12/05/2025
The Discipline Debate
One of the first questions most people ask me is what discipline I ride, and Im forever struggling to adequately answer it. For one, I ride in a variety of saddles, from dressage, jump, western, endurance, treeless, and portuguese. My horses go in snaffles, doubles, bitless, bridless. I own 5 different breeds of horses too. Sometimes Im in an arena, or on a trail, shooting arrows, or swinging a mallet, playing soccer, jumping, or competing in one of 4, or more "disciplines."
What do I ride?
The greater question is; does it matter?
Is discipline what actually defines you? How did we arrive to this place where we compartmentalize ourselves culturally and segregate?
When you first took an interest in horses, chances are you pretty swiftly were asked to decide what kind of riding you wanted to do. And without much understanding of each discipline, you picked one. Or, more likely, you fell into whatever discipline was taught at the riding school close to your house or where your friend went. The "other" disciplines became something ignorant, foreign, beneath you.
I work with a diverse group of equestrians, and I help on average 800 horses per year. I think its safe to say I collect sufficient data to speak on this perspective. I see this trend regardless of the discipline of barn Im standing in. The one thing that unifies all of my clientele though is they want wellness for their horses. So, I cannot speak to the abusive and neglectful sector of the community (pfew!). But what really breaks my heart is when I meet the uncategorized rider, and they feel shame.
Why do we prioritize being a discipline? I sure do wish I knew. Ive actually stopped asking my clients what discipline they ride, and instead I ask what sorts of things do they enjoy doing with their horse? What activities do they envision doing with their new saddle? Thats useful information so I can pull options that will suit what their riding life actually looks like.
What Ive learned is that the majority of riders are actually of no specific discipline, despite how they self define. A lot are like me; a fruit salad of great time bonding with their best friend doing whatever feels like fun that day. And the more they lean into that, and away from the confinement of the discipline they think they should conform to, they stay connected to the reasons they started riding on the first place. Theres something wildly liberating about a rider letting go of conformity and prioritizing what feels right. I have foxhunters in dressage saddles, and barrel racers in trail saddles, and you'd be surprised the number of people out there that compete in dressage in working equitation saddles. This is supposed to be fun, remember?
Charles deKunffy emphasized theres only two types of riding; good riding and bad riding. That which brings the horse into better spirits, balance, longevity, and that which breaks them down. It matters not the category of your saddle, if it has sparkles, or tooling, knee rolls, or a horn. Its whatever brings you two to your happy place together, and Im here to help you discover that.
As to what do I ride? I ride horses. Happily.
