History Main / UpperClassEquestrian

Compare and contrast PonyTale, whose protagonist's interest in horseback riding isn't necessarily because of class. AllGirlsLikePonies might also be in play for female examples. The riders' prize steeds may or may not be {{Cool Horse}}s. See WealthyYachtOwner for another common way for the upper-crust to get around.

* Ed Byrne plays with this in his ''Different Class'' show, where he jokes that in Ireland, the richest ''and'' poorest classes both own horses ([[DontExplainTheJoke the upper classes keep them on private land, the gypsies use them to move their caravans]]), so not owning a horse is a sure sign of being middle-class.

-->-- ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey''

* Music/BruceSpringsteen's daughter Jessica Rae is a champion show jumper who was the youngest member of the silver medaling US shown jumping team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Boss even bought a horse farm in part to support his daughter's career. A bigger part was a desire to return to his childhood home area of Monmouth County, New Jersey as well as to take advantage of property tax benefits the state provides for purchasing farms.[[note]]Technically [[Music/BonJovi Jon Bon Jovi]]'s heavily wooded property is a tree farm (a logger is permitted to take a few trees every year to maintain the fiction), and Creator/JonStewart's property is a sanctuary farm for rescue animals.[[/note]]

* Music/BruceSpringsteen's daughter Jessica Rae is a champion show jumper who was the youngest member of the silver medaling US shown jumping team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Boss even bought a horse farm in part to support his daughter's career. A bigger part was a desire to return to his childhood home area of Monmouth County, New Jersey as well as to take advantage of property tax benefits the state provides for purchasing farms.

* When the hero of ''The Choice'' [[RaceForYourLove races]] to the heroine's house to propose to her, he finds her coming back from a riding lesson, driving home how wealthy she is. (Though he already knew this and is hardly poor himself)
* In the movie version of ''Theatre/{{Hair}}'', Claude meets Sheila while she and her family are riding through Central Park, in full English-style kit. This version of Claude, a farmer who hails from Oklahoma, catches a rental horse that got away from the Tribe. Berber see Claude catch it and encourages him to ride after Sheila.

* TheVillain Max Zorin from the Franchise/JamesBond film ''Film/AViewToAKill'' owns a horse ranch where he routinely breeds and sells quarter horses. It is at this ranch that Bond notices a private deal between Zorin and BondGirl Stacey Sutton.

* Music/BruceSpringsteen's daughter Jessica Rae is a champion show jumper who was the youngest member of the silver medaling US shown jumping team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics The Boss even bought a horse farm in part to support his daughter's career. A bigger part was a desire to return to his childhood home area of Monmouth County, New Jersey as well as to take advantage of property tax benefits the state provides for purchasing farms.

* Music/BruceSpringsteen's daughter Jessica Rae is a champion show jumper (although she didn't quite make the American Olympic team for 2016). The Boss even bought a horse farm in part to support his daughter's career. (A bigger part was a desire to return to his childhood home area of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and as it happens, New Jersey has ''very'' generous exemptions from its otherwise astronomical property taxes for farmers -- including horse farmers. In fairness to Bruce, horse farming is very traditional in Monmouth County--among other things, it's home to two of three of New Jersey's active racetracks--so it's less "taking advantage of a tax loophole" and more "my desire to live where I grew up combined with my daughter's career give me a reason to do this thing that happens to reduce my taxes.")

** Anne, the Princess Royal (only daughter of UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen) won silver and gold in the European Eventing Championships in the 1970s. She also represented Great Britain in eventing in the 1976 [[UsefulNotes/TheOlympicGames Summer Olympic Games]] in Montreal, making her the first British royal to participate as an Olympian.

* In "[[Franchise/EvilliousChronicles Daughter of Evil]]," [[TheCaligula Princess Riliane]] has a beloved horse named Josephine, one of the few beings [[PetTheDog she treats kindly.]]

Not to be confused with [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Canterlot's elite]].

Prior to the invention of the automobile, horses were frequently used as labor animals, but owning horses for riding or pulling a carriage (as opposed to a plow or cart/wagon) was always only for the very rich and everything about it was expensive and heavily taxed. In modern times, owning a horse for leisure is still a definite sign of wealth, considering you need a lot of money to buy and keep a horse, not to mention additional land or funds to keep the horse in a stable. The rider can be accomplished at UsefulNotes/EquestrianSports, while the horse itself can be utilized for other traditional upper-class pursuits such as fox hunting and polo. Note that this does not apply if the character belongs to a group where horse ownership is common or expected (eg. they own a farm, or are a member of a nomadic people).

* ''Film/ItTakesTwo'': Alyssa Callaway, daughter of a mobile phone billionaire, is a great horseback rider, so when she switches places with poor, orphan Amanda Lemmon, her father is surprised at how terrible she is at horseback riding, thanks to Amanda pretending to be Alyssa. When Alyssa pretends to be Amanda, Diane, a social worker from Amanda's orphanage, is also surprised at how good Amanda is at horseback riding.

* Ayaka of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' is a [[Fiction500 super wealthy]] {{Ojou}} who is trained in riding horses - she's in the equestrian club at school and at her house they own a stable of horses she often rides for fun.

* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': Lady Mary Crawley is a lord's daughter. As is typical of her class, Mary is a master horsewoman. Fully evidenced in Series 1, when she charges and leaps a hedge riding side-saddle whilst out hunting with their guest and Turkish diplomat, Kemal Pamuk. Her skills are also tested at the Canningford point-to-point in episode 6 of Series 5, where she is pitted against her society rival, Mabel Lane Fox. She nails it and wins.

* ''Series/TheCrown2016'': Depicts several female members of the British Royal Family as keen equestrians, which is TruthInTelevision as seen in the Real Life folder below. After her father's death Princess Margaret is seen riding a horse to meet with her lover, who arrived at the location in a car. Elizabeth II is often seen at the stables during the first season, and one episode goes into detail about her arranging to make one of her stallions available to stud. In the third season, Princess Anne is introduced striding through the palace in her jodphurs and riding boots.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* A [[FandomSpecificPlot common thing for writers to do]] in ''Manga/FairyTail'' fan fiction is for those who give [[LonelyRichKid Lucy]] [[TheRunaway Heartfilia]] contracts with new [[SummonMagic Celestial Spirits]] is to have one of the new Spirits be either Monoceros the {{Unicorn}} or {{Pegasus}} the Winged Horse, whose specific interpretations vary with the writers, with the only constant being that the Celestial Spirit is a SapientSteed that [[OnlyTheChosenMayRide will only allow Lucy, and sometimes a single companion of hers who needs a lift, to ride]]. Writers typically HandWave the steed's [[AutomatonHorses lack of need for extensive care while on Earthland]] as getting all of its needs taken care of in the Celestial Spirit World, hence there usually exists a stipulation in the contract of "prefers to be summoned at a specific time of day (which varies with the writer) only in emergencies."
[[/folder]]

* Music/BruceSpringsteen's daughter Jessica Rae is a champion show jumper (although she didn't quite make the American Olympic team for 2016). The Boss even bought a horse farm in part to support his daughter's career. (A bigger part was a desire to return to his childhood home area of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and as it happens, New Jersey has ''very'' generous exemptions from its otherwise astronomical property taxes for farmers -- including horse farmers. In fairness to Bruce, horse farming is very traditional in Monmouth County--it's home to the state's most famous racetrack--so it's less "taking advantage of a tax loophole" and more "my desire to live where I grew up combined with my daughter's career give me a reason to do this thing that happens to reduce my taxes.")