The Los Angeles Times ran an article on May 22 headed, “On a Trail of Her Own.” It tells the story of Ann Romney’s “passionate engagement in a rarefied sport that she believes helps her deal with a debilitating chronic illness,” multiple sclerosis.

The Times reports that Mrs. Romney “fell in love with dressage, a fussy Olympic sport that is also called ‘horse ballet.’ . . . Because it requires tremendous muscle control, dressage also provided Romney unexpected therapeutic benefits.”

The author, Robin Abcarian, spends much of the article detailing the costs of owning dressage horses. “Dressage is not for the faint of wallet,” she notes. Indeed, Mrs. Romney once bought a horse for $105,000, which is, of course, a lot of money, although she did eventually sell him for $125,000 — not a bad turnaround. Abcarian continues, “Insurance documents in the court file indicate that . . . Ann Romney paid $7,800 to insure five horses against mortality and theft for amounts ranging from $50,000 to $135,000 per horse.”

The insinuation, which more than a few other commentators have picked up on, is that Ann Romney’s dressage riding is another example of, as Trip Gabriel of the New York Times put it, how “out of touch with average Americans” the Romneys are. (Gabriel’s story ran on the front page under the headline “In Rarefied Sport, a View of the Romneys’ World.”) Buzzfeed broke the news last week that Mrs. Romney’s horse would be competing in an Olympic trial. The media have reported on the number of homes the Romneys own, the types of cars Ann drives, and the vacations they take. And of course, according to Hilary Rosen, we should not forget that Ann has never worked a day in her life.

Ann Romney, though, is not the first wife of a politician to enjoy horseback riding. John F. Kennedy married a woman who first sat on a horse at the age of one, and who began learning how to ride at age three. According to The Private Passion of Jackie Kennedy Onassis: Portrait of a Rider, by Vicky Moon, “What many people don’t realize is how vital a role horses played throughout Jackie’s often star-crossed life. As a little girl . . . she found companionship and comfort with her pony Buddy. As a woman aching for the presence of her husband . . . riding a horse through the wide-open countryside brought sanctuary. Later in life, the lonely widow and reluctant celebrity found anonymity and solace in riding.”

As a girl, Jacqueline Bouvier frequently visited her grandparents’ summer home, which was equipped with a four-car garage and a stable for the family horses, Stepaside, Ghandi, Pas d’Or, Arnoldean, and Danseuse. She attended multiple East Hampton Horse Shows. Also in attendance were members of the Mellon, Guggenheim, and Appleton families. Not exactly Sam’s Club types. Jackie’s mother, Janet Bouvier, won many blue ribbons at the East Hampton contest, and won the hunter championship at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden three times.

Jackie continued to ride horses after Jack became president. The first couple spent many weekends in Virginia horse country with the president’s longtime friend Lem Billings, who came along to keep him company when Jackie was out riding. She also passed down her love of horses to her daughter, Caroline. Lyndon Johnson gave Caroline a pony named Macaroni, who was known for grazing on the White House lawn. In one touching video, John Kennedy watches Jackie and two grooms saddle the pony and help Caroline mount him. Macaroni received fan mail from thousands of Americans.

When it comes to the Kennedys, hagiography is the mainstream media’s preferred mode of coverage. So it’s not surprising that Jackie Kennedy is held up as the paradigm of grace and dignity, while Ann Romney is caricatured as an out-of-touch elitist.

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, Mitt Romney said the other day in a different context. And what’s good for Jackie should be good for Ann — leave her horses alone.

— Noah Glyn is an editorial intern at National Review.