✨ "Dressage should be for the horse — the horse should not be for dressage." – Mark Russell, quoted by Patrick King
✨ "Speed is the enemy of balance." – Patrick King
Patrick King is a classical dressage trainer based in Lexington, Virginia, who came up through Western horsemanship — 4-H as a kid, an apprenticeship with legendary colt-starter Ray Hunt, then mentorship from the late Mark Russell before he found his way, like Rupert, to Luis Valença and the Portuguese school. He's since studied with Charles de Kunffy and Bettina Drummond, earned bronze and silver dressage medals, and now teaches through his online Academy for Classical Horsemanship and clinics from his farm.
He and Rupert trace how diagonal balance actually works and why the word "driving aids" gets lost in translation from the German, why competition pressure changes how horses and riders move, and how Western pleasure and saddle seat drifted from practical function into pure fashion. Patrick also walks through his simplest test for good training — could the horse explain to its paddock mates what you just asked of it — and why he stops mid-exercise to wait for a full diaphragmatic breath before asking a horse to go forward.
It's a wide-ranging, technically rich conversation between two horsemen who share a mentor but arrived from opposite directions — and it's only part one. They run out of time before finishing, so a follow-up conversation is coming.
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What You'll Learn in This Episode
00:01:50 – A shared mentor, Luis Valença, connects two very different paths into classical horsemanship
00:04:21 – Patrick's apprenticeship with Western horseman Ray Hunt and learning to "get to the mind through the feet"
00:08:29 – Mentor Mark Russell's insight that the feet are an extension of the spine
00:19:49 – The real difference between submission and relaxation in horse training
00:34:28 – Mark Russell's guiding principle that dressage should serve the horse, not the other way around
00:45:00 – Training the test versus testing the training, and how competition pressure changes the ride
01:23:06 – Diagonalization explained: how horses balance on diagonal leg pairs, and what that means for every transition
01:31:18 – Luis Valença's "position, balance, execute," and why "prepare, don't repair" beats fixing a movement mid-stride
01:36:36 – The "driving aids" mistranslation from German, and the physical, mental, and emotional dimensions of the half halt
01:54:37 – Why "is my horse breathing?" might be the most overlooked question in training
Memorable Moments from the Episode
00:13:44 – Patrick's story of an abusively trained Western pleasure horse that once cornered him in a stall as a teenager
00:27:38 – Rupert's breakdown of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin, and why riding this way feels so good
01:06:52 – The surprising history of dressage as a European import tied to wealth and status
02:01:00 – Two hours fly by, and Rupert and Patrick agree on the spot to record a part two
Guest Contact & Links
https://pkhorsemanship.com
https://academyforclassicalhorsemanship.com
About Patrick King
Patrick King is a classical dressage trainer based near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Lexington, Virginia. He grew up riding a wide range of breeds in Western Pennsylvania, apprenticed with Western horseman Ray Hunt, and was later mentored by the late Mark Russell before training with Luis Valença in Portugal and riding as a guest student at Spain's Royal School. He teaches a busy clinic schedule, competes occasionally — earning bronze and silver dressage medals with encouragement from Charles de Kunffy — and runs an online Academy for Classical Horsemanship with monthly live lectures. His approach blends the Western horsemanship principle of "getting to the mind through the feet" with classical dressage biomechanics, with a particular focus on balance, breath, and treating the horse as an active participant in training.
Website: pkhorsemanship.com.
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