08/27/2026
Well stated. Riding is like any other sport or activity. To be really good at it you need to start with a strong foundation. Then you need to spend hundreds of hours of repetition on what may seem, to others, as the tiniest most boring details, but those result in the difference between sitting on a horse and really riding it. Unlike most sports, it is much more incredibly difficult because your teammate is a 1000lb prey animal, they have their own emotions while also being in tune with our own. My goal as an instructor is always to have my students safe, as safe as riding can be, but also to push them to stretch their comfort zones and always progress, it is always a fine line and balancing act!
If they can’t walk and steer, they can’t trot and steer.
If they can’t balance at the trot, they aren’t ready to canter.
If they can’t go catch their own horse, groom it, tack it up and take responsibility for it, how are they supposed to lead that horse from the saddle?
Going faster does not equal getting better. Strapping your kid to a horse and sending them into the arena isn’t making them better, it’s setting them up to get hurt.
You might think watching your kid walk circles isn’t exciting. You might think they should be cantering, jumping “doing more.”
But sometimes they’re simply not ready.
And respectfully — that’s why you hired an instructor. Because knowing how and when to progress a rider is our job.
We aren’t holding your kid back. We’re building the foundation that keeps them safe and makes them GOOD.
- Author Unknown
