Lady of the prance
Lucy Worsley tells us about her fascination with how horses showed off their moves
Reins of Power TV scheduled for mid-September By Lucy Worsley’s own admission, horse dancing – the subject of her new documentary – “is a subject of niche interest only”. Nonetheless, she’s been fascinated by equine ballet since she researched her PhD on the architectural patronage of William Cavendish, the 1st Duke of Newcastle (1593–1676), a royalist soldier and politician who wrote extensively about horsemanship.
Today, the idea of exercising such close control over a steed may seem esoteric, but in the past it was a key skill for those with an aspiration to hold power. “To ride was crucially important for a ruler,” she says. “It not only enabled you to command an army, it also demonstrated that you had the self-control, and the control over others, to manage a powerful, dangerous animal. The ruler on horseback is demonstrating he has control over his own animal passions. The word ‘management’, control over others, comes from the art of the manège [the movements in which a horse is trained in a riding school].”
There’s a military element here, too. “On the battlefield, a great leap could take the horseman out of danger, while to rear up could have crushed foot soldiers,” says Worsley. “The art of horse dancing is really a battlefield skill that’s been aestheticised, made beautiful.”
For the documentary, novice rider Worsley trained with horse handler and stunt rider Ben Atkinson (who worked on Poldark) atop a white Spanish horse named Almonzor. “He was almost too much for me to handle,” says Worsley of her steed. “It was like putting a learner driver into a racing car.”
Nonetheless, Atkinson’s training enabled Worsley to demonstrate the ‘Spanish Walk’ and the ‘Hollywood Rear’ to a crowd gathered at a 17th-century riding house. “Of course, I dressed for the occasion as a Cavalier duke,” she says. “It was a dream come true.”
She wasn’t, however, allowed to show off her new expertise at the world’s most famous centre for manège, the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. “I asked if I could demonstrate my new-found skills on one of their horses,” she says. “The answer was: ‘Only if you train with us for
seven years first.’”