(Special to Oakland Press/JOETTE KUNSE) Judy Kelly shares a moment with rider Sara Dzierbicki and her horse Marci at Topline Dressage in Independence Township.

On her farm in Independence Township, Judy Kelly spends her day teaching dressage to clients from the surrounding areas as well as Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Chelsea, and Fenton.

Dressage is a French word meaning training.

“Dressage is an Olympic sport with a horse and rider team that performs similarly to gymnastics and figure skating,” said Kelly.

Dressage is occasionally referred to as “horse ballet.” The dressage riding methods teach responsiveness and athleticism to horse and rider using prescribed choreography and exercises within nine levels. At the peak of dressage training, the rider is asked to smoothly respond using minimal aids while the horse performs as requested in a relaxed manner and with the appearance of an effortless response.

Kelly and her clients are looking forward to watching the Olympic Dressage events in Hong Kong. Dressage Team USA members are Steffen Peters with Dutch Warmblood Ravel, Debbie McDonald with Hanoverian bred mare Brentina and Cortney King with Dutch Warmblood Harmony’s Mythilus. Interestingly, the rider’s average age is 43 while 14 years for the horses.

“The Germans and the Dutch are very successful at teaching dressage and their teams are favored in the Olympics,” Kelly said.

At Topline Dressage, Kelly said her clients are mostly women and she has 24 horses stabled at the barn this summer. Her farm includes two outdoor riding rings and one indoor ring. More horses are stabled at the farm during the winter.

Each rider owns their horse. Board and training at Topline Dressage is approximately $900 a month.

Riders train and compete at shows in Waterloo at Grass Lake and Copper Creek at Traverse City.

Kelly said she began riding in the backyard at about 10 and she joined the 4-H Riding Club in Farmington, where she grew up. She rode jumpers for a couple of years, but loved dressage.

“Dressage is a good basic equine discipline that teaches riders how to better communicate and balance with their horse.” said Kelly.

Kelly began riding at Centaur Farm as a teenager. Eventually, Kelly and her husband bought the 30-acre farm and renamed it Topline Dressage.

“It is interesting watching the area grow around us over the last 20 years,” said Kelly. “Dr. Davis, who was a vet in Clarkston, has lived next door for over 40 years. Both properties were part of the Edwards farm. This is one of the biggest parcels still used for farming in Independence Township.”

Kelly, who has been in business since 1981, works under a German trainer.

“This is definitely a sport where you always need to improve,” she said.

“The temperament of the horse is one of the most important characteristics in choosing a horse,” Kelly said. “You can have an average mover but you can do a lot with a good temperament. Dressage is constant repetition.”

“A lot of the horses in the barn have good movement. The breeds currently stabled at the farm are Trakehners, Oldenburgs, Dutch Warmbloods, Hanoverians, and Holsteiners,” she said.

These breeds originate in Germany and Holland. They were originally bred to be farm and cavalry horses.