Kip, Author at Kip Mistral

Kip May 9, 2026

The Horse We Have in Our Stable is the Horse We Make

(© Kip Mistral 2026. Portrait of his Arabian mare by The Marquis Mac Swiney of Mashanaglass.)

There is a six-year-old mare somewhere in America who does not know how to lead. She does not know how to load into a trailer, either.

Recently, a respected trainer was called to collect the mare and bring her back for training. The horse had been lovingly “raised” from a foal by her owner. But when the trainer arrived, she discovered something startling…the mare had never truly been educated at all. She could not be quietly led forward by a human being, nor persuaded to step calmly into a trailer. After considerable effort, the trainer finally had to give up and drive home without the horse.

This story is not remarkable because the owner was cruel. By all accounts, the mare was loved. It is remarkable because it reveals something profound about modern horsemanship. We are living in an age in which many riders have lost the idea of foundations.

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Kip January 4, 2026

Sparkling Marie Antoinette: Irreverent Rider of Donkeys

Artist Gabriel de Saint-Aubin captured her better than history ever did. In his quicksilver sketch, Marie Antoinette sits astride but turned in the saddle, glancing back over her shoulder as if the moment itself had surprised her. The lines tremble with movement. She is only five feet tall, her elegant little mount perhaps a Spanish jennet, yet unmistakably all horse: collected, light, and entirely attuned to her hand, ready to leap forward at her smallest whim.

It has always seemed to me that Marie Antoinette, born Archduchess of Austria and at age 14 married to Louis Auguste, Dauphin of France who would become King Louis XVI, is one of the misunderstood personalities of all time. To demonstrate, I’d like to write a little about her equestrian life which at one point in the young Dauphine’s world, became something of a story which should be remembered.

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Kip January 3, 2026

The Vanishing Point of Lightness: Michel Henriquet on Equestrian Art

Michel Henriquet on Equestrian Art:

The Vanishing Point of Lightness

In a day when classical dressage and competition dressage don’t always see eye to eye, Michel Henriquet still strives for the ultimate lightness in riding.
by Kip Mistral

“It is disappearing,” Michel Henriquet says quietly, looking across his dining table with a level expression that hints of sadness. It is the end of a day of talk about the rich history of “high” equitation in Europe. Pale mid-afternoon light filters through the ancient windows of Fief de la Panetière, the venerable 16th century house that he shares with his wife, Olympic and international Grand Prix champion Catherine Durand. The company has lingered long over the end of a superb luncheon while Henriquet speaks of the future of equestrian art.

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Kip October 22, 2024

Music and Riding

(Author unknown but believed to be an Australian who posted on an early website from 2002. Artist for the image also unknown; please advise if either are known.)

Music is often considered to be one of the highest art forms, due to its wholly abstract nature and yet uncanny ability to evoke emotions and feelings in the listener directly without the literal intervening use of words, paint or stone. It is that most intellectual of pursuits which demands the abeyance of the intellectual faculties for its enjoyment. This consideration of music is also due to its ephemerality; the moment a note sounds it is also disappearing into the abyss of silence which existed before it started, and which ultimately awaits every composition at its conclusion.

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Kip October 2, 2024

Magnum Opus – Coming Q4/2024 & Q1-Q2/2025

[“View and perspective of Versailles from the Grand Courtyard” Gabrielle Perelle]

Magnum Opus: a large and important work of art, music, or literature, especially one regarded as the most important work of an artist or writer.

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