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Before the career that would span the rest of my life, Iwent on an equestrian tour of Europe. On the TWAflight from New York to London, I%u2019d brought along athought-provoking book, which was a habit I%u2019d never lose.%u201cHomo Luden: A Study Of The Play Element In Culture,%u201d by aDutchman, Johan Huizinga. I thought of this time as a time toplay before settling down to the serious business of showinghorses. Where better place than amidst the glories of Europe!%u201cAlthough the attribute of beauty does not attach to play assuch, play tends to assume marked elements of beauty. In itsmore developed forms, it is saturated with rhythm and harmony,the noblest gifts of aesthetic perception known to man,%u201dHuizinga wrote. I would soon experience environments unlikeany I%u2019d known in the United States. It was as if Europe wasfounded on the joy of play. Masters were devoted to perfectingtheir passion, be it the art of riding, architecture, ballet, painting,or whatever, not for fortune or fame, but as an irresistible privateadventure. Americans went to Europe for the same reason,made contributions there, and brought newfound skills back toAmerica.Wandering among the statues in Hyde Park, hearing Big Benchime through the mist, attending the theatre, and visiting stables, gardens and galleries, I experienced play, not as fun andgames, but as the pleasure of being in the presence of nature andart. Art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy described art as %u201c thedoing of anything well.%u201d I believe this to mean thoughtful attention to your desires and skills, whether this be ordinary or extraordinary - taking care of a home or an art like composing asong, painting, or training a horse%u2026In Dublin, Ireland, we visited an immaculate riding establishment owned by Ian Dugeon, a bow-legged, smiling little Irishman. He had been gravely injured in World War II but recoveredsufficiently to compete in three-day eventing (dressage, crosscountry and stadium jumping) in three successive OlympicGames. His ivy-covered stables, surrounded by gardens, housedhuge handsome, 17-hand Roman nosed-jumpers, which were afar cry from the 15-hand Arabians to which I was accustomed.Our group toured Crabbet Park in London. Crabbet wasfounded by Lady Wentwoth, daughter of Lady Anne Blunt, anintrepid beauty who had followed her adventuresome, handsome husband, Wilfrid, into the treacherous Arabian desert. TheBlunts brought back to England scrawny Arabians of impeccablebreeding. In the desert, they saw that these sorry-looking animals were transformed when mounted by Bedouins. With headsand tails high, the swift horses were truly, as they came to becalled, %u201cdrinkers of the wind.%u201d Ensconced at Crabbet, theyfounded a line of Arabians known worldwide. Many ofBrusally%u2019s horses, including *Orzel, had Crabbet blood in theirveins.It was in Austria, France, and Germany that I first witnessedthe classical riding, which would inspire the rest of my ridinglife. I%u2019d never seen riders sit horses so elegantly and effortlessly.Their quiet hands and legs appeared immobile on horses that reIan Dudgeon and Sea Lark competing here in 1951.INSPIRATION FOR A RIDING LIFEby Shelley (Chaille) Trevor March, 2026 Arizona Horse Connection 65Call Digger For YourPriefert Horse Walker!He has the experience and know-how to get you the righthorse walker at the right price!(602) 524-7338Rock Solid Frames, Inc.rocksolidframes@aol.comwww.rocksolidframes.comMany Styles To Choose From!