Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Spots In The Show Ring



I was one of those riders who hated Appaloosas. I swore I'd never own one. Now, I have two and can't imagine life without them. I'm a prime example of making sure I was doomed to own an Appy by declaring I most definitely never would.

I started Dressage lessons when I was 12 yrs old. Now that I have fallen in love with Appaloosas I am doing my best to tie my passions together. I have started Dazzle, my mare, in Dressage and she is doing nicely. That is us in the blog title, on October 17, 2008.

Dressage is a discipline every sound horse can participate in. I love it as the basis of anything else. Since I ride Dressage, I can "fake" any other discipline. I won't look like a show rider doing it, but I'll be able to do the manuevers required. You can build on Dressage to get to whatever sport you're passion is. Why would I give that up when I got my Appaloosa?

So, now the difficult part. Appaloosas are not usually in the Dressage ring. They are well-known in the Western world, in the Hunt Seat world, in the Endurance/Trail world. They are versatile and capable, intelligent and hearty. There is no reason not to promote this wonderful breed in the Dressage world. With this blog, I hope to help break down the stereotype that Appaloosas do not belong in the Dressage ring, that they can't be successful at a competitive level, that they shouldn't be bred specifically for Dressage as it "ruins" the breed.

With this blog, I hope to bring together other Dressage riders choosing to use an Appaloosa for the sport. Please contact me if there is a topic you would like to see explored, if you have pictures to share, etc.

1 comment:

Monkey Girl said...

I'm also a dressage/appaloosa combo, but just getting back into riding after 16 years out of the saddle! I'll be following this blog and hopefully will have some interesting things of my own to report.