Submitted by Kelly Terry: Me and my best girl at her last show ever when she was 25. Both of carrying a little more around the middle that we'd like. Our village is amazing and she was one heck of partner. Gave me wings.
July is Plus Size Rider Month on YourDressage and we recently asked our social media followers to share stories, photos, memories, goals, and accomplishments of dressage riders who consider themselves “plus size” or who have once been “plus size.” And boy, did they deliver! Follow along all month as we share and showcase their favorite riding partner, go-to brands for the best breeches and boots, and training routines to get that last medal score!
Weight struggles are such a thing. I have PCOS and despite being strong, the weight is a constant challenge. Coupled with being tall, I’m always sensitive to the impact my physical self has on the horses. Balanced sympathetic riding can be achieved in any size. As a judge, I’m always so appreciative of seeing larger riders excel. As to the posters who are offended, this is a great recognition as the media is often skewed to the ectomorphs. I appreciate the stories and want to support active healthy endeavors. – Anne H.With my best girl who has helped me begin to love myself again. – Kate I.Thank you for being body image positive! I have struggled with my weight for the last 20 years and it is beyond difficult to find nice affordable clothes to ride in that won’t break the bank. – Carrie C.I almost died and almost lost my baby due to pregnancy medical complications. My guy helped me survive the ordeal and gave me back my wings. Man of the Sword(Ninja) has given me a reason to be my healthiest. I’ve lost almost fifty pounds since this was taken! Everyone is fighting a different battle. Be kind everyone! – Amber S.My girl Luna Lovegood doing a demo ride for a cultural event in Corrales NM! – Kaitlin R.My mare is now confirmed at 3rd Level & I am looking to finish my 2nd Level scores towards my bronze. Enjoying the journey and the positive outdoor activity that goes with it. – Kathy C.My 13 year old Belgian Tb cross and I at a clinic. – Lisa P.My horse Twister, a 2009 Quarter horse. We have been riding Dressage for just over 7 years. He was shown in Intro and scored high 60’s with me in 2019. His trainer rode him at first level first test and scored in 60’s. We continue to take lessons and hopefully will get in the show ring again. – Denise K.5’4, 150 lbs. 20 more than I prefer to carry but between my age (61), and autoimmune disease (polymyalgia rheumatica), feel blessed to still be riding my beautiful Hanoverian mare. 💕💕 – Katie P. I’m plus size and 58 years old ! I’m heading to the show ring next month with my 21 year old Hannoverian Leo! We have goals but I’m lucky to have this kind horse. – Kristina D. My favorite red headed mare, Ava Grace and myself this past weekend riding with a master of classical dressage, Charles De Kunffy. – Catherine C.Our last lesson, I just turned 30 and he just turned 27 😊 My partner in crime for 16 wonderful years, once western pleasure and now learning dressage basics. – Colleen D.Satchel (Perch/TB) at Training Level. We competed through 3rd and I received my bronze on him. – Linda P.I’ve never fit the profile of the rider image. I love my horse and love riding. Hopefully we can get the last fourth level score for the silver medal and I will have earned all the medals on horses I have trained myself as a “plus sized” person. – Jennifer S.My guy! This was our first year ever showing dressage and he carried me to Nationals. I’m lucky to have him as my partner in this sport! – Erin H.Kerrits tights are where it’s at for the plus size options! I enjoy Cavallo as well but I do have to squeeze into them! – Carrie F.Rachael Freeman and FF Rio Grande showing First Level this year at dressage schooling shows, we also trail, compete in Working Equitation and Trail Challenges 🖤🤍 I have owned him 8 years, he is 12 this year, he was my $1K Craigslist purchase that was one of the best decisions I ever made. – Rachael F.After finishing 6 months of chemo and radiation for stage 4 cancer, I gained 60 pounds. Steroids did a number on my weight. My mare is only 15hh and a lot of people told me I was too big for her. This bothered me for a long time. We are still dancing together and tackling training level this year with scores as high as 61% at our first show of the season just 3 weeks ago! Photo of us a few years ago at one of our first shows together. Read Jacqueline’s story My Silver Lining Has Four Hooves! – Jacqueline G.This is RBR Major Victory, my purebred Arab sporthorse mount who has shown through 1st level. As you can see, we show in hunt tack so our goals this year are to purchase some black tack and to work on shifting our seat wayyy back! – Kate G.Tess & I enjoying time outside of the arena. Kerrits are my go to brand. I wish more brands had plus size options! Looking forward to seeing what others put as their go-to’s. – Amber F.Beth Heist and Marty from the Horse of Course have been my go to folks for over 30 years!!! Without them I would not have been able to compete. And compete in dressage I did for many years. She measured me for boots, saddles, and clothing! Loved, loved, loved it! I was nicknamed Smiley. I always had a smile on my face and went down centerline big and beautiful. That’s who I am. – Nancy L.We’re both cobby but we got our Bronze Medal this year😁 – Margaret B.Me and my horsie love, Sebastian. We competed extensively for many years, ultimately earning my Bronze Medal in 2016. I’ll never forget when my coach said, “Lose weight if you want to, of course I’ll support you, but what you really need to focus on is gaining strength.” And once I had that mindset, everything started clicking and the sitting trot was something I could actually DO! I’ll always be grateful for everyone who supported me in a sport where curvy girls are often overlooked. Thank you for recognizing riders of all shapes and sizes! – Amy M.I have a wonderfully talented, beautifully moving Friesian who won many classes. We stopped showing because we literally felt like we didn’t “fit in” & were no longer having fun. So we school, clinic & trail ride instead. – Leslie B.I am a bronze, sliver, and gold medalist.. on horses I trained 100% myself. I am also an L judge with distinction and a USDF certified instructor. – Jennifer K.My 21 year old paint horse Shadow and I had the honor of filling a last minute cancellation and riding with Steffen Peters at Midwest Horse fair this year! – Breanna N.I have always struggled with my weight, but when I stopped riding due to horse retirement, it really became a problem. Now I am back at it with my young Percheron cross mare and trying to get into better shape. – Laura M.Me and my amazing ID mare. She is my heart horse and I love her so much. I once had someone say that if you weigh more than 10% of your horse it’s animal abuse. I actually stopped riding for a while after that. Then friends pointed out how happy she was to work. I am back in the saddle now and enjoying my time with her again. 