How to Teach a Horse to Dance

At the Paris Olympics, hundreds of competitors will try to marry athletic prowess to artistic grace, but only those competing in dressage will attempt it while sitting astride a willful animal.

Popularly known as “horse dancing,” dressage involves riders directing their horses to perform a series of moves, including pirouettes, that are thought to have military origins.

This year the sport has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Last week, a video emerged of a star rider whipping a horse repeatedly during training. For many dressage fans, the video was a shock. Dressage isn’t meant to be about forcing horses to perform; it should be a showcase for how riders and their steeds can come together. And despite requiring a huge amount of practice and strength, it’s meant to look effortless.

That’s especially true for the freestyle event, when the horses perform to music and are judged on artistic excellence as well as technical accuracy. The main dressage competitions begin on July 30, and that star musical turn is scheduled for Aug. 4.

The horse whipping scandal forced Charlotte Dujardin, a top rider on the British team, to withdraw. The team’s reserve rider, Becky Moody, will take her place. On a recent visit to her stables (before the whipping video became public), Moody explained what it takes to nurture and train an equine ballerina.