I'm middle class and was a huntseat rider, but I learned the roots of dressage.
Dressage is not quite horse ballet. For a huntseat rider or jumper, dressage teaches the horse to use its hind end to push instead of pulling with its forelegs. Most horses are forehand heavy. It's natural, but if you want the horse to jump and leap over tall jumps, say 4 feet or more, then they need to "collect" which means they need to push with their hind end.
Dressage has its roots in Medieval times and possibly older than that era. Mongolian horsemen dropped their reins when shooting arrows at their enemies, so they must have used their legs and their weight to let their horses know where to turn. When the knights rode into battle, they couldn't use their hands to turn their horses. They had to use their legs and weight because their hands and arms were busy employing shields, lances, swords or other weapons against their opponents. If you visit a Medieval Times show, you will see them riding dressage and using Andalusian horses, which are the foundation stock of the famous Lipizzaners. General George Patton was instrumental in saving these horses from the Soviets in the waning days of WWII.
The great European riding masters of Renaissance Europe developed modern day dressage, which is a sequential training system of horse and rider. It's purpose was to build upon a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform and end up with a superb riding horse. Not every horse can be a champion or Olympic caliber dressage horse, but like ballet is to a human, dressage can teach every horse balance and collection needed to be a good riding horse. Highly trained dressage horses, are like the top level jet fighters. They have a lot of power, but they move gracefully. The ultimate goal of dressage is for the horse to respond to the rider with minimal aids and appear to move effortlessly, no matter what gait it does. Great dressage riders don't make the cues to their horse obvious. They should be subtle. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, the horse will respond smoothly to a skilled rider's subtle aids. That's what makes the two of them look like one pair "dancing".
Ann Romney could have chosen any equestrian discipline, other than jumping, to treat her MS. There are some barns that hold special riding classes for the mentally challenged and for those suffering from physically problems like MS. Most of these classes teach basic riding, whether it be huntseat or western. Ann wanted dressage. She had the time and money to excel in that discipline. I have no problem with her choosing dressage and for owning an Olympic level dressage horse.
My problem with the Romneys is their arrogance regarding the plight of the middle and working classes. The Kennedys use to ride ponies and horses and no one had a problem with that. It's not he horse that is the problem. It's the human and their attitude towards those who are less fortunate than they are. The Kennedy's got their sense of morality about wealth from their Irish Catholic heritage, which tells its adherents that wealth is a responsibility to help the less fortunate, not a sign from God that you are God's "chosen" person and can ignore and abuse the less fortunate with impunity. The latter is the view of the old Puritans or Calvinists, today's Republican Protestants and apparently Mormons.
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