Eagle Cap Dressage Club member and Dressage Clinic instructor Jo Jefferies schools her filly at a Buck Brannaman clinic near Walla Walla last year. Basic dressage principles of balance, rhythm, and connection with the horse apply to all kinds of riding.

To a lot of us, dressage seems an awkward and downright strange way to ride: skimpy, impractical, horn-less saddles and a horse with no real work to do. The whole idea seems a waste of time for rider and horse.

But that’s dead wrong.

“Dressage is helpful in learning communication with your horse, whether you are gathering cattle, or competing in the dressage arena,” said Enterprise rancher Connie Dunham. “It’s all about balance, feeling, and connection with the horse.” Dunham runs the Dunham Ranch north of Enterprise with her husband, Jim. She trains and rides the ranch horses. And for more than 20 years, Dunham has also ridden dressage and competed in eventing trials, a sort of Triathalon for horses and riders that combines dressage, show jumping, and cross-country. She is one of the instructors at the upcoming Eagle Cap Dressage Club clinics, April 6, 13, 20, and 27.

Although revered horsemen Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, and Buck Brannaman may not have outright recommend dressage training, they have endorsed its principles. “Responsiveness … is something that has to come in the unity between horse and rider…. Feel, timing, and balance. I still can’t improve on those three words…” said Tom Dorrance in “True Unity.”

Ray Hunt put it in a slightly different way in “Think Harmony with Horses”: “The right feel and timing bring you in balance….The first thing you know, your way of movement is the horse’s way of movement and you are one….It’s one body and one mind, but you have the say.”

At its most basic levels, dressage, seeks to improve the horse and rider’s rhythm, relaxation (softness), collection, impulsion, and straightness. Formal dressage has been around for more than 4 centuries, and began with the principles of Xenaphon 2,500 years ago.

Now, inspired by the teachings of Dorrance, Hunt, and others, there’s Western Dressage, too. The Western Dressage Association of America “…combines the Western traditions of horse and rider with Classical Dressage.” They sponsor and sanction western dressage events across the U.S.

“Dressage is based on relaxation and rhythm,” said Eagle Cap Dressage Club president Gail Murphey. “You can’t train a horse until they are relaxed. In dressage we learn to sit a balanced seat. Lateral movements, suppleness and softness are so important. Dressage principles are great for any of the disciplines.”

Jo Jefferies has day-ridden for ranches, ridden in eventing and dressage, and shown in hunt-jump. Jefferies is training her gray filly to show this year. “Her gaits need to be free and balanced,” Jefferies said. “I need to be balanced as well, and I need to support my horse. I need to show her the way. She has to be good in her body and good in her brain. If I’m not doing my job, she’s not good in those spaces. When we are really connected, I just think about turning or stopping and it happens.”

“People can come English or Western,” Murphey said. “The basics are the same.

The clinic is super low key. It’s not fancy it’s just an introduction.”

Instructors are all club members, and bring a broad spectrum of experience to the clinics. Dunham’s experience includes riding ranch horses. Murphey excels at teaching young people the fine points of working with horses at her horse camps. Marina Parris Woodward is Grande Prix rider who has shown at high levels, and is also a dressage judge. Other instructors include Brenda Johnson and Jo Jefferies.

Our whole approach to this clinic is that we want to give back to community,” Murphey said. “A lot of kids want to do dressage at 4H and Fair, but they don’t know where to begin. That’s why we are not charging much. It’s a great opportunity for them to painlessly learn about dressage and then do it at fair.”

“It’s very informal. We want it to be fun for everyone,” Jefferies said. “If you don’t want to bring a horse, you can come and just watch.”

Eagle Cap Dressage Club four-session clinic, “An Introduction to Dressage for Anyone” begins at 1 p.m. April 6 at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds in Enterprise. It continues each Saturday in April at the same time. The cost is $15 per session, or $50 for all four, and pays for use of the Fairgrounds as well as insurance.