Condescending Club

If classical riding is art, and art is beauty, than how can someone possess this beauty and be caustic?

If we are going to preserve classical riding, we need to lighten up

Perfectionism is part of the game. Just like ballet, there is an anal retentiveness required to make such elegance. You have to have a certain temperament maybe to care about such refined details over and over until they are just so.

But the art is slipping away, and we are chasing many away even faster - with a caustic attitude, attacks, one-upping, arrogance, arguing over details completely misinterpreted, and fighting all the wrong battles.

The battle should be up against crude riding, up against disrespect for the horse, up against the loss of love of art-

And yet, we find good, educated people piddling away their time making cut throat arguments over semantics or tearing each other down instead of getting out there and teaching this stuff

If it means that much to you, if you’ve really felt it deep into your bones, how can it make you feel poisonous?

I remember watching my teacher ride and just feeling overwhelmed with the serenity of it all. And that is what I took away from learning about classical riding

That is what I choose to share - I don’t have enough experience or years under my belt to share perfect details, or the perfect balance.

But I can actively choose the spirit of it, every single day. That’s the part that is slipping away fastest.