What It’s Really Like to Date a Dressage Rider
If you are currently looking for love I’m pretty sure you have certain guidelines or expectations. Maybe you want them to be physically attractive, intelligent, and hardworking. Maybe certain things like movies or specific sports are important to you. But what is it really like to date a dressage rider?
I think the first step to identifying if a dressage rider is relationship material is to first identify who they truly are. You know, what their motives or interests actually are (other than dressage). So what should you be looking for?
Here are a few noteworthy things to consider if dating a dressage rider is in your foreseeable future:
1. Dressage Riders are Strong & Independent
One thing I’ve gathered along my relationship experience is that dressage riders don’t date you because they need you. Think about it…They don’t hop on the back of a thousand-pound animal so that their prince charming will come to their rescue. However, if you came riding in on Valegro or Glock’s Total U.S, now that might be a different story.
2. Get Used to Running Late
I’ve heard many a guy complain about how long it takes their lady to get ready for a night out on the town. But these guys obviously didn’t have a woman that had six horses to exercise, ten stalls to clean, and fifteen fence boards to mend all before the early matinée at the movie theaters.
3. Learn to Love Takeout
One thing you might not know about dressage riders is that they know how to work up an appetite. This comes from all the time spent meticulously caring for their horse, physical labor, and the mental strain of always trying to be perfect.
The downside to this extraordinary passion and work ethic is that it leaves little time for other things… like grocery shopping and cooking. You’ll be lucky to see your significant other before the sun goes down. And by the time they’re showered and ready to go somewhere for dinner the only options still open will be McDonald’s or the QuickMart.
But what is most important here is that you learn, as the person who is dating a dressage rider, to pick up an activity that is equivalent to running a marathon every week. This is to keep your level of hunger in balance. May I suggest water polo, rugby, or even underwater basket weaving. What?!? It’s actually quite difficult.
4. Rain or Shine, You’ll Be Outside
Have you ever been on a date before where your plans were canceled because the picnic you had lined up at the park got rained out? Or, your first vacation was canceled due to a snow storm in the area? Well, all of that is child’s play if you are dating a dressage rider. Learn to see in the dark, soak up the sun, and wear a lot of layers. To a dressage rider, no inclement weather can prevent them from meeting their training goals. Be prepared to be “All Weather” wherever you go.
5. Do You Have A Truck?
It might seem ironic that a person, who owns a horse, would struggle with transportation but this couldn’t be closer to the truth. One of the most attractive features you could possess as a potential spouse of a dressage rider would be the four wheels under your seat. Your truck!
If you’re looking to be their provider and protector there is really only one way in which you can do that…by hooking up to their horse trailer. Don’t be a fool and buy a baby blue Geo Prism and wind up with a spouse who only enjoys finger painting in their never-ending spare time. Get a truck with a gooseneck hitch that can tow a four-horse trailer as easy as a filling up an automatic waterer.
6. Building Stuff Is What You’ll Do
It may start off as an innocent request to hang a picture on the wall but it will eventually lead into fixing fence boards. Next thing you know she’s grabbing her saddle from the rack you built her, mounting the horse from the stand you made, and eventually entering the arena that gave you five splinters, a broken finger, and a migraine. Okay, maybe I made some of that stuff up, but come on you know it’s in my foreseeable future.
Making the Commitment
Now, this may have all sounded like a bunch of negative, complicated, and unconvincing dialogue to illustrate what it’s like to date a dressage rider; because it is. Just kidding! But of all seriousness, dating a dressage rider could be one of the best things you will have ever done with your relationship life.
Choose wisely the things that matter most to you in a dressage rider and learn to accept the rest. Be patient, give when asked, and soon enough you will be rewarded…by lack of pressure that is.
My dressage rider is the most hard-working, horse-loving, dressage enthusiast I know and love. Her character is one of the many reasons why I chose to marry her and build a life together. Remember, these are the things to look for in dating a dressage rider. Marrying one…well… that’s a different story.
- How Much Does a Dressage Horse Cost? - April 6, 2022
- What It’s Really Like to Date a Dressage Rider - March 17, 2019
