The quintessential Quarter Horse! We are celebrating these horses as our October Breed of the Month on YourDressage!
Did you know that dressage riders who choose an American Quarter Horse as their dressage mount are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the American Quarter Horse Association is a participating organization?
Here, a rider from Region 9 shares how she and an ex-ranch horse traded out their Western saddles to dance in the sandbox.
By Heidi Britain
My name is Heidi Britain, and I am an adult amateur dressage rider from Stephenville, Texas (USDF Region 9). My love of horses began at a young age, riding my grandfather’s roping horses, which were Quarter Horses. As a teen, I switched over to English disciplines, specifically jumping, but as a college student interning at a Hanoverian breeding farm, I fell in love with dressage. Over the years, I took lessons, gaining valuable experience riding several different breeds of horses, as well as my own Quarter Horses. After having my daughter in 2020 and transitioning to riding more at home, a safe and sane – but still competitive – dressage partner became a must.
Stache (CPB Mousse Stache) is a 13-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding owned by our family friends Clint & Pam Barber. Barber Quarter Horses participate in AQHA’s Ranching Heritage Program, producing high-quality, well-bred Quarter Horses, primarily for ranch work and events. They breed for qualities such as great minds, and fluid, easy-to-ride movement for long days in the saddle. These qualities correlate perfectly with what an adult amateur dressage rider strives to find in a partner.
I own and ride another Barber Quarter Horse (CPB Oh My Soul, who is also related to Stache!), so they know what I look for in a dressage prospect. When Pam asked if I would be interested in riding Stache, I jumped at the opportunity!
Named for the adorable “mustache” marking on his lip, Stache had spent his career as a ranch horse, working and roping cattle. While good at his job, he never seemed to find the perfect fit in any of the Western disciplines and had just been hanging out in the pasture.
The first time I hopped on him, even in a Western saddle, I could tell that he was something special! He is such an intelligent and kind horse with a true desire to learn and work with you. Stache has naturally fluid and rhythmic gaits with an excellent hind leg, so we got to work on putting the pieces together. Switching disciplines can be a challenge for any horse, but he has taken it all in stride and seems to truly love it!
After riding him for only four months, we went to the 2023 AQHA World Show (his first real show!) and won the Intro Level Stakes Championship. I continued leasing him through the winter, schooling Training and First Level, while I was pregnant with my second child. Having such a safe, smooth, and easy-to-ride horse was a necessity!
After a few months off this spring, we started working together again over the summer, and it was as if we had never taken a break. I entered us in Stache’s first USDF-recognized show in August, confident in his ability, but unsure of how we’d compete against the more traditional breeds in dressage. That weekend, we not only won High Point Adult Amateur, but also earned our qualifying scores for the Great American/USDF Region 9 Dressage Championships!
I love this breed, and finding Quarter Horses that have the potential to excel at dressage is so exciting! There are so many of them out there – if you take the time to look. By patiently and tactfully working the training scale, you can completely transform them, both mind and body. Stache proves that not only can Quarter Horses transition into and excel at any discipline, but that they can be competitive as well. The American Quarter Horse may not be the most traditional breed for dressage, but you won’t find a dance partner with more heart to give!
