#7 - Dancing Stallions - Spats & Sherman
Galantez aka Spats
Spats was my first equine dancing partner. He was a chestnut Arabian stallion with four white socks and a perfect blaze. I was a starry-eyed 14-year old girl who was completely enamored by his presence. My trainer, Barbara, set us up to be dancing partners. After our first few rides, it was evident that we belonged together. Spats taught me how to do the Grand Prix level dressage maneuvers, such as Spanish walk, passage, piaffe, pirouette, and flying changes every other stride. He was a super sweet relaxed old guy, who could really turn it on for our exhibition rides. I never rode Spats in competitions and I think that’s why we had so much fun together.
My passion for dressage that had ignited with Squire became a roaring fire with Spats. I designed my own self-determined project for 4-H since there was no program for a high level dressage horse. This culminated in an exhibition at our county fair. I also wrote my school English research paper/project that year on dressage. I became an expert on all things dressage, high level dressage, that is. Many years later, as an adult, I started over with the fundamentals of dressage.
Eros aka Sherman (as in the Sherman tank)
My love affair with Sherman began long before I ever rode him. In fact, if you had told me that I would one day ride that exuberant gray Andalusian stallion on a daily basis, I would have told you that it was just a dream of mine! Sherman had spent time traveling with The Royal Lipizzan Show as a solo act and I had seen Barbara ride an exhibition on him at my first horse show four years earlier before I had even met her. He knew all of the Grand Prix dressage maneuvers, as well as fun tricks like terre-a-terre (cantering-in-place), rearing and bowing.
Sherman had a huge personality and greeted me everyday when I entered the barn. He was massive; not extremely tall, but he was wide and his neck was huge, accentuated by a very long, very thick mane and forelock. His tail hung nearly to the ground and was the thickness of a tree trunk. Sherman was very playful! One of his favorite games was to stick out his tongue until I would grab it over and over again. He also loved puddles. I remember at one show when I had my dad hold him while I grabbed something from the trailer. By the time I returned, Sherman had drug him over to a rain puddle and had proceeded to stomp and paw in it until they were both covered with water. He was so powerful that he would make the equine treadmill go zooming without the motor even being turned on.
I’ll never forget my first ride on Sherman when I was 15. I had been dreaming of riding him ever since the first time I saw him. However, when Barbara had me get Sherman from his stall that day, I thought that I was just turning him out to play, lunging him, or putting him on the treadmill. Instead she had me tack him up. I was quite literally without words. My dream was finally coming true! I’m not sure why Barbara taught me to ride him. She was generous for certain and maybe it was fun for her to watch a kid on her powerful stallion. I was grateful then and even more so today, knowing how rare an opportunity it is to ride such a creature.
As I learned to ride Sherman, my fingers developed calluses where the reins touched them. He was a lot to hold onto! My riding and performance skills improved significantly. Over the next two years, we rode exhibitions for lots of local shows, including the Montana State Draft Horse Finals and the College National Finals Rodeo. The highlight of my riding career on Sherman was a trip to Vegas where I rode him in two shows and met many Andalusian breeders and trainers. Shortly thereafter, Barbara moved back to California, taking Sherman and Spats with her. My dancing season was over.
Looking back on my experiences with Spats and Sherman, here are the lessons that I learned:
Dancing is fun and a horse can be an excellent partner! By dancing, I am referring to the high level dressage maneuvers that I learned while riding Spats and Sherman. I have been chasing that feeling ever since. Someday I hope to dance again.
Be grateful. I have always been grateful to Barbara for sharing her magnificent dancing stallions with me. Never would I have had the opportunity to ride such amazing horses without her.
Learn step by step. Dressage is designed as a system for developing horses and riders that begins with Training Level and moves up through the levels, culminating with Grand Prix. I learned some dressage on horses that I rode prior to Spats and Sherman, but I definitely skipped most of the levels when I started riding these Grand Prix stallions. While it was fun and exciting, I missed out on the foundation of dressage, which I am learning about as an adult.
Dreams do come true! I honestly believe that I manifested riding Sherman.
