It’s always funny to me when
people expect that, because I do horse therapy, I am a great rider. Yeah…it’s
not true. Oh, I’ve ridden for ages. I’ve ridden a wide variety of horses, and
I’ve done a pretty good job staying on, even when the horse doesn’t necessarily
want me to stay on. I’ve even done some shows, though, to be honest, my best
class was the ‘ride-a-buck’, where you ride bareback at all gaits, trying to
keep a dollar bill in place under your thigh as you ride. Form doesn’t matter,
so long as you can keep your seat and control your horse.
This was good for me, because I have never learned to ride ‘properly’. Of course, part of this is because everyone I have ever taken lessons with over the years has had a slightly different view of what proper riding is. And I’ve never taken the time or money to work with one instructor in order to at least learn one proper style of riding.
Oh, I’ve thought about it. I’ve watched people riding at high levels, especially those doing dressage, or reining. Those types of riding look so much like dancing, and I would love to be able to do that.
But what are my priorities? It seems lazy to say that dressage takes too much effort to master, and I don’t want to put the time into it, but it’s true. It’s not just that it’s too much effort and I am lazy. It is that I am not sure that it is worth it to me. Because really, what good is it to anyone but me? Even if I could ride well enough to ride in the Olympics, what would that do in the long run?
But then I do therapy, and realize what I want to do with riding. I want to help people who can’t control their bodies experience what it is to control a horse. I want to help people get over their fears, and the things that are holding them back in life. I want to hear the giggles of a kid bouncing along at the trot, and see the look on the parents’ faces when their child first rides independently.
I love working with horses, but there’s something about working with them while at the same time making a difference in someone’s life. This is what I would prefer to spend my time doing. Oh, it would be nice in a way to be a spectacular rider. But as I have a limited amount of time in my life, I think I’d rather do therapy.
This was good for me, because I have never learned to ride ‘properly’. Of course, part of this is because everyone I have ever taken lessons with over the years has had a slightly different view of what proper riding is. And I’ve never taken the time or money to work with one instructor in order to at least learn one proper style of riding.
Oh, I’ve thought about it. I’ve watched people riding at high levels, especially those doing dressage, or reining. Those types of riding look so much like dancing, and I would love to be able to do that.
But what are my priorities? It seems lazy to say that dressage takes too much effort to master, and I don’t want to put the time into it, but it’s true. It’s not just that it’s too much effort and I am lazy. It is that I am not sure that it is worth it to me. Because really, what good is it to anyone but me? Even if I could ride well enough to ride in the Olympics, what would that do in the long run?
But then I do therapy, and realize what I want to do with riding. I want to help people who can’t control their bodies experience what it is to control a horse. I want to help people get over their fears, and the things that are holding them back in life. I want to hear the giggles of a kid bouncing along at the trot, and see the look on the parents’ faces when their child first rides independently.
I love working with horses, but there’s something about working with them while at the same time making a difference in someone’s life. This is what I would prefer to spend my time doing. Oh, it would be nice in a way to be a spectacular rider. But as I have a limited amount of time in my life, I think I’d rather do therapy.
