As seen in The Chronicle of the Horse. Written by Eliza Sydnor Romm. Illustration by Susan DiFelice.
“That lady has it so easy; her horse is push-button!”
Ever hear this phrase? I’m not sure such a thing actually exists. And if it did, it would probably look more like this. A fully trained Grand Prix horse would feel like sitting down in the cockpit of a jet! And for most of us, that is a very intimidating feeling.
Just because a horse is trained to a high level does not make them “easy” to ride. Hopefully as you learn how to navigate and operate all these “buttons,” then a horse like this could allow to you feel some amazing things: upper level movements, yes, but mostly they should give you the feel for things like excellent balance, self-carriage, suppleness and responsiveness. These are the “basics” you need to feel in order to do any of the fancy movements.
Dressage trainer Eliza Sydnor Romm and professional artist Susan DiFelice were first introduced decades ago, when Sydnor’s family hired DiFelice to paint a portrait of her horse. Some 20 years later collaborated on a dressage training video for DiFelice’s website Allpony. In this new “Drawn To Dressage” blog series, we will be sharing their most recent collaboration, which combines their talents and shared passion for education and horsemanship to share illustrated dressage training tips.