Enter at A, Laughing: A Tongue-In-Jowl Examination of the Sport of Dressage As Seen Through the Satirical Eyes of a Dressage Husband

by Brian McKeown

We all know the dressage community could use a good dose of humor now and then, lest it become just plain too serious! Now here's a delightful book that meets that need, a humorous look at the sport, written by Brian McKeown, a.k.a. "Mr. Dressage Husband." This tongue-in-jowl examination of the sport of dressage includes the American Horse Publication's first place winner, "Confessions of a Dressage Husband," along with other irreverent pieces such as "Advanced Clicker Training for Dressage Husbands," "Creative Manure Management," and "Passing the Time at a Dressage Show."

Genres: Horses

181 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2003

About the author

Brian McKeown's historical novel, HANNAH'S LEFT HOOK, was published in 2014 by Garland Press. Brian was born and raised in Birkenhead, England.His father was a docker and his mother was a clippie on the buses. He attended St. Anselm’s College, did a stint in the RAF and the Merchant Navy, and then studied electronics at Birkenhead Tech, which allowed him access to the fledgling computer industry.After being hired by an American computer company, he relocated to Central Massachusetts where he has lived happily for the last thirty-five years. His first book,Enter at A Laughing, is a collection of humorous essays.

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Step into the world of dressage as an outsider as Brian McKeown regales you with bits of trivia, anecdotal evidence that the horses are running the show, and little-known historical facts. While Brian McKeown writes from a "layman's" perspective (not really, he's clearly entrenched in the sphere of dressage and horses to so effectively poke fun at things that might look off from an outsider's point of view), this book is still best read by those in the dressage world or those orbiting around it. Dry humor evokes some smiles though not a lot of laugh out loud moments, and some of the historical stories quickly veer into clearly made-up territory very fast, but McKeown shows off his wealth of knowledge about horses and the sport of dressage through the wide variety of topics and niche observations his essays cover. Illustrations are reminiscent of Thelwell, and add a fun element to the stories.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mildly humorous book poking fun at the world of Dressage. I like things like this, reminding everyone not to take it all so seriously and feeling that slight embarrassment of recognising yourself and your friends in the stories. I wouldn't say that this was amazing, or laugh out loud though. More of a wry grin and occasional snort of amusement. I found the 'Dressage History' sections just a bit too silly though. Overall, an ok read to dip in and out of over a weekend.