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This painting is among the earliest examples in the Netherlands, of sitters from outside court circles depicted in an equestrian portrait. The type had previously been a prerogative of royalty and high nobility. To some extent, the Dutch development during the 1650s may have been related to the collapse of the House of Orange as a political power and the rise of a burgher from Dordrecht, Johan de Witt (1625-1672), as the effective leader of the United provinces. Aelbert Cuyp's several equestrian portraits of the early to mid-1650s are all pictures of wealthy burghers (most likely from Dordrecht) hunting with hounds.
The present painting represents two young members of a distinguished Dordrecht family: on the left, Cornelis Pompe van Meerdervoort (1639-1680), and, in the centre, his slightly older brother Michiel (1638-1653). The costumes of the figures are exotic outfits modeled on Hungarian dress. The two boys and their riding instructor wear tight-fitting velvet coats (called "dolmány") over elaborate shirts. The coachman to the right wears a looser and heavier coat called a "mente." The hats are more European, but fanciful.
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