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Here is a video of me at a recent horse jumping lesson, riding the sweet, smart, hardworking, and sometimes fresh school horse, Cosmo. I love him so much I hope to have the means to buy him when he retires so I can feed as many carrots as he wants during his golden years.
When I was little, I loved horses so much that I dreamed of becoming a horse trainer and dressed up as a jockey in third grade. But, sadly, I never had the opportunity to learn to ride properly until I started English riding lessons about a year and a half ago. What prompted these lessons is an incident in Scotland. I went for a hack (hack=a slow pleasurable ride) with my friend at the Cairnhouse Riding Center on the Isle of Arran, thinking I knew how to handle a horse from trail riding years back. I was having a grand time, largely unaware that I was riding the horse so terribly that the hack leader finally stopped and said the horse “wasn’t used to being ridden like that” and that she didn’t think I’d “quite survive the rest of the hack.” She promptly radioed two girls to fetch me and lead me back to the stable with my tail tucked between my legs (my friend had to come with me too as she was not up to the leader’s standards either). Definitely one of the most humbling moments of my life. Although I still need a lot of improvement, I am now confident that if I go back to the Isle of Arran, I can hold my own! So here’s the short video of my jumping course:
If you can’t see the embedded video, please click here.
A brief self-critique/commentary for you equine enthusiasts: I am still struggling with my pacing, I need to sit straighter and arch my back more, my hands move too much and need to stay down, my heel position needs work, and my legs shouldn’t slide so much. Also, I tend to bounce off the saddle and my arms flop during the lead changes – disgraceful! And that’s just a start. But I have come a long way, and I’ve only had three falls that were painful/scary, but each time I got right back on and redid the jumps.
To watch a much more exciting video of show jumping, check out this breathtaking winning round from the 2005 World Cup Grand Prix at the Royal Winter Fair.
Lastly, my plug for the riding school that I love…If any of you are in the Newburgh, NY area, Gardnertown Farms is an excellent stable which offers English riding lessons, polo, summer riding camp, horse shows, and boarding. For more information, visit http://www.gardnertownfarm.com/ or call 845-564-6658.
