Horses Dance Their Way Into Kids’ Imagination

With heads low and feet high, Nova and Droste danced. From one side of the field to the other, the horses did a jig. And the children watched in awe.

After all, it’s not every day that a group of elementary school kids gets to see horses dance.

But that is what they got when Symphony Dressage Stables in Moorpark visited Campus Canyon Elementary School. Dressage, an Olympic event in which the horse looks like it’s dancing, takes a lot of work, said Norita Cassou, who takes lessons at the stables with her daughter, Rachel.

“It looks so effortless, but it takes a lot of training and work to get them to look like they’re dancing,” Cassou said.

“It’s a horse ballet,” said Cassie Rabini, 13, another rider at the stables. “You have to ask the horse to do movements by using your hands and legs so it looks like the horse is doing it by itself.”

Cassie, who trains with the stables, is working on moving up to the musical freestyle category in competition.

“Most people who compete in the Olympics do it to classical music,” Cassie said. “But I’m doing it to ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua.”

Eager to get closer to the dancing horses after the performance, the children lined up to pet Nova, 9, and Droste, 8.

“She breathed on me,” said Marilu Soto, 7.

Elise Iglesias, 7, said horses are her favorite animals and she wants to buy one when she grows up.

“I like horses because they make me feel free,” Elise said. “If I had a horse, it would be white and I would call it White Beauty.”

Chemaine Hurtado, who owns the stables with her husband, Christian, has been riding horses for more than 15 years.

“We wanted to come out and show kids what dressage is because most of them have never seen a horse before,” she said. “It gives them great exposure to the sport. I don’t know what I would be doing now if I didn’t get that same exposure.”