Every body is an equestrian body, which is why August is focusing on size inclusivity on YourDressage. As we share the stories, struggles, and triumphs of plus-size equestrians from across the country, our friends at Horse Dazzle and Kerrits Equestrian Apparel have graciously partnered with us to sponsor a #DressageForEveryBody2026 giveaway for three lucky readers!
By Rebecca Shuck
The first time I laid eyes on him, he simply took my breath away. He was 17.2 hands of pure power and grace. I knew right away that something was different.
In my 25 years of riding, I had never met a horse that made my heart skip a beat. It was impossible to take your eyes off of him, and I have always been a sucker for a bay. I spent the next four years as his groom… and fell more and more in love with him every day. I remember telling people that I felt as though he and I were put on this earth to be together. Only one thing stood in our way… a price tag. I knew he was my “heart horse,” but thought, “maybe in another life.”
Things have a funny way of working themselves out when they are meant to be, though the path there is often heartbreaking and unforgiving. The timing seemed terrible, but there he was, and I simply couldn’t say no. Artie (Don Noblesse) came back into my life when I was at my very lowest and most broken point. He was a crucial catalyst in helping me heal and find my love for horses again.
I knew I wanted to pursue a career in horses from the first moment my boot hit a stirrup. There has never been a plan B. I spent fifteen years in the hunter/jumper ring before transitioning to dressage. No one in my family was a rider, and I definitely wasn’t born with the body for it. I had been encouraged for most of my life not to ride professionally, and was often told that I would never be good enough and that I didn’t have “the look.”
What I never realized was that my horse didn’t care. I was raised in an average lower-middle-class family. My mother who wanted to give me the world, and my father who did the best he could. Money for fancy horses and shows was non-existent, so I spent my youth riding off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs) and spending more time in the dirt than I’d like to admit.
Mikey (Sternen-Mann) was my first quality dressage horse. He was hot, naughty, and temperamentally everything that you didn’t want in a breeding stallion… all wrapped up in a beautiful shiny black gelding package. Most of the time, his talent and rideability made you overlook all of his massively undesirable traits on the ground.
I purchased him as a First Level horse, and with the guidance of my trainer, had him schooling Prix St. Georges (PSG) and then some within four years. He really had a gift for the piaffe and pirouettes. My Black Beauty got me my USDF Bronze Medal, and despite his bad boy tendencies, we absolutely adored each other. He knew what my footsteps sounded like and would call for me the moment I walked into the barn.
I had hoped to get my Silver Medal with him as well; he was ready, but then… a very sad series of unfortunate events resulted in Mikey being broken beyond repair. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things that I have ever done. I thought I was beyond repair, too. I lost both my love of horses and myself. He took a piece of me with him that I will never get back.
But like I said… things have a funny way of working themselves out. Less than 24 hours later, I got the call that brought me back. Artie was for sale, there were potential buyers but I had first dibs, and it was now or never. I didn’t want another horse, but he was likely the only one I would have said yes to after what I had just experienced.
It is remarkable how much love and healing he has brought into my life. The way he pushes his head into my chest as though asking me to wrap my arms around him, or how, when I groom him, he grooms me back… It feels like he knows exactly how many pieces I was shattered into, and every day he is on a mission to reassemble them, one at a time.
Less than a year after purchasing him, we rode our way to my Silver Medal. It was a feat met with tears of unimaginable joy and relief. We did it. Artie isn’t a simple ride; he is strong, lazy, and sensitive…a bit of an odd combination, but he teaches me to be a better rider every day. The timing of the aids is so important to him, and getting the right feel on him has been an invaluable tool that I’ve been able to take to each lesson that I teach and horse that I ride. I’m hoping that together we can get all the way to Grand Prix.
Regardless of what the future holds for us, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to own and learn from such a talented, patient, and kind horse, and it will be a privilege to be by his side for the rest of his days.
I think that tenacity is the single most important quality that you can have as a rider if you want to be successful in dressage.
Your worst enemy? Yourself.
Your greatest supporter? Yourself.
Every rider is capable of accomplishing much more than they can imagine, as long as they are willing to work for it relentlessly. You don’t need a fancy imported warmblood, or the nicest clothes, or the most prestigious trainer, or the best body… You just have to want it badly enough.
Always feeling untethered as a military spouse has made it incredibly hard to maintain a good routine. Building a successful business has drastically lessened the time available to be spent on working out and healthy meal prep. Being a mom has pulled me away from the barn more times than I can count. Health issues have, on occasion, halted my progress entirely.
I have been overweight for as long as I can remember… and guess what? None of it matters because I have been driven to defy the odds and do it anyway. Blood, sweat, and tears have made me the rider I am today, giving me skills that money, talent, and opportunity could never buy.
I am so incredibly fortunate to have a group of fantastic clients who support and believe in me. I am the first to admit that I don’t know everything and that there is still an immense amount for me to learn. Kindness and devotion to the horses and the people that love them are equally as important as the knowledge that I am able to share.
Dressage is HARD… and that’s ok. As a community, we are so used to seeing the beautiful rides, the perfect flying changes, the flawless tests. But what is less normalized are the messy and difficult moments it took to get there. Clients often say to me, “Dressage is hard.” My response? “Yes, it is. It’s hard for me, too, and it stays hard. But that’s ok!” I try to encourage people by saying that all we need is for our horses, our rides, and ourselves to be 1% better than they were yesterday. If that’s the case, you’re winning.
One of my clients was a very successful event rider in her youth. After taking a 25-plus year hiatus to live life, raise a family, and build a successful career, she found her way back into the saddle two years ago. I was lucky enough to be her first call. Her dedication to our program and her horse has been absolutely unwavering. She’s made the comment on more than one occasion that she’s getting too old for this, to which I respond, “No, you’re not, keep riding!”
In two years, she has brought her horse from struggling with connection and left lead canter, to schooling Third and Fourth Level movements, preparing for the Great American/USDF Regional Dressage Championships, and earning half of her Bronze Medal scores in one show season.
Your mind is the best tool at your disposal. Your body does not define you as a rider. You are worthy of this journey that you are on and you are good enough. I am living proof that the size of your heart matters more than the size of your waist. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the last quarter century, it’s that anything is possible if you’re willing to work relentlessly for it.
So get out there, love every second, and show up with your whole heart. At the end of the day, we are all so very fortunate to be able to do what we do.
