What Classical Dressage Can Teach Any Horse (and Rider)

So many riders wonder if their horse has the right temperament, the right breed, or even the right attention span for dressage. Add to that the judgmental glances at the yard, and it can feel like an exclusive club. In this episode, trainer Jessica Kenyon makes the case that classical dressage is for every horse—cobs, donkeys, sharp personalities, and even the so-called “lazy” ones.

In this conversation, Jessica takes on listener questions about horses who can’t focus, the sting of judgment at the livery yard, and whether so-called “lazy” horses are really lazy at all.

Jessica’s answers are wonderfully down-to-earth: sometimes the best thing you can do is let your horse have a run, often the real progress happens on the ground, and more often than not the hardest part is simply tuning out the critical eyes watching from the gate.

She talks about why she loves working with sharp, quirky horses, why groundwork is the hidden backbone of classical dressage, and why every horse—whether a cob,…