Western Dressage

I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but the AQHA has recently added Western Dressage to their roster of classes.  Yes, folks, that is actually a thing.  In fact, I have often heard of reining as being a similar skill as dressage because of the emphasis on using the body appropriately and the light movements needed.

The point of my story is that quarter horses are a particularly versatile breed, and the Western disciplines are not all about lazy lopers and chasing cows.  The emphasis with all riding is (and in my opinion, should be) teaching the horse to use himself to the best of his ability in order to function in the discipline in which he performs.

And that's where dressage comes in - English or Western.

When I bought Jane Savoie's book, I bought it for particularly that reason - to teach Walker to use himself.  It just so happens that now we are going to focus on it even more than originally planned.

Do I need my pony to do Grand Prix dressage movements?  No.  Do you?  Probably not (unless that's your thing of course).  Because frankly, you can drop a substantial amount of money and still end up with a horse that won't take you to the top.  You can't buy drive, and you can't buy talent.

I get myself caught up a lot - caught up in what I don't have.  And really I should be ashamed of myself because I talk sometimes like I have no faith in Walker's abilities.  I have taken my natural inclination to underestimate myself to underestimate my pony, and that's not fair.  How can you ever expect your horse to do something if you don't believe in them?

Maybe we'll excel at dressage.  Maybe not.  Maybe we'll do Western Dressage instead.  Maybe not.

But most importantly, we'll never stop dreaming, never stop working, never stop having faith.

I mean, who am I kidding.  We have SO MANY options.

And every day is just about the ride.