It’s back!! All through the month of July, we are running our annual Dressage For Every Body campaign on #YourDressage, and we’re teaming up with our friends at SmartPak again to offer some incredible prizes for our readers and writers!
Each year that we’ve run this campaign, we’ve used it to highlight size inclusivity in dressage, and to give a voice to those who have felt like they don’t fit the stereotypical image of a rider. We’ve featured stories of resilience, courage, kindness, and confidence, and we want to continue to encourage and inspire riders of all sizes, because #EveryBodyIsADressageBody
We recently asked to hear from riders who consider themselves plus-size or were plus-size at one time for a chance to be featured in our Dressage For Every Body galleries or to share their story, and win some awesome prizes!
Here, a Region 1 rider shares her journey in the saddle to instill intentionality in each ride, and the progress she’s seen reflected in her horses as this intentionality takes hold.
By Megan Kaltenbach
I’m Megan Kaltenbach, a 28-year-old amateur who just finished my Master’s degree, and am now navigating finding a balance between working full-time at North Carolina State University and riding as many horses as I possibly can in a given week. I pour everything I have into this sport because it keeps me grounded and growing, not just as a rider, but as a plus-sized person learning that I deserve to take up space with confidence and kindness toward myself.
My riding journey has rarely been with horses “built” for dressage. My last partner, Baylin, was a draft cross who built like a brick house – heavy in the bridle, with an unreliable motor behind and a front end made for pulling. When I started with him at age 15, people looked him up and down and said, “Good luck, he probably can’t do much.”
But over the years, he proved them wrong. He became stronger and more balanced. We were schooling Second Level work at home and traveling to new places, growing in confidence and physical presence.
In building our partnership, I often thought about how people tore him apart for all the reasons he couldn’t succeed – too heavy in front, short-strided, awkward in his movement. But what about me? I sport a top-heavy build with short legs – not exactly the textbook dressage rider image.
Just like with Baylin, it took time, intentionality, and purpose to build a confident understanding with my seat, leg, and core so I could support a horse that wasn’t “built for this” either. Ride by ride, week by week, we improved both our strength and stamina together. We showcased the incredible work that’s possible for a horse and rider combination when we show up, listen, and commit to the process.
It isn’t lost on me how rarely I see riders who look like me riding in dressage clinics, at shows, or featured in magazines. Sometimes, just showing up exactly as I am feels radical in itself. Over time, I’ve had to intentionally unlearn the belief that only certain bodies belong in this sport or at the higher levels. Every day, I remind myself that I deserve to be here, learning and growing, just as I am.
Finding tack and breeches that fit well and make me feel comfortable has been huge. When my equipment fits me and my horse well, it frees up mental space to focus on riding rather than worrying about how I look. I’ve also come to appreciate the stability and groundedness my body offers my horses. My quiet seat and core strength are tools that support them as they find their own balance, too.
Now, I find myself in a newly formed partnership with Finian, a 14-year-old Hanoverian with plenty of quirks, both physical and mental. In learning a new horse, every day with him is a new question of what kind of horse am I going to have today? Which rein is he heavier in today? How does he feel around my leg, over his back? How does my own body feel today? My lower back, my shoulders, my breath? Riding reminds me that growth comes from presence, not striving for perfection. Already, I can tell that working with him will be filled with moments of learning, humility, laughter, and quiet victories that only he and I will fully understand.
My goals with him – and with riding in general – are fluid. They’re never set in stone because I’ve learned that the real magic, like with Baylin, is in the journey itself. Of course, I have dreams: riding a test that feels harmonious from start to finish, training with my Top Five list, showing and earning my USDF Bronze and Silver Medals… But above all, I just want to have fun. That is what I hope to express to every rider, friend, trainer, and clinician I meet: for the majority of this time, my rides should be fun.
Beating myself up or coming up with all the reasons I can’t has no place here. When those thoughts creep in, I come back to what I feel in the saddle – the rhythm of each stride, the softness in the rein, the tempo I build, the lift in their back; this is why I ride. Not to prove anything to anyone, but to feel the joy of partnership, the quiet power of learning and growing together.
To every plus-sized rider reading this: your body is strong, capable, and brings so much to your horse. Our riding journeys can be whatever we want them to be – filled with laughter, connection, curiosity, and the simple, unfiltered fun that keeps us coming back, again and again, to this place where we feel most like ourselves.
