My Personal Exploration of Hippodrama

The literal realm of theatre is not the only platform where one can examine and explore the world of Hippodrama. This dramatic form can also be subjugated to performance studies. Although this sector sounds similar to the general theatre studies, it is a completely different division in the world of performance.

Performance Studies tends to be philosophically based. It deals with the definition of performance and applying the said definition to events in everyday life. It asks questions such as the essence of "being". This is a broad field that is difficult to define because it tends to be different for each practitioner, much like dramaturgy. However, I would like to take the idea of "performance" and apply it to the equestrian sports world. I will prominently be focusing on the Performance Pleasure and Western Working Horse World. This is because these are the two disciplines I have personally worked with. However, I would like to stress that this idea of performance studies is applicable to any of the countless equine disciplines.

I went out to a local Tucson ranch to film Adam Bradley, a horse trainer go through some reining and cutting work. I also had a lesson immediately after, so I have footage of myself riding and going through a barrel pattern. Due to connectivity problems with the video camera we used, this page is temporarily under construction until I figure out a solution to provide the video to better explain my way of physically exploring a new form of Hippodrama for myself.

But to keep your excitement at bay, I have some pictures taken by local photographer Joe Hubbard.