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NOVEMBER 2006 • VOLUME 15 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
Bringing Old World Romance to Modern Dressage
By Kip Mistral
If man is at his best when consciously using his skill and imagination to birth a creation that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit, he outdid himself in the 17th –18 th century Baroque era in European art and design. The word Baroque (from Middle French barroque and Portuguese barroc) refers to an irregularly shaped pearl and, interestingly, was employed to suggest the variety of characteristics—from dramatic to bizarre to over decorated—that comprised this style of artistic expression typified by use of complex forms and dramatic ornamentation.
Fortunately for us today, that insatiable Old World appetite for extravagant, flamboyant beauty lives on in four horse breeds which were all developing into their own art forms throughout the Baroque time period: the Andalusian of Spain, Lusitano of Portugal, Lipizzan of Austria, and Friesian of Holland. These noble horses of flowing tresses, majestic carriage, proud sweet spirit and the ancient soul of the war horse are now commonly referred to as “Baroque.” The practice is appropriate enough, because while they share an Iberian heritage, the four breeds display the wide variety of characteristics of their namesake, the gleaming, richly sensual and always unique baroque pearl.
To drink in the beauty of these horses is to drink in a potent elixir distilled from their histories, stories fascinating and romantic that illuminate the significance of their value. And not least they stand as testament to the artistic passion of humans who not only created lines of special horses but dedicated generations of caretakers, always holding the future in mind, to nurture and preserve them through the ages and for the ages. Today, in the field of dressage, where ultimate obedience is required of a horse but the look and feel of restrained fire is valued, it is little wonder that modern riders are turning with rapidly growing interest to the Baroque horses whose qualities, as those of fine vintage, have only mellowed with time and the enduring devotion of their guardians.
The Odyssey of the Iberian…
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