The Man and the Horse
October 26th 2006 14:31
In the equestrian circles of Sydney the man does not seem as comfortable as the woman. Numbers of women horse owners and women riders outweigh those of men heavily. The pages of saddlery catalogues are filled with images of women and accessories targeted at female riders. Jodphurs and breeches by their very nature seem designed to look better on women, while female riders cumulate over 80 percent of buyers of equestrian publications.
But hold for just a second… On the international circles of showjumping and eventing, men equal or exceed the tallies of their opposing sex. Jockeys are usually male, as are trainers. On the country circuits of reining, cutting and rodeo, men overpopulate women completely. So is it the city that soaks men away from the stables? And when did horse ownership and horse-related activities become so feminine?
Awkward, or just seems that way?
It is rare to see a quiet moment between a man and his horse, almost as it common to see one between a woman and her horse. The new ways of natural horsemanship have been purported across the world by men like Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli. But will that make riding more appealing to men in Sydney? Does the dress code have to change? Is the stigma firmly stuck?
The battle of the sexes is long and it is unnecessary. Do women make better riders? Do men make better masters? The connection between a horse and its human depends entirely on the partnership, and each one is different. It is unquestionable though that the horse to both man and woman is an object of desire, of connection, of fascination, and that is merely expressed differently between the sexes.
"I saw a child who couldn’t walk, sit on a horse, laugh and talk… I saw a child who could only crawl, mount a horse and sit up tall. I saw a child born into strife, take up and hold the reins of life. And that same child was heard to say, Thank God for showing me the way".
-John Anthony Davis
This photograph was taken on the morning of the 1977 Melbourne Cup. It shows Tommy Woodcock with Reckless, a four year old stallion when this photo was taken for a Fairfax newspaper. Reckless ran second in the Cup later that afternoon, and Woodcock, whose relationship with the horse was exceptional, thought no differently of his champion.
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