English Horseback Riding

My rather amazing Aunt has been taking riding lessons for a while now with a friend.  Well, life happens, and BAM- I'm agreeing to go in place of her friend for a lesson.  Keep in mind I've only ever been around horses a hand full of times, and have absolutely no clue how to ride a horse...nevermind ride the thing "English-style".  (This post may severely annoy any serious equestrians due to my lack of of knowledge, verbage, etc...HOWEVER, what I lack in proper terminology, I will try to make up in enthusiasm!)

As we were driving into Cobham, to the Silvermere Riding School I was feeling really excited and anxious about the next hour of my life.  I can't think of a time I would have the opportunity to ride a horse; let alone get a proper lesson.  I had a very grand image running through my mind of how awesome I would look and feel galloping through the rolling hills of England...then we parked the car.

We headed for the office to get fitted for boots and a helmet.  To get to the office you must walk past about 12 stalls with horses in them.  At this point, the grand image fades.  HORSES ARE BIG.

My aunt is very comfortably walking around, stopping every so often to pet a large head sticking between bars.  I took some deep breaths and tried to think of anything I knew about horses: (mostly from movies)  don't walk up behind them, they like carrots and apples, there's one that talks, when you're done riding you walk like John Wayne, and petting...petting...nothing about petting.  Do you let a horse smell you first, or is that a dog?  Is there a certain spot they like being pet?  I passed on the petting part, and just decided to wait until the actual lesson- clearly I'm too amateur to even pet a horse-this is not going to be good.

The Rink-with jumps that we went AROUND

We entered the rink where we were to have our lesson, and I was taking lots of composing breaths.  The horses came in after us, and the instructor asked us to come up and mount the horse.  I gave the horse about a 20 foot radius and walked in front where he could see me.  This was when I realized he was wearing a weird face mask, that looked an awful lot like that of an executioner.

There was a ladder to climb up to the stirrups and on to the saddle.  This was the first place I noticed a difference: no horn on the saddle to climb onto.   Next difference: the saddle is significantly smaller.  Once I was up there, some nerves disappeared.  I felt much more at ease when I found out Bobby wears the mask for allergies (to keep the pollen out of his eyes/nose) - he's no executioner.  He's just a giant dork with a runny nose and itchy eyes.

This is Bobby- Mask-less!

I managed to pick up on how to hold the reins, how to stay balanced on the saddle, and how to use my legs to control walking, turning, and stopping.  The instructor was really good at giving immediate feedback, so I felt like I was figuring things out pretty quickly.  She decided we were ready for the rising trot.  Bobby took off like he had been waiting to do this all day.  I held on to the saddle with one hand and the reins in the other and did my best to stay balanced on the saddle.  It was frightening and exhilarating all at the same time.  The first go 'round I was just getting bashed against the saddle and literally had no control of where we were going. When the instructor explained, and my aunt demonstrated what a rising trot looks like, I did my best to imitate.  The only way to describe it:  I was like the worse dancer in the room-I couldn't stay on beat.  Essentially with a rising trot you are to stand in your stirrups and lift your bum off the saddle in a kind of 1-2 beat that goes along with the rhythm of the horses steps.

After an hour of riding, and finally getting the rising trot; we were done.  We dismounted, and my legs were totally Gumby.  The standing and resting in the stirrups, and the demand on your thighs to control the speed and direction of the horse was intense.

We got back in the car, and I felt like I had about 20 espresso shots.  I totally got an adrenaline rush from riding a horse!  I was excited like a little kid at Christmas.  I had conquered a fear that I didn't even know I had.  I had learned something I never thought I would learn.  And I got to go fast! (my idea of fast...and in a rink...BUT FAST!)  A grand image was running through my head of galloping on the beach, right through the shoreline...ooohhh, or a long camping trip through the mountains on horseback...