The horses behind the scenes
Since moving to Florida, I’ve ridden more “real” horses on a consistent basis than ever before in my life. What I’ve gained has transformed my riding in ways I didn’t know possible.
In many ways it’s still surreal that I even get to ride the types of horses that are now a normal part of my daily routine. I say this because I didn’t grow up in the show barns with the nice horses that I see many of the youth exposed to today. And I can count on one hand the official riding lessons I might’ve taken prior to a few short years ago. So to say I’ve had to bust my tail to be somewhat qualified enough to ride these horses, would be an understatement! And I wouldn’t have it any other way.. it makes me SO grateful every single day. And some days are hard.. it’s certainly not all rainbows and sunshine. But the hard days just fuel the fire to be that much better. The horses don’t get to pick their rider. So it’s up to me to be the best I can be for them.
By “real”, I mean horses that hold you accountable to your decisions jumping around a course. One’s that require you to be accurate, to support them how they need, to make them feel confident that they can jump the jump well without risking having a rail or needing to leave the ground from a bad spot. Ones that call you on your bluff and demand you fix your mistake. Or one’s that maybe don’t care so much about mistakes, but need their hand held and a little reminder that they’ll be ok and the new fill underneath the jump isn’t as scary as it may look.
Considering I’m no pro, it’s not been without the occasional bumps and bruises. Which comes with the territory, and makes you learn REAL quick! I’ll never forget early this summer, I literally fell off two different horses at the same fence on the same day. Back to back I made the same mistake by not supporting them to the base of a pretty sizeable oxer. I didn’t “miss” to the jump, but I also made them feel abandoned by not riding them how they needed. I hit the dirt hard enough that even to this day I’m still a bit banged up. But I also haven’t done that since! And because of them, I’m riding better and more confident than I ever have in my life.
These horses, though not my own, have been a tremendous joy for me to ride day in and day out. My favorite part of this sport is figuring out the individual needs of each and every one I’m riding. Listening to the subtle cues they’re giving me, feeling what their strengths and weaknesses are, where they need help and where I can enhance they’re naturally good at. And being trusted with them… that has got to be the greatest honor. A year ago today I wouldn’t have been able to pilot them around a course or casually jump school at 1.20 on any given day. The opportunity my trainer has given me is something I will forever be indebted to him for, and the horses I get to swing a leg over day in and day out feels like a dream come true every time.