Cliff explained the history of dressage, as he began with a demonstration of aids, magnificently mounted on his Morgan stallion “Tuffy”. Cliff and Tuffy had been practicing earlier in the arena for their evening performance of “Dancing With Horses”. Tuffy, thinking he was entering a dark arena with lights and loud music, was pretty excited when he came through the gate. With his shiny dark coat and high-stepping gaits, he and Cliff were really crowd pleasers.
![]() |
Starting with the basics, Cliff moved the riders in a 20 meter circle, explaining inside leg to outside rein both to the riders and spectators. Cliff does a wonderful job of engaging the audience. The crowd of 300 or more stayed during the entire presentation, cheering for the riders as they maneuvered their horses through Cliff’s directions. Olivia’s Morgan gelding was a little nervous at first and the crowd quieted to help her work with him. He soon relaxed and drew a round of applause when they successfully completed their lateral work.
From the basic 10 and 20 meter circles, through lateral work and demonstrations of each gait, Cliff and the riders gave the crowd a very thorough look at the discipline of Western Dressage. Following the demonstration, Mary Gunn, WDACO President and Nancy Miller, Vice President/Clinic Coordinator, greeted the line of people inquiring about how to participate or just learn more about our fun sport.
![]() |
From left to right, Alida Near on her newly acquired Palomino Quarter Horse, Olivia Floyd on her Morgan gelding, Neide Cooley on her Morgan gelding and Chris Sletten on her Arabian mare. |
Pat Van Buskirk is a founding member of WDAA and serves as the Technical and Website Manager on the Board of Directors for the Western Dressage Association® Colorado Affiliate. She is an avid horse enthusiast and has been writing for various horse and auto magazines since 1994.
![](/images/file/3874/wdaa-250pxweb.jpg)