🥰 – Kim A.This is Dhisney aka Walt. He is my 19.3+ hand, 1,800lb. dancing partner. We’re currently schooling third level together. Walt was officially my physical therapy after developing a rare degenerative neurological disease called CRPS that left me with two spinal cord stimulators. I gained a lot of weight after the diagnosis and weight gain exasperates nerve pain so staying as active as possible is very important in my pain management program. Prior to dressage I was a bad eventer. Hopefully Walt will decide to stop growing soon. He just recently went butt high again. He already has a custom trailer that was built for him and he’s out grown. I love him so much. My husband knows he’s in second place. – Paige E.I had my own horse and was just beginning to show at 2nd Lvl when I stopped riding around age 18. 25 years later in 2009 I started riding again, and 4 years ago got back into my passion – dressage. My goal has been to ride 2nd Lvl Test 1 in a show since that’s what I was doing when I quit. I don’t have my own horse but I religiously take a lesson once a week and over the past 3.5 years have worked my way up to showing at all the First Lvl tests. We’ve been steadily increasing our scores and holding our own against nicer horses and younger (and smaller) riders. I hope to be able to reach my goal next year! – Laurie T.My heart horse who I just lost in January. My favorite dance partner ever. – Marissa M. Note USDF strongly recommends all riders wear protective headgear when mounted.Got my bronze medal at 61 and now trying to achieve silver. Will never let age or size hold me back! – Paula H.Grandmaster Flash 6/3/00-7/18/22. Here he is at 21 with our new Hastlow and Sons saddle! – Kristen A.Dressage was the first equestrian sport where I felt I was fairly judged based on my weight. I was lucky enough to find my heart horse in and got even more hate for purchasing her but I trusted in myself and we have had some great success in the dressage arena. She just recently made it back to the arena after an 8 month battle with EPM. – Paige E.my OTTB: Onehundredmiles, barn name: Archie and I – Alexis B.I’ve been a plus size rider on and off my entire life. My online platform is based on positive education in the Equine community on all forms of social media and it is based on education and empowering women to feel confident and comfortable breaking down their goals, so that they are easily achievable. I find that a mindset is the hardest to change as a plus size rider, and we feel very alone in Equestrian community by way of our luxe, and having a hard time finding clothing and boots in our size. I thank you for the spotlight this month. There are more of us than people think, and I appreciate your support and encouragement, to enlighten all of us. – Karen F.Plus size rider who also rides plus sized horses lol – Katie S.I am still trying to find riding clothes that fit. I ride in Mountain Horse tall boots and have several breeches that might fit my tummy but are inches too long. Or they fit tummy and length but have loose, hanging material at hips and thighs. This is my saintly gelding, Supreme Maximus. I am a para rider after a spinal cord injury. – Sheilah K.– Christy D.My adopted rescue mare and I! – Danielle G.My gelding, HS Wrosaletti “Rossi”, and I. He’s a 2010 Hungarian Warmblood – SharielleHolly Hagen and my PRE Gelding Bugatti. Photo care of #tamarawiththecamera I’ve had Bugatti since he was three years old, and I have shown him from training level through fourth level. We are hoping next year to show PSG! – Holly H.My name is Lela and I’m a plus size rider! I also own Cavaliere Couture and our tagline is #Everybodyisanequestrianbody 🖤 This is me and my 7 year old Lusitano gelding, El Dorado 💛 – LelaMe and my PRE Distinguida JH (Geeda) we were riding intro B she was 4 in this photo and had 60 days professional training and we follow up with our trainer every other week. We will be riding Level one test 3 this summer and hope to get our first qualifying score to start working on our bronze. – Kristine N.Love this! Being bigger has been a struggle for me but here is me and my girl on my wedding day – Sarah N.Me and my gelding, Bourbon N’ Righ! We are schooling training level and are thoroughly enjoying dabbling in dressage when we’re not focused on jumpers! My favorite figure friendly brands are Ariat for my boots, Smartpak Pipers and Kerrits for breeches, Kerrits for show coats, and Ariat, Kastel, Smartpak and Dover for riding shirts/sun shirts! It’s trial and error with having a figure, it’s all about finding things that hold you in in the right places, don’t interfere with your riding and riding style and make you look and feel your best! – Erica H.I’m only plus size on the bottom so white breeches are not very flattering at all. Here’s my mare and I after getting our second level bronze scores. – Rachel G.After several failed IVF attempts, finally a successful pregnancy, and perimenopause, I am definitely a plus sized rider. But I have an amazingly supportive tribe here in Utah and Idaho who cheer me on and make me feel every bit as great as anyone more slender than I am. – Veronica M.
As we share the stories, struggles, and triumphs of plus size equestrians from across the country, our friends at SmartPak have graciously stepped forward to sponsor a giveaway!
