I could see the frustration rising right up to her blond pigtail braids. “I said CANTER, Captain!” she shouted as the lanky thoroughbred trotted unperturbed around the arena.
“Sweetie, I think you need to sit deeper in the saddle,” her mother offered.
The pigtails whipped around as the girl turned. “I know what I’m doing, mom.”
I gestured the girl over to me. “Hey there. Captain’s getting a bit confused, huh? He needs you to straighten up really tall and just park your butt in the saddle when you ask him to canter. If you don’t sit deep and you keep posting, you’re just telling him to trot fast, okay?”
The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Okay! Let me try it again.”
Now this whole exchange hardly seems fair. The mother was right, but factualness in her answer couldn’t change one important thing: the fact that she was a mother. For some reason, hearing something from a coach versus hearing something from a parent for some kids is the difference between swallowing a teaspoon of sugar and swallowing an onion. Whole.
Read more on The coach’s call–letting your coach do her job!…
Thanks to the timely comment of one of my readers, I learned that I underestimated just how far the benefits of riding can go! Not only can riding teach responsibility, self confidence and a whole slew of powerful skills, it can also fetch scholarships all across the country.
After a bit of web snooping, I realized I’d just clipped the edge of an incredible iceberg.
Read more on Show me the money! Scholarships for equestrians…
I can only go in so many circles around the arena before I lose it and start squeaking like the hamster I feel like. It’s at that point that I prudently head out on a trail ride to give Noah and me a much-needed change in scenery.
Trail riding can be fun, relaxing or even competitive (yes, there are trail riding competitions…) But open trails can also add new elements that every rider needs to consider.
My golden rule is never ride outside without someone knowing where you’re going and when you’ll be back. This way, everyone back home knows when to start worrying, and can relax until then. On a similar note, I ALWAYS ride with a cell phone. This is a must if you are going to ride alone, and a good idea even if you have company.
Here are ten tips for staying safe and happy out on the trails:
- Practice makes perfect. If you can’t get your horse to stop in an arena, you can bet a pound of carrots he won’t stop out on the trail. So practice transitions, rein-backs (backing up), emergency dismounts, maybe even how to open and close a gate–all in the arena before you tally-ho out into the open. Read more on 10 Trail Riding Safety Tips – Happy Trails…
photography by Dave Russell
Fear… It happens to everyone. Your horse spooks at a trash can, you miss the spacing on a jump, you lose your balance in the canter or maybe you even fall–and suddenly the thought of throwing your leg back over the saddle makes your stomach flip.
At some point, something will scare you about riding. Maybe you started out scared or maybe something spooked you after you got started. I’d never been afraid of anything until my horse and I completely crashed through a 3’ 9” jump before a competition–and I mean we took out all eight poles and both standards–and suddenly even warmup fences seemed insurmountable. It doesn’t matter where the fear snuck in. The trick is to first recognize the feeling, next control it, then plan out your actions and finally just go for it!
There is nothing wrong with being afraid. The more you try to pretend you aren’t or the more you punish yourself for feeling that fear, the harder it will be to honestly address the issue. Or worse, you’ll do something you’re not ready to do just to “prove” you’re not scared. My infamous crash happened right before I was supposed to compete. I’d been training Noah for four years and although every warmup fence after that crash was terrible, because we were both so shaken, I thought it would be “chickening out” to forfeit the competition. So we tried anyway. Noah refused to jump the fourth fence and we narrowly avoided getting seriously hurt. I should have recognized that we were not ready to take on that course after our accident, but I was too embarrassed to admit my fear. You don’t have to make this mistake–be brave enough to listen to yourself and your horse. Be brave enough to know you’re not ready! Read more on Conquer Fear — 4 easy steps to getting “back on the horse”…
