that Molly was staying in the PNW, and just as I was retiring, StarBuck, now 30yrs old, colicked for the one and only time in his life. I grieved deeply, and continued to ride, realizing about 3months later [in tears] that I needed a horse to call my own. Something deep and personal was excavating the child-Linda’s penchant for horses and dancing.

Me, age 2? Riding the only horse available

So here I am, 6yrs, 1 knee cartilage transplant and 2 hip replacements later, with StarBucks [she came with the name!], training in dressage. With The Amazing Jenn.

1st day back in the saddle post hip surgery #2 with StarBucks & The Amazing Jenn

So “Why Dressage?”

1] Dressage is, for me, the Equestrian version of Ballet, with a slap of Yoga/Pilates thrown in for good measure. I’ve studied Ballet since I was a child, attended a conservatory in my teen years, and have been a dancer all my life – it’s my profession. Ballet is 2^nd nature to me. As many professional dancers avow, there’s nothing better than a good Ballet Barre for an elegantly designed and physically sound sequence of [ever-changing] exercises that enhance overall conditioning, including strength, coordination, rhythm, flexibility/suppleness, balance and dynamic alignment. The symmetrical nature of the training is particularly effective for balanced physicality & mentality. Like being required to write with either hand, both Dressage and Ballet train for equal “sidedness.” This helps my old brain stay agile even as my physical self goes “duuurrrrhhhp” when Jenn says “go across the long diagonal” = changing direction of the work. Bonus! The “studio” for Dressage is typically an arena, and because we have access to a large indoor arena, we can work year-round = consistency in training.

2] Dressage intentionally builds a horse-rider relationship premised on mutual trust, respect, understanding and clear communication. A dressage rider looks like they are doing NOTHING – when in truth they are in a steady dialogue with the horse. The timing, efficiency and efficacy of this invisible conversation is such that “lay-people” think the horse is “doing it all” and the rider is just along for the ride. Like a skilled ballet artist, the horse/rider are so elegantly aligned, connected, rhythmically and athletically adept as to make technical marvels achieve the level of artistic expression. The art becomes an expression of the relationship. This is only possible through that mutual trust etc. previously mentioned. And Bales of Kindness. Another bonus? Much has been written about the therapeutic value of human-animal relationships. I’m so grateful that the training medium I pursue incorporates at its foundation the positive value and cultivation of the horse-rider relationship. What’s not to love?

3] This last bit makes my nerd self so happy: The historical roots of Dressage reach back to 350B.C. and the teachings a Roman general named Xenophon. There’s a chronological break [medieval times, plagues], THEN, beginning with the early Italian Renaissance, the development of Ballet and Dressage move in parallel trajectories through the Italian, French, English and Austro-German Courts. Both art forms embrace the courtly philosophy of achieving idealized aesthetic elegance, control, and precision through training and discipline. Their shared pedagogy is based on studied physics of how bodies move [horse and human, rider and dancer]. With a common eye for proportion, rhythm, alignment/collection, clarity of movement through space with impulsion/energy, even the terminology is shared between the two art forms, i.e. “pirouette,” “cabriole/ caprioles.” And of course you’ve heard of “Horse Ballets.”

Dressage is called “Horse Dancing” for good reason.

Duke of Newcastle, Sir William Cavendish [1592-1676] & Gaspard de Saunier Bolsouer: Caprioles sur le Droite

Lippizan Stallion performing a Cabriole: Spanish Riding School, Vienna Austria

Ballet Dancer Arian Molina Soca performing a Cabriole [2024]

Note: That aristocratic appearance of ease is a charade, a sham – don’t be fooled- Dressage, like Ballet, is incredibly demanding work. And yet weirdly, when everything aligns, when everything is on- it is easy! It mysteriously, miraculously, magically works! [just like The Amazing Jenn said it would!] The transitions, the perfect circle, it happens! And in those rarified moments, only identified in retrospect [“did you see that!?!?”] I know that for one long diagonal, for one turn, I was a Rider. I’ve only experienced that feeling in one other place – you guessed it- Dancing. Call it The Zone, Presence, Flow - that state of focus, connection and immersion - it’s when the impossible is possible. 

StarBucks, may I be worthy of riding her, carries me there. And when I take off the saddle and bridle, praise her, brush her, put her in her stall, and she poops, then turns to me with a gleeful glint in her eye and chortles, she knows that I know that she knows what I know –

We Danced.

“You must in all Airs follow the strength, spirit and disposition of the horse and do nothing against its nature; for art is but to set nature in order, and nothing else.” – William Cavendish, 1^st Duke of Newcastle [1600s]